Painting

[Nowater2shallow]

so i did it and bought an air brush a harbor freight special had a gift card so thought i would give it a try. i can not seem to get my paint right. i am using acrylic paint and mixing with distilled water, i was able to spray the white and green but could not get white to spray again. any ideas what the issue could be? and like i fool i took the brush apart thinking it needed cleaned and the trigger came out and can not figure how to put it back together yet hopping to find a YouTube video. does a gravity brush work better?

[rjfulks]

White acrylic is very clumpy and known to clog. Give detail white a try and thin with reducer. Also you can try putting a couple big split shot in your bottle and shake heavily

[Nowater2shallow]

found a video on how to put it back together and have to give it a try

[Bassin Dude 365]

I'm new like you to the airbrushing. One thing guys are telling me is that my paint is still too thick. I use createx paint and use a darn near 50/50 mix of paint to reducer. So for me, if I think its thinned right I need to add a bit more reducer. But, like stated I AM A TOTAL NEWBIE.

[brushsjigs]

What is your PSI? Solid white and black will be your 2 worst colors to spray for plugging. Pearls are a dream to spray

[JCWbassmaster]

I'm new like you to the airbrushing. One thing guys are telling me is that my paint is still too thick. I use createx paint and use a darn near 50/50 mix of paint to reducer. So for me, if I think its thinned right I need to add a bit more reducer. But, like stated I AM A TOTAL NEWBIE.

That seems excessive. What kind of reducer are you using? Also what is the temperature in the room? Below 50° room temp will cause clogs no matter how thin your paint is.

A few things I learned in the beginning:

Paint with the needle cap OFF and gently wipe excess off needle and nozzle cap with a paper towel (DO NOT DAMAGE NEEDLE POINT)
Keep PSI between 40 and 50 till you get a feel for it. (50 - White and Black / 40 - everything else)
Give a burst of air between strokes to blow out any buildup
Spray warm water through brush between colors and dab out any clumps with Qtips
Reduce with WARM water not cold
Never spray when shop temp is below 54°... its a PITA
Heat set between layers

[Sunkist]

A lot of trial and error will be experienced if you stay at it very long, but for starters ditch the water and use Wicked High Performance Reducer. Get yourself a little better paint than the craft paint as well.

[Nowater2shallow]

i got a different air bush coming so hopefully this weekend i can try again

[VanderLaan]

Thin to the consistency of skim milk. There is a thinner recipe on the web. A restaurant ketchup squeeze bottle is useful.
Play around with your PSI. I usually spray around 20 PSI. Sometimes as low as 10.
Forget using craft paint.
Gravity feed is easier than a suction set-up.
Be obsessive about cleaning your brush.
The HF brush is likely the main contributor to your problems.
Buy a big box of Q-tips. I burn through them.

[Nowater2shallow]

Is there a list of paint colors to start with for simple patterns

[VanderLaan]

Not really. Big bottle of white is useful. Black, yellow, red, orange, green and purple? Could mix most colors from those. Get some silver and a few pearls too. I usually buy a few bottles when I am at the hobby store. Easy way to increase your paint stash.