Between Coats Cleaning

[topgazza]

Reading lots about what to do when airbrushing between coats. Most of it tends to be offering options depending all all sorts of things. In general terms when airbrushing with either Vallejo Air with just a couple of drops of thinner and maybe a drop of flow improver what is the typical time between coats ? And should the airbrush be cleaned during this time ? Same for a 50/50 Tamiya acrylic ? Although I'll probably use the Vallejo and I don't intend to use a retarder

 

[PaulTRose]

depends on what youre doing
often i paint, switch to just air and gently blow to dry the paint in just a minute or two, then switch back to paint to give a second coat.......not bothered emptying the cup

 

[topgazza]

Makes sense Paul. I'll be putting down thin coats so should dry quickly anyway. I'm sure I'll find out by just doing it

 

[Deleted member 7181]

As with Paul I wouldn't usually clean out between coats as they'll dry really fast anyway. I do keep the top on my paint cup just in case, and always wipe the end of the needle before putting it down. If you've been reading up on airbrushing you'll have heard about "tip dry", Keep a cloth/tissue/sponge/cotton bud soaked in the appropriate thinner for your paint and wipe often.

You won't always get it, especially with the flow aid and the right thinner, but better safe than sorry while you're learning

 

[topgazza]

Nothing worse than a touch of "tip dry"

 

[Bortig the Viking]

I agree with the above. Vallejo has its critics but if you persevere with it it's great to work with.

 

[topgazza]

I find the Vallejo Air excellent with a brush. Covers well and is thin enough to allow multi layers with no brush marks so I am looking forward to it with an airbrush. I'll add just a couple of drops of thinner just to be safe

 

[Bortig the Viking]

My take on Vallejo is Model Air is for airbrushing and Model Color is for the hairy stick, but if it works for you. When using it in the airbrush a couple of drops of flow aid works a treat also the air pressure can be quite low.

 

[topgazza]

What sort of PSI are you talking about Mark ? I assume higher pressure means finer spray

 

[Bortig the Viking]

About 18 - 20 psi, the higher the psi more air comes out, it's the paint mix, air / paint, that you can control the spray, that and different nozzle size.

 

[AlanG]

I tend to spray at about 18 - 20 psi. If i'm doing Luftwaffe mottling then i'll reduce it to 12 - 15 psi so i can get a finer spray

 

[topgazza]

Ah, lower equals finer spray ?

 

[AlanG]

Yes. If you have to higher psi you'll find you'll get more tip-dry and also the paint will spray further over areas, potentially going past your masking. But with lower pressures to get finer lines/spots etc you also have to thin the paint more so you can build up the paint to the required level. sometimes less is more

 

[topgazza]

It's quite logical really once it's pointed out. I intend to stick to basics at first and practice the "exotics" on odds and sods until I'm happy. I hear different things about airbrush cleaners like Vallejo and are they essential. I might get some to start and see how I go

 

[Bortig the Viking]

I'm using Vallejo cleaner when doing Model Air, I have a big bottle of it but I've heard good things about Ultimate so will try when I need to restock. I like to try and keep my cleaners and paint compatible ie acrylic and cellulose (Zero) for example.

 

[AlanG]

I bought Vallejo and Revell airbrush cleaners in the past but now i buy 1 litre bottles of 99.9% IPA. Far cheaper compared to the previous two. For cleaning Tamiya paints from my brush i still like to put Tamiya cleaner through it.

 

[topgazza]

Tamiya does seem to prefer its own cleaners and thinners but I have a huge bottle of IPA so I will use that with my Vallejo Air

 

[topgazza]

I've been meticulously cleaning my airbrush after spraying even if I return an hour later. Maybe I'm weird but I actually really enjoy the cleaning and it's nice to see the brush clean and shiny. I think it's my old apprentice training of cleaning all the sparks tools at the end of the day kicking in.

 

[Bortig the Viking]

You'll probably hear different but, I give it a clean after each use, between coats if its within 15 minutes not so important any longer and I often leave for a bit, other jobs to do around the house, so I like to clean it and it's ready for next time, mines a H & S Infinty crplus and I can do a full clean in 10 minutes so a quick clean, needle, nozzle and cap etc can be done in minutes so to me its preferable, think I've waffled here but hopefully you'll get the gist.