Priming with an Airbrush

[Rich-Rich]

Hi, i am new to the forum and still fairly new to miniatures painting so therefore, unfortunately, still very very slow. I want to try and speed things up a bit because i am painting with the aim of war gaming with my figures. At the rate i am going it's going to be another 3 years before i get my first game, it just wont do. Because i am war gaming with the figures they do not need to be painted to the same standard a lot of you guys paint too (just as well really otherwise i would be a very disappointed man indeed) so they only really need to look alright from arm's length. I find as i do more figures the standard of painting is improving quite a lot but unfortunately the speed is not increasing at the same rate.

With this in mind i am thinking about purchasing an airbrush to do the priming with. I find the priming to be quite a time consuming job, and also quite a tedious one as well. I was thinking of purchasing an airbrush to speed the job up a bit. I have previously been told that it is not very cost effective to purchase an airbrush just to primer with it but that is not really a consideration for me, it just has to be quicker. The other thing is i live in quite a small apartment so i do my painting in my living room on a table by the window. Therefore i was wondering about two things: first of all is an airbrush a good and speedy way to apply primer; secondly, does it create a lot of spray when you airbrush? I could afford to buy one of those box like spray booths and put the extraction hose out of the window. Obviously i need to worry about getting a lot of spray vapours in my living space and need to know if airbrushes create a lot of spray, afterall it is small amounts of paint that is being applied. If so are those small spray booths up to the job?

If anyone has experience using an airbrush indoors any input woul be much appreciated. Thank you and great site, i have only just discovered it and i think it's brilliant.

[Francesco Giova]

I have to use an airbrush indoor and must admit that spray vapors are an issue. I found a huge trasparent bag (which I think was covering a 52-some TV !) and put the object to be sprayed inside. This reduces vapors somehow, but still some of them come out anyway.
Spray booths are effective but costly
If you need to prime, airbrush is not convenient. Try a spray can instead. Move outside, go to a park or countryside, bring with you some hundreds figs and a can and prime a whole army

[Marshall Nay]

If you have a shop vac. you might try my solution for an inexpensive spray booth.

I built a simple hood out of corrugated plastic (cardboard would work, but I already had the plastic) and wide tape, and attached the hose of my shop vac. to the back of the booth. And I attached a hose to the exhaust vent and ran that out a window.
Works pretty well, and my only cost was a roll of tape.

[Ben Bob]

I suggest something along the lines of what Francesco is saying.
I have recently started using the Tamiya, spray-can surface primer. All I need is to step outside for a moment. After that I bring it back inside, the smell only last for a few minutes, especially if it is in a warm place.

[Rich-Rich]

I'm not totally sold on the idea of priming with a spray can because i don't want to lose too much detail which may a problem with a spray can. I can afford to buy one of those spray boothes but didn't know how effective they were. i find with a a paint brush i can control how much primer gets applied very well and i was hpoin to achieve the same results with a airbrush if i can control the spray and not get it all in the room. i don't want to invest in an airbrush, compressor and spray booth only to find the latter isn't up to the job.

[deon]

You're more likely to have problems with an airbrush.
1 You will need to thin your paint, too much and the base will show through, too little and the airbrush will spatter and clog
2 the paint may build up quickly or spatter, hiding the detail
3 You have to clean airbrushes often and thoroughly ( that takes time!)

With a normal automotive spray
1 Comes specially formulated to cover plastic or metal
2 spatter occurs at the beginning and end of pressing the button, so start spraying off the figures, keep the button down while spraying the line and release the button off the figures


I have both an airbrush and many spray cans, been using them for 30 years.
I use spray can to prime and occasionally an airbrush for main colours of uniform.
For spray cans you really should wear a mask and work out doors or in garage / shed
Airbrushes and booths are fine for indoors, there will still be a smell, you should still wear a mask!
Good luck

[Marshall Nay]

As Deon said, you'll probaly need to thin your primer a little to use with an airbrush. And thinned paint films don't make as strong a bond as full strength films. And the whole point of the primer is to get the strongest possible bond between the plastic figure and subsequent paint film to prevent chipping and flaking problems.

Tamiya makes a FINE White Surface Primer that has a finer mist and smaller pigment particles so there's very little loss of detail. It's more expensive than most other primers, and has a solvent base so it's not good for indoor use. But it will give you the thin coating that you want, but with a stronger film than you'd get with an airbrush. I've also found that if I lightly shake the can from side to side as I spray, it makes an even finer spray mist.

[Fenton]

I used airbrushes for various uses , but have never primed , with all the sprays available these days I dont think its worth getting it out for spraying a few figures...I would use it for tanks etc though