Greetings!

[Mateo]

I am Mateo from Truckee, CA. I am entering the world of airbrushing as part of my business making artistic acoustical room treatments. I have an hobby airbrush that I used as a child, but am now seeking to invest in the proper airbrush for my desired applications.

My first question for this forum is:
How can I attain the smallest paint droplet diameter size possible upon my work? I wish to paint upon acoustical fabric, which requires maximal air flow through the fabric to retain its functionality. Thus the paint must not clog pores in the fabric.

I wish to understand the best approach to minimize paint droplet size (airbrush model, tip size, paint type, etc)

Any insights are much appreciated!

 

[JackEb]

Welcome from Australia.
The only way you could maintain airflow is by using ink, which would absorb into the fabric. Any paint will sit on top and block airflow. Ink will wick/bleed so any detail would be difficult if not impossible.

 

[basepaint]

Welcome to the forum Mateo, most textile paint will fill the fabric if to much paint is applied to get the effectiveness of the color, You might try using some of the airbrush ready inks or dyes as that will soak into the fibers and not fill the holes in the fabric,

 

[Mateo]

Thank you for those valuable insights regarding paints vs ink/dye. I will explore inks and dyes. Do you have any further suggestion on which specific ink/dye might prove most effective? Also would you suggest a specific airbrush model and/or tip size for this objective? I haven't invested in equipment yet for this purpose but am hoping to soon. Thanks again!

 

[JackEb]

Is the fabric organic or synthetic? Synthetic won’t take ink/dye well
How much detail are you hoping to attain?
Can you show us an image you want to use and what sort of size it will be ...

 

[JackEb]

A search on google re acoustic panels has revealed that painting them is possible, just go lightly with the paint, which makes sense.
You don’t want a shiney paint either.

Are you doing acoustic panels for the walls or speaker covers - makes no difference, I’m just being nosy

 

[Mateo]

The fabric is synthetic (Guilford of Maine Sona acoustical fabric).

I am not seeking fine detail, only stenciled background coloring/designs on 2ftx2ft or 2ft x 4ft panels.

I have no pics at this time as it is only yet formed in my mind

 

[Mateo]

And the panels are for walls only at this point. Perhaps speaker covers in the future too!

 

[markjthomson]

Welcome from New Zealand

 

[SiRoxx]

Welcome Mateo! I can see there’s already some help from Jacki. Do you have a rough size for the images you want to put on the speakers? From the sounds of it you won’t be needing any super fine detail at this point which is a great place to start.
A good all round Airbrush that’s often recommended here is the Eclipse Range from Iwata. They are pretty user friendly for beginners, don’t break the bank but are great quality brushes that you’ll never grow out of. A lot of Pro Graphic painters have an Eclipse in their stable of brushes. They can be used to shoot all kinds of different paints, inks and pretty much anything else that’s suitable to run through an airbrush. If you decide that the price is too high, the. There are some further recommendations, but I would definitely look at these first.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Mr.Micron]

Welcome Home Mateo
Dyes would more then likely be your best option, Mainly you will end up buying a few different dyes or inks to see what works best.
when you say acoustical fabric are you talking about use in a recording studio or in car audio? Car audio the paint will not effect sound clarity but may lower the SPL by about 1 to 2% which is not must unless you are competition for straight SPL.

 

[Mateo]

Thank you all for your replies and insights.

Yes, the acoustical fabric will be used in indoor applications (homes, public spaces like restaurants, and possibly recording studios), not cars.

Since I will be airbrushing on polyester fabric, and will be seeking the smallest pigment particle size, I hope to obtain the most color saturation with the minimal amount of color medium, yet will also bind well to the polyester. I will explore dyes and inks for this. Any further recommendation for specific dye/ink brands or formulas?

Thanks again!

 

[Franc Kaiser]

Welcome to the forum from China!

 

[Mateo]

Hello again! During my search for an airbrush I found an opportunity to buy an almost-new Iwata HP BC2 for $200. After a bit of research this seems an excellent quality option, but I wish to know if anybody has further opinions on this model being a suitable choice for my desired applications, and for a relative beginner like me. I welcome and appreciate any further insights. Thank you!

 

[Sali]

Welcome aboard.