New to the art of airbrush

beginner-James

Mac-Valve Maestro!
Hi my main goal is to help my wife get started air brushing.
My wife currently makes cards for friends and family and sell some for charity. Her birthday is coming up soon so I thought I would buy her a compressor and a air brush to start her off. I have just ordered her some wicked pearl paint this paint will be mainly used for spraying text on card to start with.

I have a cnc machine of which I'm going to cut her stencils with also text and different fonts (drag knife).

I have ordered and cleaning bottle, Thinners, and a Silverline airbrush and brush cleaner .I would like to know if I need anything else or need different equipment as most of the items can be returned (Amazon)

beginnerJames
 
Hi there, welcome from New Zealand. Check out this video - useful compressor buying info...

Might be useful to pop along to the intro section and say Hi. What part of the world are you in? What sort of experience does you (and/or your wife) have in airbrushing...? There is heaps of info here - the youtube channel and the airbrushtutor site is great for beginners.
 
You've already ordered thinners ? so does this mean you will be using enamels/urethanes ?
I'd discourage the use of thinners, urethanes etc,unless you plan on providing a respirator for every living being within the vicinity of the spray.

Check out some more user friendly paint like com-art / golden high flow
 
I imagine by thinner you mean 4012 reducer for the wicked pearl?
I think for doing cards most compressors would be adequate...except the ones that look like fish tank pumps.
Sounds like you're good to go as far as starter kit.

A very cheap and neat little novelty you could include would be to check out ebay for airbrushed postcards, it seems to be one of the most popular earliest uses for AB as you'll find tons of them from around the 1910's....If you could find one with a subject or place applicable to her it might be a fun thing to add to the package for $5-10
 
Also , I hope you got her the silverline 2 in 1 because wicked pearl is not gonna spray from a .2 nozzle


My bad, i didnt see where he mentioned the Wicked Pearl, and yes, The .4 would be the needle for the Pearl
 
Morning all I've taken you advice Jack and ordered com-art / golden high flow pack of ten starter set. I've also ordered a inline "maxi valve" I think that's what you call it with a quick realise.
with this ink what is the thinning agent and airbrush cleaner I require, will I need a retarder for the ink. Thinking of making a spray booth to mount on wife's desk but I haven't found the right inspiration yet.
 
GOLDEN Airbrush Medium is the manufacturer recommended product for the Golden high flow.
I know @markjthomson uses Golden so he will be better able to advise on the product he finds most suitable for the airbrush he uses.

as for Com-Art if you are using a .2 - .3 nozzles you should be able to spray straight out of the bottle at about 13 PSI. You can reduce with water but dont go more than 50/50 as the paint will start to break down. Com-art do a 'Medium' which is like a transparent base (colourless paint) so you can get your paint more transparent but not breakdown the binder in it.

What you have is a MAC valve (Micro Air Control) with a quick release. very handy for making air adjustments

The com-art and golden arent inks, they are acrylics. you shouldnt need a retarder for your paint, we dont know where on the globe you live as you still havent done an introduction. !
http://www.airbrushforum.org/introductions/

:)
 
Love golden, great product! The "airbrush medium" is specifically for talking the Golden Fluid and making it suitable for airbrushing.

The Golden High Flow is airbrush specific. I reduce it with water or most commonly the transparent base. Airbrush cleaner, water... and a soft brush. I occasionally use some acetone for a heavy clean.

Even in summer I don't bother with a retarder. Being water based it doesn't really dry that fast. Retarders are generally for two pack or solvent set products.

Quick technical note... a "Thinner" is added by the manufacturer during the paint making process. A "Reducer" is added by the end user to get the correct viscosity. They are often very different things. For example, the thinner in a water based paint is not water... but the reducer is! :)
 
Back
Top