Airbrushing Rockets

I've spent the last "few" weeks working on an airbrush article for the forum. still a work in progress
I would like to share some of the lessons I've learned and show some tricks,lots of pics,and some basics that might be important as well.
This thread will hopefully answer some questions that I see alot on the forum. I am not an airbrush expert and this is only some of the techniques and materials that I use. please feel free to add to, or correct anything I may get wrong. My main goal here is not to tell anyone how to airbrush but to show What can be done with an airbrush ! I would like to see some of the airbrush users add to this.
I do think Some of what I post will probably be suprising to many.

First off I should to describe my set-up. It consists of things I've picked up here and there over the last couple years. I't is probably more than necessary for good results but I use my air supply for other air tools as well, I will list what I use, describe the set up and show pics.

Harbour freight 8gallon compressor($100)
https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v11/stymye/Airbrush/8gallcompressor.jpg
Iwata 7gallon portable tank(free, but normally run around $25)
https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v11/stymye/Airbrush/2ndtank.jpg
Paascha vl set($60 harbour freight)
Paasche H set($45 Dixie art supply)
https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v11/stymye/Airbrush/pearlwhitecapped.jpg
regulators, moisture trap,hoses,ball valve.
https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v11/stymye/Airbrush/shutoffregulatorfilter.jpg

I do my painting in the garage. I have a small window with a box fan drawing the air out, I lean a furnace filter against the fan and the suction holds it in place. this helps keep the fan clean and keeps air circulating on warmer days I open the a door to get good cross flow
https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v11/stymye/Airbrush/boxfanfilterwindow.jpg

The harbour freight compressor is run directly to the portable tank
A check valve is installed in the portable tank so I can remove it without first draining it.

I have enough hose to paint anywhere in the garage.(or to fill a tire in the driveway)
https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v11/stymye/Airbrush/airbrushhook.jpg

I build primarily midsized rockets 2"-4" diameter but throughout the demonstration I will be painting a Loc EZI-65..I chose this rocket to prove a point that an airbrush can be used quite well on large rockets
I hang the rocket upside down in the garage I apply tape to the coupler attach the nosecone and use a cardboard box for a booth.
https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v11/stymye/Airbrush/hangpaintbooth.jpg
in the pic the rocket has been filled ,primed, and sanded with Duplicolor primer

Not every airbrush will be able to do the job on a 4" rocket. I can't say which airbrushes will put out that kind of volume but I can guarentee the Passche vl will with a #5 needle and #5 tip (or #3 tip, I'll explain later)

The Vl is amazing if set up right. Yes it's a dual action brush but It can be used as a single action very easilly(mythbust#2) To do this you simply remove the handle,loosen the needle nut, pull back the needle 1/16" and retighten the nut.now when you press down you get full air and paint. Infact you can get more paint, a wider pattern than most spraycans and with better control.

To demonstrate ,I sprayed some lines on cardboard. I did my best to make the same stroke, the same distance, at the same speed.(I actually had to back away a couple inches with both airbrushes)
to be fair, I sprayed on a seperate surface to make sure paint was flowing well before spraying the actual test lines.

the four test subjects were:

Duplicolor black(with adjustable spray nozzle)
Krylon black(standard nozzle)
Createx black thru the Paasche vl(35psi)
Createx black thru the Paasche H(35 psi)

https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v11/stymye/Airbrush/spraypatterns.jpg

it may be hard to tell from my cheap camera but

Duplicolor- had the widest patern but lightest coverage
Krylon- typical pattern, typical coverage that were used to
Vl- wider pattern than the krylon but most important, very dense coverage
H- also dense coverage but thinner pattern

I attribute the density of the spray to the paint as much as the airbrush(thats why I talk alot about using good airbrush paint). I knew what the results would probably show , I just had to demonstrate it somehow before I went any further.
https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v11/stymye/Airbrush/basecoatblackandwhite.jpg

I know alot of people who have tried airbrushing a larger rocket have had mixed feelings(I've read plenty on rmr and here about it)
I think alot of attempts have gone bad due to many different factors
airbrush,paint,learning the airbrush ect...too small of a pattern ,,, "heck with it this is too much trouble...pass the Krylon".

I've been there too, I learned alot of this by accident.Once I found I could spray as well (if not better) than with a can. I've never looked back.

I can't go on without talking a little about the different paints I've tried and what I've learned about them.and what I'm using for the demonstration..everything Im using is water base Acrylic. so I'll stick to talking about water base paints for now

"you can spray anything thru an airbrush"
true if it's the proper viscosity... this often involves thinning. no problem


I'm not giving up on other paints by any means but for this rocket I'm using createx
I have tried many craft paints and they work well if properly thinned. I would highly recommend using "airbrush medium" to thin the paint ..also adding distilled water is fine if even more thinning is needed but remember anything added to the paint,(water,windex,alcohol,washer fluid ect..)breaks down the paint ,,or strips it of it's additives.you can often end up with a thin runny , grainy dull film on your rocket that will strip off if you try to mask it.. this is where alot of people get turned off.. the biggest problem with "acrylics" is it dries quick ..
medium is almost necessary to re-invigorate the paint.. this will improve flow, adhesion ,gloss and help with tip dry. there are many cheap alternatives to medium out there I will list some later(such as Future for gloss the option). I just use liquitex acrylic airbrush medium (hobby lobby)it works great in many craft paints

annother important factor with acrylics is that you should not apply a wet or heavy coat,, instead the paint must be applied in thin layers allowing each layer to dry.. this process can be sped up with the use of a hair dryer... if the paint is applied too thick it can take days or even weeks to dry and will peel off when you mask it.
heres the EZI getting a few thin layers of white basecoat

https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v11/stymye/Airbrush/lightbasecoats.jpg

https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v11/stymye/Airbrush/heatsetcolors.jpg

ok lets jump right in, I've wanted to try alot of different things on the rocket so It may not be pretty in the end but I have a chance to tinker with different tecniques and paints.. should be interesting as I have no solid game plan at this point

first thing I did was applied a pearl white to the body half of the rocket, I always test spray each sucessive color before commiting it to the rocket, this becomes important when trying to do pearls,candys,irridecent ,transparent..ect..
https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v11/stymye/Airbrush/testeachcolor.jpg

I removed the nose end and sprayed it black so I can try different things with it as well
https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v11/stymye/Airbrush/cleardryfortape.jpg

I than sprayed a acrylic clear thru the airbrush because I plan to do some heavy pinstriping on the nose ... the clear can be sprayed anytime during the paint job and protects the undercoats from sanding if necessary, it is more resiliant to tapeing than alot of the colors are
https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v11/stymye/Airbrush/clearcoatblackbeforemasking.jpg

between colors and during drying with the hairbrush I submerge the airbrush in water
https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v11/stymye/Airbrush/airbrushsubmergebetweensessions.jpg

I also put my finger over the tip and backflush it,, the Paasche vl gets a good cleaning at the end of the day because the paint enters the body, I finsh by spraying airbrush cleaner and wiping it down

the Paasche H is not as bad the paint never enters the brush.I use an old crisper tray from a small fridge to dunk the airbrushes in
https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v11/stymye/Airbrush/vlsubmergeandsprayclean.jpg

I picked out some vibrant colors for the effect .. the bottles themselves can be hooked to the airbrush, I got a pack from dixie art
its a bag full of caps, lids and stems.(no not that kind of bag)
very handy.. good for saving mixed colors as well.. these are all transparent so I can kind of blend the colors like a real snake and the pearl will hopefully show thru
https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v11/stymye/Airbrush/colors.jpg

any brand will work, I'm still using createx so far(the wife bought me a huge set of colors) A good selection of bottles is nice to have, notice the caps fit the Passche botles as well
https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v11/stymye/Airbrush/bottlesandcaps.jpg

ok now that the pearl white is dry, I took a nylon scrubbie , the kind that the wife uses in the shower, and untied it ..makes a nice tube with a good snake scale pattern.. I tied it off with a tywrap..I'm not worried about masking.. I will be doing something different to the fin area later.
https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v11/stymye/Airbrush/ty-wrapmesh.jpg

alot of mesh on one scrubby
https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v11/stymye/Airbrush/stretchnylonmesh.jpg

I than sprayed a little of the green and yellow but not covering the entire tube ,, just a little fade with the transparent colors is not hard,, no rules just smooth lines
https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v11/stymye/Airbrush/transluscentcolors.jpg

always making test patterns before spraying the rocket
https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v11/stymye/Airbrush/testcolorscardboard.jpg

remember the light coats rule? this is really important,, If I was using a spraycan it would probably obliterate the fine mesh lines and would not be transparent .. the airbrush is simply a must for many subtle effects

I than added a light coat of the redish color overall it transformed the previous colors but now it has a nice almost copper hue with the shading effects showing thru.. like a copperhead I guess
https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v11/stymye/Airbrush/overallsnakeskin.jpg

in some cases transparent is not transparent enough to get the desired effect ...adding more airbrush medium will solve that problem .. you can make the paint very transparent for things like candy effects , just don't try it with only water ,windex or " special thinners" it can ruin your work in a heartbeat without much effort.

heres a few more close ups
https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v11/stymye/Airbrush/snakeskin2.jpg
https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v11/stymye/Airbrush/snakeskincloseup2.jpg

before I do any more with the snake skin I will let it naturaly dry for a few days I will than add a few layers of clear, before proceeding. even tho each coat was dryed with the hairdryer there is alot of layers and a little more time is a good thing
the paint drys very quickly on the surface but believe me it is not dry unless you heatset it ,or allow it to completely dry. tape will peel it off very easily if it's not thoroughly dry..and that can be a real bummer.


I am going to tackle the nose cone in the mean time , how about some flames ? that seems to be a popular graffic. heres how I like to do them so the flame has a pinstripe and shadows to pop the flame out more
remember I painted the nosecone black and than put some clearcoat on it.
I continue by wetsanding the clear with 600 grit wet dry paper.. this will make it nice and smooth for the tape..
for pinstriping , I like the 3m fineline tape
https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v11/stymye/Airbrush/finelinetapes.jpg

I've found it's a good idea to keep your masking tape in baggies. this keeps the edge of the tape from getting dirty or nicked ,, for a razor sharp edge this is a good thing to do,, especially considering how much some tapes cost.. the fineline tape comes in a reusable bag for this reason.
https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v11/stymye/Airbrush/finelinetape.jpg

>thats all for now<

Very nice, thanks, at least I have a starting point now.

Great job Stymye! Your camera is just fine
Kewl Snake skin simulation, very very nice.
You might want to try a lazysusan with adjustable motor mount sticks to allow painting the model more easily. I use several different types, but have had great results with all forms manual or spring driven. I really like the microwave 12" heavy duty type for large models, it turns slowly enough to get complete coverage without ever haveing to touch the model in the process. Motor mounting bases are basicly a piece of 3" x 3" square plasic or wood scrap and a spent D12 casing epoxied to this center, for heavy models a bit of reinforcing fibreglass is added to the base casing joint. then an 18mm casing can be slid into the 24mm casing which what ever length 1/2" wooden dowel and motor casing make up to fit the model being painted. These painting mounts help no mater what paint application method your using The Largest model i've used these turntables with were the BT-80 OT, 4" (BT-101 Ram-jet and Hobby Goblin, about 3 lbs or so. I have tested the turntable with an 10lb bag of shot. they still turn fine.
Hope this helps

Heres the OT in the booth on one of the turntables.

I'm waiting to see the next step.
Don't let me down...

I will be able to do more work this sunday on the cone, and post some more pics info..

edit* between work and the weather I'm a little behind on the article .. I will continue to post pics and info as time allows
currently the car is in the paint booth (garage). I can restart the thread as soon as I regain the space.

I don't remember who, but someone has a $20 compresser that I am going to get. The link to it is somwhere on The Gauge model railroading forum

For airbrusing, you (ideally) want a compressor & tank. I have airbrushed directly from the conpressor. But you get pulses of air, not a stready stream. So, you tend to end up with a series of dots rather than a smoth continuous line.

Wal-Mart actually has inexpensive compressors with tanks. I have one with a two-gallon tank that cost about $50, I think. I got it as a present, so I am not entirely sure.

This is a really great thread. Thanks to all who have contributed. I have put a Paasche VL airbrush on my wish list for my birthday in a little over a month
Reed

Stymye, this is a first rate job all around. I have all along thought about the air brush idea but thought I never had the skills. I guess my only encounter with them is the individuals in the malls making shirts.

Hope you'll be at the launch Sat. would love to hear more.

Please don't give up on this Fine piece of work.

IRV

So, stymye, any progress pics? Do you have any with the shower scrunchie removed?
Thanks,
Reed

I tried my airbrush out on my Stormcaster, after painting it black, I "brushed" on some white - it looks like I just used a spray can. The only advantage to an airbrush (the one I have, at least) is that of an RMS motor compared to an SU motor (it's like an RSCS - reloadable spray can system). It does look pretty cool, though. I'll post some pictures as soon as I can get them taken and on to my computer. I had hoped to launch it at the Spring CVHPR launch, but it was storming pretty bad on Sat., and my sister was singing in church that Sun. so I couldn't go then. I'll try it out at this month's VRS launch (on an F24... evil grin).

Styme,
Great thread. I found it searching under airbrush paint. Any updates to it? What I've read so far has given me some great ideas. Thanks.

thanks!
I damaged the subject rocket and cone when it fell from a high shelf to the concrete floor so I never finished the story.
I'm not sure what to continue with, there are several threads already about masking different colors ,and graphics like flames.

Figured it wouldn't hurt to ask

Sorry to hear about the rocket, but this thread is great. I think I've read every thread on this forum that mentions airbrush

When you said that you use Createx, are you talking about the fabric paint or do you use AutoAir made by Createx?
I,ve been using the fabric paint because I can buy it at Hobby Lobby.
I'd like to try AutoAir but I'd have to order it.

the regular line.
I have also used auto air.

both will work on t-shirts with the addition of catalyst and bonder
than heat setting.

Interesting that I found this thread…

I have been thinking about going with an airbrush rather then spray cans. I have looked at several different brands of airbrushes and wonder if anyone has any comments (good or bad) on some of the airbrushes by Badger? Two of the Badger models I have considered are their model #155 and #175. Comments?

https://www.badger-airbrush.com/index.html

I also like Dr Wogz comment about using a compressor and tank setup. I feel this would offer a more even airflow, plus you can find these small 2-4gal compressors at many big-box stores for around $50, which is much less then what some of these small compressors made by some of the airbrush companies. Another plus is that once the tank is pressurized, the motor stops so you don't need to listen to that run the full time you are painting.

Also can anyone recommend any good web sites / forums to check out regarding airbrushing?

The idea to get a compressor/tank from the home center is a good idea. Lots of reserve, and can be used for all sorts of tasks beyond airbrushing. When they are running, they are quite loud, so plan accordingly. You will also likely need hose adapter fitting or two to adapt the skinny airbrush hose fitting to the standard outlet of a general purpose air compressor.

There’s one good forum for general airbrushing talk:

https://www.finescale.com/FSM/CS/forums/18/ShowForum.aspx

It does have an orientation towards more detailed modeling world, and less about how one should go about painting something as large as a 7” diameter rocket, but it’s a great resource.

Well I hate to do this , but you ask for some airbrush forums.
Amazing airbrush talent.



https://www.novogate.com/exco/index.php?boardid=483
https://www.airbrushtechnique.com/airbrushforum/
https://www.airbrush.com/forums/tt.aspx?forumid=2

https://disc.server.com/Indices/39691.html
https://www.wetcanvas.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=114
https://www.learnairbrush.com/forums/index.php
https://www.websitetoolbox.com/tool/mb/stevenskc
https://www.kustomkulturelounge.com/forum/index.php

airbrush.com and kustom kulture lounge the two I read most.
Some of the people on these sites are who you see on TV airbrushing bikes etc.

Originally posted by Carson
Well I hate to do this , but you ask for some airbrush forums.
Amazing airbrush talent...

Click to expand...

Thanks… I guess the saying is true… be careful what you ask for