5thelement

Well, my airbrush arrived the other day and i've got a can of air to use with it.

I picked up a bottle of white spirit in Asda tonight, for cleaning it mainly, but is it worth trying to thin some paint (revell enamel) with it and giving it a try on a plastic flower pot or something? just to see if it adheres/dries okay etc?

Failing that im gonna pick up one of the bottles of Revell "color mix" thinner, as im guessing thats designed for thinning revell paints.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Cheers

tigertc

Dont touch a model till your confident mate. See NigelD's tutorial on spraying in the Tutorials section....its invaluable

5thelement

Cheers, i'll go look for it now.

rjwood_uk

if you practive on a flower pot they are usually shiny....you want to get id of that sheen!

use a fine grade (about 1200) wet and dry paper and give it a wash afterwards.

good luck!

5thelement

Looks like i can forget about using this at all.

I just tried connecting up the can of air, and i cant seem to stop air pissing out the regulator attached to the can, i've tried everything, checked the o-rings, tightened it as much as possible, tried it looser, but still air leaks out somewhere from the regulator adaptor thing i cant pinpoint if its from the screw which turns the air on, or from where it screws onto the can.

So at best, i can get air coming out the air brush when i squeeze the trigger with a little leaking from the regulator, but when i release the trigger it all pisses out the adaptor on the can

I'll try put a strip of masking tape around the top part of the screw on the regulator to give it a tighter fit, but i doubt it'll make much difference.

Back to a brush for me

wonwinglo

Thats a common problem with the cannisters,sounds as if you have a really bad one,get in touch straight away with the supplier and ask for a replacement to be sent out,you could try some of that plumbers tape as a temporary fix until you get a better valve assembly.

__________________
'And there I was oil on my goggles from a broken pipe,then I looked at the altimeter,all I could see was the makers name !'
www.wonwinglo.scale-models.net/

5thelement

So it's a problem with the can itself? wouldn't of guessed that, it's a Humbrol 250ml can (yeah i know, small lol)

Should i contact Humbrol? if thats possible?

I just imagine if i take it back to the model shop i bought it from, they'll think im just trying it on to get a new can of gas lol probably lost the receipt aswell, didn't imagine i'd need it!

Thanks for letting me know, i'll give the tape a quick try and see if it makes any difference.

rjwood_uk

mine at first leaked from where the air hose attaches to the air regulator. just needed a good tightening...tryed that?

hope it all works out.

if not, get down the good old boot sales for a genny!!!

it will need to have an air regulator and a water trap, these can be bought seperatly but its always good to have in-built ones!

5thelement

Tightened everything as much as i really can, well, without resorting to pliers to tighten it further (got none pliers lying around though) lol

I just totally covered the top of the can in tape trying to seal it all, but there still some escaping, and the can got extremely cold pretty quick lol

I really have no idea whether its the regulator/adaptor which ive screwed on, or if its a problem with the can itself.

I guess these compressors have a lot going for them lol but if im being honest, if i cant get this to work, it'll be back to a brush for a good while as i cant really afford a compressor/better airbrush at the moment feel like throwing the bloody thing in the bin and just forgetting about it lol

wonwinglo

This is annoying,the problem sometimes lies with the coarse thread and soft alloy that they are made from,but it could also be the regulator,suggest that you take both back,I know that it is a pain.
The cheapest form of air is a tyre inner tube,you can get an adaptor for this,you fill up the tube with air,throw that outside out of the way and just have the airline inside,I used one for years,eventually finished up with a lorry inner tube ! seriously it is a cheap alternative,all the adaptor is is a step down size from the valve to the pipe you use on your airbrush,free air when you want it and no pesky freezing either.

__________________
'And there I was oil on my goggles from a broken pipe,then I looked at the altimeter,all I could see was the makers name !'
www.wonwinglo.scale-models.net/