Hello from philly

  • Thread starter SebastianCustoms215
  • Start date
S

SebastianCustoms215

Guest
Got an airbrush gun about 2 months ago. Badger anthem. Kobolt 3 gal tank. In line filter. Spray in a very hot shed. Lol prob like 110* some days. Had a lot of trouble in the beginning. Paint clogging up the gun, learing how to clean it, spent a lit of time on YouTube, went through dozens of t-shirts, some good, a few came out great and a few are now rags. Now I'd like to move on to plastics and metallics. Car rims, tools, tool carts, tool boxes etc. So I'm just spraying random items n experimenting. I don't fully understand controlling paint layers, sanding, clearcoating, cutting, buffing at all really. But I'm down to learn. My holly grail would be to paint my own bike tank, car hood, helmet, firearm and be really proud of it. I dig fashion that has another purpose, like custom sneakers, hats, whatever. I would customize my coffee thermos or even my beach cooler if I could be sure that it would last the summer. But banging around in the car n getting sand blasted at the beach, I'm just dont know how to be sure about protecting the paint yet. I mean... I guess, layers of clear are the way to go... But that's y I am here.
 
Welcome aboard. You're got a decent airbrush and sounds like you're already starting to work with it (cleaning, etc) :) What sort of paints have you been using? Lots of people around to help with any issues you're having. Have fun while you're here
 
Thanks bro. I deff see that you gotta spend time with ur airbrush to get any decent results. I'm loving it though. I'm using spectra-tex* (sp) mostly for t shirts, along with some similar cheaper paints (Nicole's craft studio) just to play with. Deff see the difference in the cheap paint. (Thin both with just a lil h20 sometimes) t-shirts are doing ok. Mostly stencil work. Working on free hand here n there. But not to good yet.

Then I'm using Rust-oleum enamel oil base for the plastic n metallic projects. (With klean Strip paint thinner)...

And rustoleum painters touch ultra cover clear gloss for clear coats...

Not sure their great for the gun. But for what I'm into, it is working...

I just am so impatient with the fine coats needed, I always spray to heavy I think. To battle that, I have decided to start a bunch of projects on anything, like old junk rims, tools, whatever I can spray, just so I'm not spraying for 10 seconds and waiting again... until tomorrow to see the results. Let me know what ya think. Thanx.
 
Welcome to the forum from China! I think all of us had trouble with airbrushing at the beginning... there is no easy ride but just a learning curve. It gets easier over time, and, of course, this forum is an extremely valuable source and sounding board for solutions.
 
First off....welcome
Second...always use the right products for the job. You would not use a textile paint to paint a car....or vise a versa...
Clear coat does not make something indestructible. It is a finish coat. Yes, clear does help protect the art work and paints, but it will not be as durable as something powder coated. One thing you will learn is patience...waiting for paint and clear coats to dry and set for the next step is part of the game. You can not "re-invent the wheel" as far as this goes.
You will find out there is a lot more to airbrushing and painting than you think. It is a lot more involved than just spraying paint....
Prep work is just as important as learning your paints and airbrush. If you do not prep correctly, it will not matter how well you paint. Finishing your work with clears is also a very important step to learn and do properly. You can prep, paint correctly and then....bam....the clear screwed up....and now you are starting over....been there, done that, bought the t-shirt.....lollol
Be patient and take your time to learn all the steps and you will be fine. Everything takes time and practice. I have been airbrushing as a hobby for around six years now and I still consider myself a newbie....
Cheers
 
Welcome from another newbie! I too have been watching videos until my eyes bleed in search for info on doing it right. I use only acrylic paints and found that the videos from Createx helped me tremendously in understanding how to get the paint to stick to plastic. BTW, Createx has waterborne products that are made to stick to plastic, metal, and almost any other surface you can think of. I like the idea of having a system including primers that's made to work together so I don't have to worry about mixing and matching different types of paint. But in the end, even with all the videos I watched, practice and experience are what will make you good at it. Have fun!
 
Thanks guys/gals. Prep work is a mofo. I do try to take my time and Im getting better with that. But im not spraying a Cadillac either. I just want to experiment with tried n true methods and products and cut some of the simple mistakes. I hear ya wit the clear coat finish. At the end of the day, It's still just a coat of paint. But I guess that's what I'm looking for, the strongest, high gloss finish I can get. For protection and shine. On metallic & sometimes plastic surfaces. I really am not ready to get into powder coating, or even 2 part clear coats yet. I'm trying to learn sanding techniques and when to use them. Wet/dry/what grit... and so on. But i did just start spraying and making t-shirts for my kids is still a lot of fun. Thanx again. Starting a project in the morning/ hopefully finishing another. All info is good info at this point.
 
Welcome Sebastian! Sounds like your interests are in the same area as mine. I love Hotrod / Kustom painting and I’m also learning. The ideas of paint layers and clear coating isn’t as bad as it seems. Try using the search function on the forum, you’ll be amazed how many threads show up for a subject. If that doesn’t work then throw up a question and wait for the answers to come rolling in LOL.
 
Yeah man. I'll check it out. I'm deff liking the hotrod custom scene. one reason is because it's just a huge place to showcase your art. Also it's wildly expensive. So I would love to be able to spray my own wheels. But to me, art is art, so i dont care weather it's on a $200k dodge demon car hood, 5 dollar tshirt, in a custom frame in your house or on a dam bar napkin. I just dig color schemes, creativity and the ppl that have co-honies to show off what they can do... I have realised that no matter what lane your hobbies fall in... from mountain biking, music, paintballing, skateboarding, home remodeling, murals, to hot rod customs... airbrushing is deeply rooted in all of it. So, I'm here to learn and share what I can bro. Thanx
 
Hi Sebatian, welcome to our Fantastic forum. Folks already have you covered. I must also add there definitely is NO shortcuts when it comes to prep, it needs to be done properly for what ever surface your working on. Finishing/Clear is also something you need to do properly for a good quality lasting finish. Correct prep and finish need not be a total mofo if you get it right.
I have learned what I know from my friends some who have been in the automotive trade for many years and I suppose I am lucky I can call them if I need any help. It still doesn't make it any easier though. I'm still rubbish.

I was following a guy called Matt on youtube (I will post the link below) who did a pretty good job showing you how he does prep, primer, basecoat, filling, sanding, clearing, colour sanding, how to mix paints, clean sprayguns, what setup is used etc etc. Matt swears a lot so not child friendly but I enjoyed watching and learning. (your always still learning) The gunman is pretty good to watch too and he gives tips on how to do stuff. If you watch any of them I hope they help.

Matt @ Frankies Speedshop / Backstreet Customs

https://www.youtube.com/user/BackstreetCustoms/videos

The Gunman

https://www.youtube.com/user/MrZoeystevenson/videos

Enjoy your stay with us whilst on your airbrush/painting journey.

Lee
 
Thanks. I'm a YouTube junky. So I'll deff check them out. It's also "car week" on a few of my favorite cable t.v. channels. Watching these car enthusiasts buff out these beautiful works of art, that they found in a junk yard is amazing. As easy as they make it look is also pretty frustrating. Lol. But they do explain that these 30 minute episodes were shot over 3 months of work. So I get that nothing that awesome happens that fast and if it was that easy, everyone would do it. So I'm just trying to keep it simple, spraying a metal folding chair in my spare time today. Hope to put down a decent design. Nothing crazy. Some pin stripes maybe and some bright colors, who knows, just for fun. Then clear it. Just to start working with clear coat. I checked out the forum this morning and theirs so many works of art and pages of knowledge... it's an amazing find for anyone in my position. One piece of info I was looking for was if I could clear coat (1k) over water based paint. (Spectra-tex paint) most ppl said it's not going to give you a show room finish, lolzzz but, yeah, it will work go for it. So I'm going to. Being an electrician I have tons of $$$ wrapped up in tools. More then I should. But I do love them and they live me back too. however, I bought so much silly stuff my first year on the job, that I just don't need and I don't wanna do the same with this hobby. So I'm trying to use what I got right now. Paint, compressor and a gun. If I can learn the basic techniques that are needed and find it rewarding ... I'll upgrade... till then, im painting cheap crap I find laying in my yard. Thanx 4 all the info. This place rocks.
 
Spectra-Tex is an all purpose paint so you can use it on most surfaces and clearing over it isn't a problem. I've used it for years (as well as other paints) and it works no problem on what ever I've used it on. Just remember to prep the surface correctly to stop any issues.

Lee
 
Awesome. I figured as much. But honestly I'm soooooo, tired of making rookie mistakes. I mean... I now know 3 thousand 9 hundred and sixty seven things that you should NOT do while airbrushing and I'm sure I learn another one or 2 next Time I pick up my gun.
 
Awesome. I figured as much. But honestly I'm soooooo, tired of making rookie mistakes. I mean... I now know 3 thousand 9 hundred and sixty seven things that you should NOT do while airbrushing and I'm sure I learn another one or 2 next Time I pick up my gun.
Woohoo! You only have 1,576,354 more things to learn! :thumbsup:
 
Unfortunately learning to airbrush seems to be all about making the mistakes in my experience LOL. But each time you’ve learned a “what not to do” there was probably a “to do” to go with it. Keep plugging away and it starts to make sense.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Yeah, it's frustrating as all he77 bro. But I look at the projects that came out close to how I planned and I wanna get back at it immediately. I just love the effects, textures and vibrant colors that the airbrush spits out... it's definitely addicting. As in sure you know
 
Back
Top