Referance material for new toy

[stripes]

A friend that wanted to get into painting custom motorcycles decided not to. So he gave me his equipment. Now I need to find tutorials, videos, etc..
on how to use the stuff! I have never used an airbrush, so am a total newbie Here is what he sent!

Anyone know any good links?
Thanks

 

[nachoman]

I can't provide links, but I can provide a few quick tips: First, don't mess with the double-action brush as a beginner. The sindle action is probably all you will ever need for a MR application. The double action is great, but not necissary. Second, you are gonna need an air compressor. Third, If you live someplace cold, you are going to need a ventilated spray booth so that you can paint inside during the winter. If you are really handy you can build your own.

An airbrush is a useful and almost necissary tool for this hobby. I hope you have fun with it.

Kevin

 

[stripes]

Thanks Kevin, I have a compressor that I used with my nailing gun, It is very cold here, -22c today. I was thinking of mostly using acrlylics because of venting issues. Also I assume that would only need water clean up?

 

[nachoman]

Acrylics wok okay, but can tend to "clog the works" and are difficult to clean out. Always thin acrylic paints - some people use water, some people use alcohol. And if the acrylic paint has been in an opened bottle for awhile, you may want to strain it before putting it through the airbrush. Tiny dried particles that fell from the sides or the lid of the jar can cause headaches with an airbrush. You can use acrylics okay indoors, and it is no worse than painting the wals of a room. It may stink, but I don't think the vapors are especially harmful. If you are going to be doing a lot of painting indoors, I'd still invest in a spray booth, if only to keep the stink down.

Kevin

 

[rogerw]

It is very cold here, -22c today.

Thanks stripes Im starting to feel warmer all ready here in Kansas +7f:mrgreen:

 

[Russ Bellinis]

Build a spray booth if you are spraying indoors. The fumes of acrylics are not as toxic as solvent based paints, but are probably still not the best thing to breath.

I only have a single action air brush, so I can't help you with advice on using the double action brush, but Dr Wayne gave Cred a nice tutorial on how to learn to use one on cardboard. It is post #20 in the thread titled "Finally, my DMIR Yellowstone arrived" in the general forum.

 

[doctorwayne]

Wow! Nice gift. :thumb::thumb: Your VL is the same as the one that I've been using for the past 30 years or so: did your friend not give you the literature that came with the airbrushes? I can scan what I got with mine, if you'd like.

I learned to airbrush using this model, and if you know nothing else about airbrushes that might prejudice your opinions, there's no reason why you can't learn on it too. The only difference between your two models is the swivel connection on the VLS.

I learned to paint using lacquer-based paints like Floquil, but these will also spray acrylics. As Kevin notes, though, acrylics tend to clog-up the tip more and I find clean-up to be much more time-consuming. Surprisingly, spraying acrylics at a lower pressure seemed to produce less clogging, but clean-up is still a pain.
By all means, buy or build a spray booth, and vent it to the outdoors. None of these vapours are good for you and the smell and dust is not something that you'll want in the house. Also, even with a spray booth, buy a good quality two-stage respirator and use it properly.

Wayne