airbrush

[bugsy]

what is your preference on the brand and model of airbrush.....that you use?

[leatheroo]

i am using a cheapo one and i am looking to buy a better one. i was thinking of paasche VL. looking forward to hearing other peoples advice.

[CitizenKate]

I bought a Badger 100LG with a fine tip about 5 years ago, and so far, haven't found any reason to buy another one. It's a great multi-purpose airbrush; it can spray anything from a pencil line to a 2" wash. You can get it at Dixie Art for around $70 USD. You can see one here.

I probably should mention some things about various features while I'm at it...

Gravity vs. siphon feed:

- Gravity feed usually allows more control and range of the spray pattern, maybe because it doesn't require as much pressure (someone else may know more about that). Color changes can be kind of a hassle, because you have to clean out the color cup each time you change colors.

- Siphon feed is nice if you will be spraying a smaller range of spray patterns (or if you buy your brush with an assortment of different sized tips), and color changes are much easier, because you can just swap out color cups. If you get a siphon feed, it's a good idea to get several color cups.

Single vs. double action:

- Single-action is fine if you just want to use a fairly wide spray. I use a single-action sprayer to put on liquid finishes.

- Double-action is better if you want to vary your spray pattern.

Kate

[steveb]

what is your preference on the brand and model of airbrush.....that you use?

I've got 2 Paasche VL's - they are workhorses - and by buying two the same, you get to interchange parts and become very familiar with the units and how to use and care for them

Airbrushes are very maintenance intensive, but I love mine and wouldn't trade them for anything.

You can go wrong with a Paasche - for the price, availability of parts and the performance

IMSHO - of course

steveb

[skip]

would any one of you mention what you have used your airbrush on, or at least show some of your work that you have dyed using your airbrushes, as well as list some of the reasons for going to air brushe instead of some other way of dying your leather work. I am just not convinced that it will save any time at all.

[tazzmann]

I use my air brushes all the time on not only motorcycles, but leather as well. It DOES take some time, especially if you use a gravity feed set up like I do, but for fine lines and blending color on leather, nothing beats it. I use both Acrylic and regular dyes on some of my leather and you can achieve some very good effects that you just can't get with a regular brush. My favorite is to spray, say a deer carving, with a lighter color brown dye and then use a darker dye on the shadowed area, very carefully blending into the lighter dye. It makes for a very realistic effect if done correctly. Plus, if you spray Super Sheen with an air brush, you can get a more even coverage and thus a much better end product, IMHO.

[leatheroo]

Skip, i use the airbrush for painting my leather masks. Blending is much better and no brush strokes

[CitizenKate]

Skip,

Here are a couple of examples of work I've colored with an airbrush. (My apologies to those of you who have already seen these pieces.) I use a wide spray from my airbrush with painters tape and other masking materials to color squares and other larger, intricately-shaped areas on my game boards. I also use the airbrush freehand (without any mask) to create the shading you see around the edges.

Using an airbrush has cut the amount of time it takes me to color a game board in about half the amount of time it takes to apply it with a brush. On my larger boards, that's hours. Applying a mask is an extra step you wouldn't take if you were hand-brushing, but once the mask is in place, the coloring goes very quickly. It's also easier to get the color to go on evenly when you're spraying it. Shading with an airbrush is very fast and easy compared to hand-brushing. My airbrush has paid for itself many times over.

Kate

[steveb]

I use my air brushes all the time on not only motorcycles, but leather as well. It DOES take some time, especially if you use a gravity feed set up like I do, but for fine lines and blending color on leather, nothing beats it. I use both Acrylic and regular dyes on some of my leather and you can achieve some very good effects that you just can't get with a regular brush. My favorite is to spray, say a deer carving, with a lighter color brown dye and then use a darker dye on the shadowed area, very carefully blending into the lighter dye. It makes for a very realistic effect if done correctly. Plus, if you spray Super Sheen with an air brush, you can get a more even coverage and thus a much better end product, IMHO.

Michael - ive never really had good luck in spraying super shene, although i love the idea of being able to do that - do you thin it?

How do you clean your brush and how much air are you pushing through your gun?

last question: do you use the same gun for dye and topcoats?

thanks

steveb

[CitizenKate]

Steve,

Not Michael, but thought I would mention I've had much better results spraying top coats and finishes (either acrylic or liquid wax) from a single-action sprayer, rather than the double-action airbrush I use for dyes and paints. The acrylics go on very nicely, but they tend to clog the nozzle, so the sprayer has to be thoroughly rinsed with warm water after each use. The liquid wax finishes require less maintenance; I can usually leave the liquid in the sprayer after each use, and resume spraying next time I need it.

Kate

Michael - ive never really had good luck in spraying super shene, although i love the idea of being able to do that - do you thin it?

How do you clean your brush and how much air are you pushing through your gun?

last question: do you use the same gun for dye and topcoats?

thanks

steveb