Spray Paint Advice, Please

[Sailorman]

There is a world of difference between an airbrush and a rattle-can.  The former allows some very fine work .... the rattle can covers wide areas.  You might find it difficult to paint a small aircraft in a camouflage pattern using a rattle can.   

Some people are phenominal when it comes to airbrushing ...... I find I can just about manage to get a decent finish on my ships  .... which suits me fine.  I have used rattle cans successfully on subjects such as the Saturn V.  I also find rattle cans ideal for applying primer.  So really there is room for both in model making.

Don't be put off by all the talk about airbrushing.  Try it out on a couple of test-models first. I'm sure that after airbrushing a plane or two you'll begin to wonder how you did without!

[Ratch]

I poked through the thread about getting one's first airbrush and find myself even more confused than before reading it.   😳  I'm totally unfamiliar with airbrushing but would like to try spray-painting instead of brushing.  In the thread there were a lot of warnings about the steep learning curve, though.  Since I'm not quite ready to sell my soul to learn yet another new skill, would I be better off trying rattle cans?  And how much paint do you get in them?  Does a can cover as much plane as an equivalent-priced tinlet of paint?

[Ratch]

The spray can is a blunt instrument that will run out at the most inconvenient of times 🫨

[Uncle Pete]

Target?  Sorry, Ratch, I don't follow you.  (Thanks for shifting me to the right subforum, by the way... Sorry 'bout that).

 

Pat... Not sure I'd want to try anything fine, I can use a brush for that.  My missus had a spray tan airbrush kit that I tried pressing into use but it was as much good as a chocolate teapot... Wouldn't even spray water (and it's now in a landfill somewhere in South London).  I have to confess to a certain amount of fear of new things! 😳

[Ratch]

 Pete, you will not be able to do any refined work with a spray can and it will run out when you're half way through doing something. You can get a cheap clone airbrush and an inexpensive compressor and you won't look back. What you buy first may not be ideal, but you can get the feel for it. I was lucky in that I learned to spray at work (in a toy factory), but that was with big Devilbis and Pasche guns. Going down to modelling I've had at least six airbrushes, and currently use two. I use Vallejo Model Air (no thinning required) and cleaning takes just a few minutes. I spray at the lowest pressure possible (this may vary depending upon the paint or ambient conditions) and can get down to quite a fine line. Spray cans just blast the paint on and are barely controllable beyond on or off.

[Uncle Pete]

Thanks, Ratch... Looks like I'll be making a list for Santa Claus.

[peebeep]

My first airbrush was a cheapish double action thing marketed by Humbrol and a compressor ripped out of a fridge we were dumping. I had grown tired of trying to get good metal finishes paint brushing and as for white, reds, yellow etc, endless re-coating - bleurgh! The setup was not ideal, but the difference it made was quantum for me. Eventually I bought a top brand airbrush and compressor with reservoir, you can't beat having proper equipment. I'd recommend going for one of the deals you can get on ebay for a compressor with a couple of airbrushes thrown in. Type AS186 into the search engine and you should find one for £70-£80. Best airbrush to look for is double action with top cup gravity feed. Learning curve is nothing to worry about, I think it's one of those things airbrush users like to brag about 'It's really hard', well actually it's not. For sure there are some techniques that take a little mastering, but basic airbrushing is very straightforward, but be aware you will also need to learn about effective masking. If you need advice ask on a forum like this one and there's dozens of tutorials you'll find on Youtube. Once you're up and running you'll probably want to upgrade to a branded airbrush rather than the clones supplied with a compressor deal, but the compressor should be good for many years use.

[Uncle Pete]

Thanks, Paul.  I've clocked a couple in the price range you mention.  It's now a matter of getting the nerve to jump in the pool.  As far as getting help is concerned, I've been drawing from this and other wells along with YouTube tutorials since I started this summer.  I can confidently say, everything I know about modelling beyond "locate and cement" has been learned from lads like yourself on threads like these.  Now to apply it enough to break the 1.5 metre veiwing range limit...