SPA Modeler

Picked up a compressor on Thursday.
24l tank (about 5 gal) It is a bit noisy but only takes 75 sec to fill up.
The one stopcock leaks but think I will remove it and fit a quick disconnect in its place.

Had my first test spray run yesterday.
Found I could spray Tamiya acrylic out of the bottle @ 30psi.
It didn't feel as smooth as I am used to with a full size gun and lacquer so will try thinning a bit.

Can I paint the small parts and then glue? Bits like the cockpit would be hard to paint once assembled.

Phil

First of all congrats to the new equipment!

First of all I never have heard anybody to spray Tamiya or any other brand of colour straight out of the bottle. Tamiya, Gunze, Revell and many others need to be thinned when being airbrushed. Others, as Alclad, are ready to be shot through an airbrush. So I would recommend to read the respective brands instructions here.

30psi is hell of a pressure... I usually set my compressor to 12psi at the max, most times to around 10psi, when working with Gunze, Tamiya, or other acrylics. I guess with such a strong pressure as 30psi or more one could easily spray raw oil out of the barrel...

Try a lower setting according to the paint manufacturers recommendations. You will have much more control on your work with less "power" and the paint thinned correctly.

On your question on how to paint and build a cockpit, for example, the answer is: it depends. I usually try to assemble as many parts as possible before adding any paint. But I also spray some paints before adding them to a build. Depends on the different colours, ease of assembly or access. I use Maskol to protect surfaces to be glued from paint.

I agree with Thomas on this one. Spray at 10-15 psi. With enough pressure, you could spray peanut butter!

Being somewhat forgetful, I have sprayed Tamiya acrylics straight out of the bottle and had a pretty good result. Dumb luck, I guess.....

Thanks for the replies.
Yes I did stir before adding to the AB.
Nozzle is 0.3mm. Got 0.2 and 0.5 as well in the kit
Anyway just tried again @10psi and thinned.
Much better flow and a more even coat.
Fixed the small leak on the stopcock as well.
Now need to make a lazy susan thingy so I can get to all sides of the parts.
Thanks again
Phil

For the spinny thingy - hit the local housewares departmen at the store. They usually have something.

Im an impatient lazy airbrusher, my compressor is set to 30psi and i spray everything from heavily thinned tamiya, to raw tamiya out of a 0.3mm nozzle. Its how i learned and how i get my best results.
However, in saying that thats the setting on the pressure regulator on the compressor, so what hits the airbrush may be significantly lower since i have about 5 meters of hose and a water trap in between.

I spray at around 25psi with good results. But I think a lot of it depends on the paint, the compressor and what you're trying to paint.

For my metric brain that is over 1.7 bar.

Mottling and fine details I do with around 0.8 bar, primer and clear coat I throw on with up to 1.4 bar. That's my personal max.
I mostly use Mr. Hobby Aqueous and Vallejo Air paints.

But I usually work with a small distance to the model surface, maybe you are standing a few feet away from your bench?
No, serious, what kind of needle (diameter) do you use and what's your technique? I'm curious...