i am having problems using water based paints in a double action paasche air brush - i am using smallest needle and smallest nozzle - i cannot paint any dots smaller than 1/8 " and when i attempt these i am never sure i am not going to get a glob of paint - it seems that the needle is not slidng smoothly in nozzle - could i stretch the spring in body to put more tension on needle
why am i having so much problem spraying fine lines?
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Your problem is a common one. I must admit first that paacshe is not the best brush for doing small dots unless you have their top of the line one. But to aid you here first off do not do any thing to the interior of the brush, that one do a thing but damage it.
You need to learn on how to thin your paints down and with water base paints things can be a bit difficult but as hard as most folks think.
Here are some products to thin your paints with:
Water
Alcohol
Createx air brush cleaner ( which is one of the best )
Also at many art stores they also sell products that aid in air brush paint thinners and you will need a retarder to help stop those clogs. But you will always get some cloging on your tip. To help with this I use a tooth brush that is damp and after I spray a few dots I just clean the tip off and do a test spot on paper and then back to the fish.
If your going to get really indepth on painting small fine dots you need a brush that is capable of doing this. I have two favorites that can do it all with ease and the workability of these two brushes are the nicest I have used. The two I like are Aztec which in price is reasonable and can do the smallest of dots and the Iwata. Iwata is a bit on the pricey side but it handles great.
I know about Paasche brushes and I have three of them,H series, VL, and the VL junior which was to be one of the best for fine dots, sorry but it's my opinion they suck when you want to do fine detail. For general purpose their fine.
Next to all of this is pratice, pratice and do more pratice to learn on how to get your paint right and how to make those fine dots.
.....Switch to lacquer for your detail work. I've been where you are now and I went back to the lacquer paint for all my detail work. The amount of paint that you will use for details is very small so your smell is minimal. Switching to a detail brush like an Iwata HP-B will cut the amount of paint you use also.
The first thing you need to do is get your paint thin enough. But not to thin or it run before you get your color thick enough on your work, to thick and it spits. to start with the paint should be about as thick as milk. it just takes practice here.also what happens is that paint dries on the tip of your needle, it doesnt take a lot of dried paint to mess up the air flow and the dried paint collects more paint until it gets blasted all over your work. look at tip of needle oftenand try a short blast at full air/paint of to the side, before you try to sprayon your work, this should help remove any paint on the needle tip. If paint is really stuck remove needle and clean. be careful not to bent the tip of the neddle which will mess-up the airflow and cause spray problems. Also be sure to play with your air pressure the thicker your paint the more air you need to push it through your airbrush with out spitting.hope I was some help, any more problems feel free to e- mail
I use a magic marker, or sharpie pen to paint the dots on fish. you get a cleaner and more even dot that looks more real I think. also it take about Five minutes to do the whole fish.
How can you paint spots with a marker? to opaque.
Light mist 1st and smaller center with couple of coats gives a feathered edge. more realistic.
Where will you hide when the spots fade? Magic markers use analine base pigments which are not light fast. They will fade to nothing after one day in the sun.
TerryR, son, you got some good advice. I find that the small dots are best done with transparent pigment and the centers touched with a bit denser color. That requires painting most dots twice, but it is simpler and that method leaves a small aurora around each dot, like Ma Nature did. A quality spotter brush in size 00, 0 or 1 will also lay those dots down. You can go over the hard dot with a transparent spray dot if you desire to soften them a bit. Using lacquer based paint with the spotter brush will allow you to blend the edges with thinner after applying the dots.
The iwata is a good choice, but then, so is the Paasche AB....pricey, but it will paint eyelashes and micro dots with ease.
Use no. 5 nozzle with your paacshe air brush the widest one you have for water based paint.You can use the no.1 nozzle for black dye to do the nose of the deer or bear
Hey cur is right i been there and come up empty bought some good brushes and paint and bingo problem solved i have two or three of the same brush iwatwa i bought five of its in the high digits but my detail is great 1500.00 dollors for the three but its worth it so take his advice hes never steard me wrong yet allways been there good muck Robin Kirkland Taxidermy
Hey cur is right i been there and come up empty bought some good brushes and paint and bingo problem solved i have two or three of the same brush iwatwa i bought five of its in the high digits but my detail is great 1500.00 dollors for the three but its worth it so take his advice hes never steard me wrong yet allways been there good muck Robin Kirkland Taxidermy