Airbrushing can be daunting. It’s fiddly, you need the gear and you need to practice. But it can save time, effort and give great effect.
Benefits of using an Airbrush
The airbrush is a great tool for any miniature painter. It can really improve your mini painting game and get your army painted in no time!
With an airbrush you can:
- Prime your miniatures.
- Fine-tune your zenithal highlights
- Apply base coats quickly and smoothly?
- Make colour transitions a breeze
- Establish lights and shadows quickly
- Create effects like Object Source Lighting (OSL)
I started airbrushing so I could prime any time, irrespective of the weather. Winters in the UK are not exactly known for their sunshine, so it helps not to have to wait until spring before I can prime some miniatures.
What you need
When I started out, I thought I’d need 2 things only: an airbrush and a compressor.
However, there’s more to it so here is the complete list of everything I use:
- A Dual Action Gravity Airbrush (obviously!). At this point, any non-branded airbrush will do. You will upgrade to a mid-range one once you have a bit more practice. Just remember it has to be Dual Action and Gravity fed. This describes how the trigger operates. More on that later. The paint is fed through from the cup down to the needle by gravity.
- A compressor. The AS 186 model is the standard for mini painting. Any non-branded compressor of that model should be fine. You can get one with or without the air tank. I personally chose one with an air tank so that the motor isn’t always on when I spray. Make sure it includes, or you buy, the pipe to connect it to the airbrush!
- Airbrush cleaner to use at the end of each session.
- Spray pot to spray away any excess paint when finishing up/swapping colours out.
- Inexpensive brushes to mix paint, clean etc.
- Airbrush flow improver and airbrush thinner
- A squeeze bottle, similar to the ones you get for ketchup, or a tattoo artist bottle. Fill with water which you can squeeze into the cup to dilute paint and clean.
- A mask with filters. This one is important in my opinion! It’s true that acrylic paint is non toxic but better not breathe it in. Especially if you start experimenting with things like Enamels – you definitely don’t want that in your lungs!
- Gloves. I use Nitrile gloves, useful when working with things like Enamel paints, Isopropyl alcohol.
- Airbrushing station. Not essential and I personally do not have one because I do not have the space. But if I had, I would! Instead, I keep the windows open.
What if I want a better airbrush?
Badger Patriot 105 for the win! I had mine for many years and it’s an absolute workhorse. It’s inexpensive compared to other brands and a beast. With a 0.5mm nozzle you can blast that primer no problem!
The size of the nozzle makes it not ideal for detailed work, but you would use a fancier airbrush for such things. On the other hand, the bigger needle makes it harder to bend. Perfect for beginners!
What paint should I use?
The short answer is any! As long as the consistency is right, any paint goes.
To start, I recommend using normal paint so you can learn how to thin it (keep reading for tips below!).
Otherwise, you can use:
- Contrast paints
- Speed paints
- Air colour paint
- Inks
- Enamel paints
These are all great options which each have different uses/purposes so do experiment!
I noticed that Speed Paints dry on the tip of my airbrush very quickly so be mindful of that!
You can even use Varnishes and Enamel paints (pictured above). Vallejo Metal Color Airbrush Colours are great too!
So how do I use an airbrush?
There are 3 things to keep in mind. The compressor’s air pressure, how far you pull the trigger of the brush, and how thin your paints are.
Compressor’s air pressure
Generally, keep the pressure between 20 and 30 PSI. The thicker the paint, the higher the PSI. The correct pressure depends on how much control you need and how close to the miniature you want to spray.
If you are using primer, crank it to 30 and blast the mini from further away to cover it quickly.
If you need to be precise and/or only apply the paint on very small parts, then lower the pressure and bring the airbrush closer to the mini. It’ll give you more control.
Airbrush trigger
The airbrush that you’ll buy will be dual action. Firstly you can press the trigger to let air out, and release to stop spraying. However, when you only press the trigger, no paint will come out. That’s because there is a needle inside that doesn’t let the paint mix with the air.
To release the needle (and therefore paint), the trigger needs to be pulled backwards while it’s pressed. The more you pull the trigger, the more paint comes out.
Tip: Don’t pull the trigger all the way back otherwise you’ll have too much paint and will obscure the details of your miniatures.
The sequence of motion is:
- Push trigger – air comes out
- Pull the trigger – paint out
- Push the trigger forward again – stop the paint
- Release the trigger – stop air
The trick is to understand how much to pull, and that will require practice!
One more thing to keep in mind is to spray in short bursts. This way paint has time to dry and you can build layers of colours. One long burst will inundate the miniature. We don’t want that!
Aim!
It turns out that it is quite hard to aim with the airbrush! At the beginning I was spraying all the wrong parts. It was hard to make the paint land on the correct spot!
I don’t have a magic bullet for this one I’m afraid. My only advice is to start with something that doesn’t require much precision, and build up from there.
For instance, I started by priming a whole set of boardgame minis. Nothing fancy, just blast the whole thing. Then I started doing big model base coats, like my Colossal Squig. Then I tried undershading and then I did smaller and smaller details gradually.
How to thin your paint
Thinning paints is always a tricky one.
For primer, I do not thin it at all. I simply up the PSI on the compressor.
First of all, I thin my paints straight into the cup. Normal paint needs thinning, otherwise it won’t go anywhere. Personally I try to go for milk consistency. So a touch thicker than water. I can’t give you a ratio as that changes between colours and brands. Just practice and you’ll nail it in no time.
Quick Cleaning
This one is a bit of a faff but it’s necessary…
Switching between colours is the main obstacle when using the airbrush, so I’ll illustrate how I do it. It is also the main cleaning you’ll do. Once you can do that quickly you’ll be able to use your airbrush no problem.
- Pour leftover paint away. Spray any excess in the spray pot.
- Fill airbrush cup with water.
- Back flush the airbrush. To do this, hold a thumb or a piece of paper at the front to block any paint coming out. Then trigger the airflow and pull. The air won’t have anywhere to escape so it will “back flush” into the cup and bubbles will show.
- Pour away the dirty water.
- Repeat three times.
- Use paper to wipe away excess in the cup.
If you are at the end of the session, repeat the process once with airbrush cleaner.
Maintenance
Sometimes the airbrush will clog. If no paint is coming out, then you probably have a blockage.
If that happens you’ll need to clean the tip. Generally, a regular maintenance routine will save you from any issues during a painting session!
I have created a little diagram so you can follow the instructions below.
Clean the nozzle
Cleaning the nozzle is fairly straightforward. Unscrew the air cap and the nozzle should come out. I then dunk it in a cup with airbrush cleaner for a few hours to a day. Then I use a nozzle needle to clean up inside the nozzle and scrape any gunk that might have built up.
Clean the needle
For the needle you have to unscrew the needle chucking nut from the back. Then pull the needle carefully.
You want to be very careful with this one! If the needle bends it’ll be unusable so you’ll have to buy a new one.
Once the needle is out, dab some paper with airbrush cleaner and remove any build-up of paint. Slowly insert the needle back and push all the way. Screw the nut back in place and you’re done!
Clean the body
Sometimes it’s worth cleaning up the whole airbrush. All that you have to do is to take it apart fully and leave it overnight in a jar with airbrush cleaner.
Then use a needle tool and needle brushes to clean up the inside. Scrape away any build up of paint and then reassemble. Done!
Ultimate airbrush guide – Conclusions
This is all the knowledge I have about airbrushing. We’ve looked at many things:
- All the benefits of airbrushing.
- What tools you need.
- How to use an airbrush.
- What paints you need and how to thin them.
- Cleaning and maintenance.
Have I missed anything? If there is something I should add to this guide let me know in the comments! Would love to hear new tips and tricks!
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