White Airbrush v Brush

[Captain Bird's Eye]

Hi All

Wonder if I can pick your brains with my major problem which is white, matt or enamel. I need a white that looks like its suppose to but when I hand brush (even when stirred well) it always look blocky and horrible, and when I airbrush

It still looks thin and no quite there. but when I see other models the whites look superb, could anybody recommend a white for brushing and a white for airbrushing that would look good.

Many Thanks

Captain

 

[CDW]

I brush-paint 99% in acrylics (the other 1% being artists oils) and the main trick for white (i would assume its the same for todays enamels) is to build it up with several thinner coats letting it dry between each coat, it's the lightest shade we play with and the under surface will show through more than other colours.

If you feel the need to use a primer then a white primer could help out and allow you to use fewer top coats.

someone will come along and give you some airbrush tips, i've only ever used one for spraying artwork on cars and bikes ... suprisingly quite different from spraying a model

 

[tecdes]

Capt. On the Swordfish I have just finished the white was to white & I weathered a lot to take off the edge.

It was airbrushed. I put on first a white primer ( a mist coat then a full coat) which darker colour obliterated so that did not matter. I then gave it a thin coat of white acrylic and then two full coats of white acrylic. This was all in Vallejo.

Laurie

 

[flyjoe180]

I usually use brushes and Humbrol enamels. If you are brushing just keep thin coats going on once they are dry, and build the white up slowly. If it's blotchy and lumpy I guess you have either applied too much at once, or the brush or paint tin lip is dirty. As Colin said if you have dark under surfaces it will take longer. It is good practice I have found to clean the brush in thinners every few minutes, it keeps the coat smoother. Patience between drying the coats is important. You might also come across this same issue with yellows, which are also typically translucent.

 

[mossiepilot]

Hi Cap, as I progress in my "learning to build and paint" one thing I found is that the colour of an actual paint colour is not nessesarly the same for a model colour, if that makes sense. So white for a model will not be "brilliant white" but a grayed or blued out and often patchy version, when viewed under the mark 1 eyeball, depending on the paint underneath.

So if I can recommend anything, it would be to continue with your paint of choice, mines vallejo, and build it up thinly as the other guys say, till it looks about right.

One of my personal modeling demons is painting, it's never good enough. But i'm finding that near enough is good enough, and practice works wonders.

Crack on mate and it'll come right.

Tony.

 

[noble]

i use an airbrush and build up 4 or5thin coats, letting each one dry overnight before applying the next.

Scott

 

[geegad]

airbrush all the way i tryed painting when i started at this game and it was a nightmare...

 

[Captain Bird's Eye]

airbrush all the way i tryed painting when i started at this game and it was a nightmare...

Many Thanks to all who came back to me, I agree i think i will airbrush all the larger pieces (which my missus always says brush them all like the old days !!!!) but it's the very small pieces that causes a lot of trouble and those are the ones that

seem to end spoiling the model

 

[MrSprue]

I use Tamiya flat white, (it's a brilliant white which I prefer, I'm not into "weathering"). It sprays great and covers opaquely it a few passes. Although hand brushing can be troublesome with Tamiya acrylics, I believe thinning and/or using retarder can help greatly.