Choosing Airbrush Paint

Alright you got your compressor, you picked out your airbrush, but wait there is something missing....paint.  Depending what you going to paint pretty much dictates what you going to use.  If your planning on painting T-shits, than you will need a good textile paint.  If you going to paint a sign, a durable enamel will do.  A custom vehicle, automotive paint you will need.  Now I started out with  One Shot which is a sign painter and pin striping paint.  It had great flow and was relatively inexpensive, we're talking thirty years ago.  It is a solvent based paint and you need a well ventilated area and should wear a industry approved paint mask.  I was concerned about the health risk using this kind of paint. In the early 90's I switched to the new water based enamels. I loved them! I enjoyed painting so much more. Easy to use, easy to clean up, and much less clogging. I started with a brand called Deka. It had a great flow and worked well with free handing. I used it for about ten years until it was discontinued.  I was upset over this and I had to find to a suitable replacement.  I tried Auto Air from Createx which I could buy locally.  I was not happy with the flow of the paint.  Then Createx came out with Detail Colors as part of their automotive line. It was a new formula, and it had a great flow, I was a happy camper again.

Createx has since discontinued the Detail Colors line and they incorporated the new formula into their standard Auto Air line.

Begining to airbrush.

Image via Wikipedia

When you first pick up an airbrush it feels a little different then what you are use to, as with a pen or pencil. With a single action airbrush you will use it more like a spray gun to paint small areas like model cars and such.  But with a double action you can use it like a pen and spray gun.  This is the power of a double action airbrush.  For the novice it will take some time getting use to the trigger action.  Pushing down for airflow control and pulling back for paint volume. Now you can start by painting dots of various sizes and placing them at equal distances.  Making dots smaller you will learn about volume control. You will probably splatter a few but that's alright you need just to get use to trigger. Next you can start to arc your spray pattern to get a shaded effect. Move the airbrush close to the surface to get a sharp line and pull away and pull back on the lever to to widen to a shaded effect. A slight flick of the wrist will go a long way here.  Once you feel comfortable with the triggering action of your airbrush you are ready to paint something simple.