Question about airbrushing with Tamiya

[SrsBidness28]

Okay, so I just started airbrushing after watching lots of videos and reading a lot of articles and books on airbrushing. I am using a Paasche type H until I get a bit more skilled.

Last night I tried my first base coat, and overall I am very happy with the results. I am working on this kit:

http://www.tamiyausa.com/items/plastic-model-series-20/1-48-scale-military-miniatures-10500/russian-armored-car-ba-64b-32576
(Don't have any pics of my handiwork yet - I didn't have time to take any)

The parts had been primered with Tamiya's Surface Primer. I used XF61 (Dark Green) as per the instructions for the base coat on the body parts and the center of the wheels, as well as the parts of the tools that are supposed to be held by brackets to the body.

I went through almost a whole 10mL bottle of XF61 on what I painted (about 80-85%), and I will probably use up the rest tonight when I finish up the touch ups and areas I missed. Is this a normal amount of paint to use on a kit this small, or did I use too much paint?

 

[MrNatural]

I love airbrushing tamiya paints, in my opinion they are the nicest paints to work with when it comes to airbrushing. The tamiya 10ml tubs do tend to go pretty quick, but I think you may have been a bit heavy handed, I can usually get 2 or 3 projects out of 1 tub. Always remember to dump the paint that you didn't use back into the tub or some other container. Thinning down the paint can also get you some more mileage out of it too.

 

[SrsBidness28]

What ratio would you use to thin it out? I used about 2:1 paint to thinner and shot it at 22 psi. I added a little more thinner and it seemed to come out too thin. The paint I sprayed for the wheel centers didn't completely cover completely. Could this be an issue with the ratio, pressure, or both?

 

[Drpepeprz]

Did you do a mist coat 1st then wet coats? I believe thattrying to cover everything with one will use more paint than doing it in a few coats

 

[MrNatural]

I tend to go with about 1/3 thinner to 2/3 paint when it comes to tamiya, then I will build up the paint slowly doing multiple thin coats, and I usually spray around 15-18 psi, with this method it also helps to have a dual action airbrush, but that is just my opinion and the way I like to work. Everyone seems to have a slightly different method to how they paint kits, its all about trial and error and just figuring out what works for you. Keep us posted.

 

[Elm City Hobbies]

First off, what thinner are you using?

Tamiya Acrylic thinner, 50/50 with any of their paints and you are golden for base coats. I would personally go a bit thinner (and drop the air pressure) if you are doing any free hand camo work.

Speaking of air pressure, what are you spraying at? If your air pressure it is high, it will throw out the paint pretty quickly. For normal base coats, I would say no more than 18psi. Where you are using a siphon feed even 18 psi should be more than enough to get the paint out.

 

[SrsBidness28]

Did you do a mist coat 1st then wet coats? I believe thattrying to cover everything with one will use more paint than doing it in a few coats

Yeah. I mist coated twice, let that dry, then shot a wet coat.

 

[SrsBidness28]

First off, what thinner are you using?

Tamiya Acrylic thinner, 50/50 with any of their paints and you are golden for base coats. I would personally go a bit thinner (and drop the air pressure) if you are doing any free hand camo work.

Speaking of air pressure, what are you spraying at? If your air pressure it is high, it will throw out the paint pretty quickly. For normal base coats, I would say no more than 18psi. Where you are using a siphon feed even 18 psi should be more than enough to get the paint out.

I used Tamiya X20A. Sprayed at 22 psi. I seemed to have issues with flow below 20 psi. The paint just wouldn't flow on a consistent basis without being at 22 psi +. I started at 15 psi and kept adjusting my pressure until I shot paint every time I pulled the trigger 3-4 times.