Some Airbrushing Advice Please For A Newb

[he man]

hi all, im new here, i am going to be doing the mr incredibe suit predator in the very near future so im just looking for some advice on what to be using when it comes to painting, im a long way off that stage obviously but its the only thing im not just sure about so,

when it comes to airbrushing the finer detailed parts like spots etc will i be mixing liquid latex with acrilic paint? or is there a special other paint that i would want to be using and is there a specific ratio of paint/latex that i would use? and do you just spray straight on to the latex or does it need priming of some kind? sorry if these are stupid questions but im new to all this. i will be following macguyvers tutorial "mega suit" but theres not much mention of painting in it

my names davy btw from not so sunny scotland here in the uk, hope you can help me, thanks

 

[carss66]

Hi davy,welcome to the lair.no expert but i use pros-aid(like glue)for the first coat on raw latex.then i use FW acrylic inks in light coats and build up the colours.after you finish painting,use liquitex gloss medium&varnish,3 coats to seal the paint.hope this helps,and more experts will jump in to help you.

 

[he man]

Hi davy,welcome to the lair.no expert but i use pros-aid(like glue)for the first coat on raw latex.then i use FW acrylic inks in light coats and build up the colours.after you finish painting,use liquitex gloss medium&varnish,3 coats to seal the paint.hope this helps,and more experts will jump in to help you.

thanks for the reply, so when your spraying on the ink your not mixing with anything?

 

[wonko]

Welcome to the lair Davy. I always mix my inks (FW acrylic) about 1 part 91%isopropyl alcohol to 3 parts ink. Allot of it depends on what your AB can handle (size of pigment particles). I was adding a few drops of pros-aide as well, but don't think it made much of a difference, and it made spraying more difficult. I've head of people tinting liquid latex, thinning it down, and using that, but have no experience with it so can't comment on it. One thing I will say...make sure and get a good quality AB (I use an Iwata Eclipse) if you don't already have one. I bought a few "cheaper" models at first, and they ended up being a waste of time and money. It's extremely frustrating to work with a POS airbrush, and can add hours onto a painting project. Hope this helps, and good luck with your project!

Brian

 

[he man]

Welcome to the lair Davy. I always mix my inks (FW acrylic) about 1 part 91%isopropyl alcohol to 3 parts ink. Allot of it depends on what your AB can handle (size of pigment particles). I was adding a few drops of pros-aide as well, but don't think it made much of a difference, and it made spraying more difficult. I've head of people tinting liquid latex, thinning it down, and using that, but have no experience with it so can't comment on it. One thing I will say...make sure and get a good quality AB (I use an Iwata Eclipse) if you don't already have one. I bought a few "cheaper" models at first, and they ended up being a waste of time and money. It's extremely frustrating to work with a POS airbrush, and can add hours onto a painting project. Hope this helps, and good luck with your project!

Brian

thanks brian, yeah i was planning the cheapo airbrush but will take your advice and go more expensive, i had a look at the iwata eclipse, they are a little out of my price range, is there a less expensive but as good one around? maybe i could buy used, im not planning on buying one just yet anyway as it will be a while before i get to that stage, thanks again, davy

 

[carss66]

just thin the ink and spray,as brian has said.not mixed with latex,as this would bugger your airbrush if left for a bit.all you need is a duel action airbrush for a noob to start with.i use a iwata custom micron,as i do art paintings.

 

[wonko]

Paasche make some decent quality mid priced AB's. Like carss66 said, get a duel action. As far as gravity or siphon, that's really a personal preference, but I do prefer the gravity fed. Also, skip the over priced hobby air compressors and look into a larger one from your local home improvement store. As long as it has a regulator and is capable of "dialing down" to 20-40 psi you'll be fine. A decent air line dryer is a good idea as well.

Brian

 

[made007]

I use normal acrilics, i mix until milk consistency

 

[he man]

thanks for the replys folks, i have another question on painting, this pros aid stuff that is used before painting, do you rub the stuff on then paint straight away or do you let it dry? thanks in advance, davy

 

[Magus10]

Good Tip's i wont lie, when i made my feet i spraypainted them right away (little bit of a bad move) did not use the Pro-Glue Tip i will do that on my next outfit .

 

[PredatorPrincess]

Has anyone tried liquitex inks before? Ive only used the liquitex basics on shirts before because their supposed to be flexible -worked fine- I dont know to much about them with latex.

 

[carss66]

brush pros aid on latex first and let dry(goes sticky)then paint.when done clear coat to seal paint.

 

[Effects Guy]

Nothing will bond better to latex than rubber cement paints. You do have to custom mix though.