Absolute beginner

[Maxman]

Hi guys, new fella here. I'm about to embark upon the steep learning curve of airbrushing, something I've been toying with the idea of doing for some time now. I have my own guitar repair business here in the UK, and often take in re-finishing, usually because the instruments are damaged in some way or the owner just fancies a different colour. A natural progression to the painting side of the business therefore, would be for me to learn airbrushing. I'm getting on a bit in years now so realise I'll never get to the standard that some of you acheive - some of the work that Ive had the pleasure of looking at here by the way is truly outstanding. Hopefully, if I keep things simple and don't get too ambitious then, I think I could probably produce something that doesn't look too grotesque!

I've been looking at airbrushes to buy, and there is a mind boggling choice out there. From reading through articles on the internet, I think a double action A/B would suit me better (I have actually sprayed paint for a number of years, I used to restore old cars) because i like the Idea of having the constant air but being able to control paint volume. For air I'm ok as I'll use the large compressor I have in my workshop - just put up a new air feed with a seperate water trap / filter in line. As most of my work would be using auto type paints, so I'd need an airbrush with fittings etc. that wouldn't be affected by the solvents, but not sure whether a gravity feed (my choice of gun for re-finishing work) or suction would be best

My probelm is that I obviously don't want to splash out a large wedge of £££££s (or even $$$$$$$s) at this stage in case it's something I can't get on with, so I'd certainly appreciate any suggestions that any of you have for an A/B suitable for a beginner. Here in the UK we have a few online shops selling A/B supplies one of which caught my eye and they have a few to choose from - would something like one of these be suitable to learn with?
Everythingairbrush Gravity Feed AB Series Airbrushes

Sorry this is a long first post - but I do tend towards "verbal diarrhea" anyway

Finally if anyone would lke to see some of the guitar work I do, then here's a link to my website:
Ridgeway Guitars Website Welcome Page

Dave

[Bahamut]

I'll tell you what... I'm a Paasche man and I swear by em. Others will tell you Badger or Iwata but it's all personal preference. Until you get your hands wraped around your first brush it's up in the air. If you want a good brush that won't let you down I say go with Paasche. The replacment parts for them are reasonably priced and they are real workhorse brushes. My two favorites are:

Paasche VSR90 Gravity Feed Aribrush:
Paasche Airbrush Company
Great for detail work and large area work alike.

Paasche VLS Siphon Feed Airbrush
Paasche Airbrush Company
Great for textile work (t-shirts and fabrics) and finer detail alike.

That's the info I have for ya. Others will chime in as well.

[atomizer]

Originally Posted by Maxman

Hi guys, new fella here. I'm about to embark upon the steep learning curve of airbrushing, something I've been toying with the idea of doing for some time now. I have my own guitar repair business here in the UK, and often take in re-finishing, usually because the instruments are damaged in some way or the owner just fancies a different colour. A natural progression to the painting side of the business therefore, would be for me to learn airbrushing. I'm getting on a bit in years now so realise I'll never get to the standard that some of you acheive - some of the work that Ive had the pleasure of looking at here by the way is truly outstanding. Hopefully, if I keep things simple and don't get too ambitious then, I think I could probably produce something that doesn't look too grotesque!

I've been looking at airbrushes to buy, and there is a mind boggling choice out there. From reading through articles on the internet, I think a double action A/B would suit me better (I have actually sprayed paint for a number of years, I used to restore old cars) because i like the Idea of having the constant air but being able to control paint volume. For air I'm ok as I'll use the large compressor I have in my workshop - just put up a new air feed with a seperate water trap / filter in line. As most of my work would be using auto type paints, so I'd need an airbrush with fittings etc. that wouldn't be affected by the solvents, but not sure whether a gravity feed (my choice of gun for re-finishing work) or suction would be best

My probelm is that I obviously don't want to splash out a large wedge of £££££s (or even $$$$$$$s) at this stage in case it's something I can't get on with, so I'd certainly appreciate any suggestions that any of you have for an A/B suitable for a beginner. Here in the UK we have a few online shops selling A/B supplies one of which caught my eye and they have a few to choose from - would something like one of these be suitable to learn with?
Everythingairbrush Gravity Feed AB Series Airbrushes

Sorry this is a long first post - but I do tend towards "verbal diarrhea" anyway

Finally if anyone would lke to see some of the guitar work I do, then here's a link to my website:
Ridgeway Guitars Website Welcome Page

Dave

hey bud i also live in the uk and i've airbrushed a fair rew guitars (i'm curremtly doing another bass as we speak) its a great hobby even if the learning curve can be a tad vertical

badger, paasche, iwata, richpen, sata all make good airbrushes its the no name brands you need to watch out for its the same as buying a big spray gun sure B&Q do one for 30 quid but compared to a sata or other high class 300 quid gun there's a huge difference

as far as paints go when i paint my guitars and bass's i use acrylic ink or waterbased car paint then laquer it with two pack expoxy (ask your local paint factor) its muchh tougher than standard car laquer and doesnt suffer from buckle rash as bad as other paints

hope this helps

[Maxman]

Originally Posted by atomizer

hey bud i also live in the uk and i've airbrushed a fair rew guitars (i'm curremtly doing another bass as we speak) its a great hobby even if the learning curve can be a tad vertical

badger, paasche, iwata, richpen, sata all make good airbrushes its the no name brands you need to watch out for its the same as buying a big spray gun sure B&Q do one for 30 quid but compared to a sata or other high class 300 quid gun there's a huge difference

as far as paints go when i paint my guitars and bass's i use acrylic ink or waterbased car paint then laquer it with two pack expoxy (ask your local paint factor) its muchh tougher than standard car laquer and doesnt suffer from buckle rash as bad as other paints

hope this helps

Thanks for that Atomizer, I'm used to spraying normal car paints etc so the clear epoxy coats present no probs. As you probably know Cellulose paints are becoming increasingly hard to come by now here in the UK, I used to finish all my guitars in Celly but now had to move over over to 2 x pack and I can't believe how much easier it is to use. The only problems being the health aspects of it, but I just make sure I'm covered head to toe in paper overalls (complete with hood) and wear the best quality mask I can get - I know I should be using SCBA - but for the amount I do it's not worth the investment, maybe I'll look at it if I start doing more, and I'm seriously looking at converting to a LPHV set up for my normal guns

You use acrylic ink? See, I've learned something already. That surprises me I thought the only medium to use for auto work was water based paint! I'll most certainly have a look at some acrylic inks now though

Cheers
Dave

[atomizer]

Originally Posted by Maxman

Thanks for that Atomizer, I'm used to spraying normal car paints etc so the clear epoxy coats present no probs. As you probably know Cellulose paints are becoming increasingly hard to come by now here in the UK, I used to finish all my guitars in Celly but now had to move over over to 2 x pack and I can't believe how much easier it is to use. The only problems being the health aspects of it, but I just make sure I'm covered head to toe in paper overalls (complete with hood) and wear the best quality mask I can get - I know I should be using SCBA - but for the amount I do it's not worth the investment, maybe I'll look at it if I start doing more, and I'm seriously looking at converting to a LPHV set up for my normal guns

You use acrylic ink? See, I've learned something already. That surprises me I thought the only medium to use for auto work was water based paint! I'll most certainly have a look at some acrylic inks now though

Cheers
Dave

yeah acrylic ink is good but its a bit steep price wise i find the waterbased auto inks to be much better as you get less tip dry and the white is a little more easy to work with having said that if you struggle with tip dry add a tiny amount of diluted glycerin to the paint but dont add too much or it will never dry
celly is ok the only gripe i have with celly is its not as tough as 2 pack epoxy and if its left in the sun it goes brittle i had a go with thermoplastic acrylic clearcoat too but found it was very inferior and was very prone to blooming
the best bet is buy a decent airbrush buy some inks and just have a go and see which suits you best there's tons of info and reviews on AB's on this site so just have a mooch round if you get stuck there's plenty of info