Airbrushing

Airbrushing is often used in modeling as a technique to achieve a more realistic finish over other forms of painting. Brush painting requires lots of patience and skill to come out properly, and spray painting, while effective, wastes a lot of paint and is limited as to what colors are available. However, virtually every railroad-related color is available in a bottle of paint which can be used in an airbrush. While I do not claim to be an expert in airbrushing, I will share a few tips and tricks that I have learned about this technique.

To start out, airbrushing is expensive. A good brush can cost $60 or more, and it needs a compressor to operate it, which can be several hundred dollars. Airbrush tips, which change the way the paint comes out of the brush, are not expensive but do add up quickly. However, there are ways to get around the high cost. If you are just starting out with airbrushing, get a cheap airbrush, possibly a used one. I got a used Badger single-action brush for $20. There is nothing wrong with it, it is just old. I have not tried airbrushes from other manufacturers, but I have been told that Badger makes the best brushes. I also do not know what the difference between single-action and dual-action is, but again I have been told to start with a single-action brush. Dual-action produces better results, but is harder to use so it is better to learn with a single-action brush.

The next problem is a compressor. If you get a compressor for airbrushing, you are going to spend a lot more money than you want to. The trick here is to go to your local hardware store and get a compressor for regular air tools, or if you already have one, then great. A small compressor (I use my younger brother's compressor, it is a 100psi, 2 gallon tank) will cost a lot less than a much smaller one for airbrushing. I spent about $5 in brass fittings to be able to connect the small airbrush hose to the much bigger compressor hose. The compressor has a regulator on it so I can put only 30psi through the hose instead of the full 100psi. If your compressor doesn't have a regulator, you can probably get one as an attachment at your hardware store. I never run more than 30psi through my airbrush.

For paints, I use paint by Polly Scale. It is an acrylic paint made specifically for model railroading, so they have colors such as "Railroad Tie Brown" and "Boston & Maine Blue". It is easy to find color matches when the colors are labeled properly! I use acrylic paint because it is easier to clean then enamel paints. Acrylic paints are water based, which makes cleaning the brush easier. I'll get into that later on. However, acrylic paints also come off easier, so when you use them it is always a good idea to spray a clear coat or a dullcoat on the model afterwards to help seal everything in. Most paints should be thinned before putting through an airbrush. Check the bottle to see what the ratio is, but it's usually 75% paint to 25% thinner. For weathering or for lighter coats, you should go heavier on the thinner though. I use isopropyl alcohol as a thinner for acrylic paints instead of water, the alcohol works just as well and it helps the paint to dry faster.

After painting and between colors, you should always clean your brush. I cannot stress enough how important this is. If the paint dries inside the brush, you have basically ruined it. To clean the brush, I fill a jar with paint thinner and spray all of it out the brush. I also wash all the jars I have used, unless there is still a usable amount of paint in them, in which case I put a lid on the jar so the paint doesn't dry out. This is where acrylic paints come in handy. Paint thinner is water, which is basically free. For enamel paints, you need to buy paint thinner...just to shoot it out of the airbrush.

Airbrush jars are cheap. Most airbrushes come with one or two, but you can get more at your local craft store. They screw into the airbrush so there is paint to use in the brush. You cannot just screw the paint bottle into the airbrush. Jars are universal, they can fit on any airbrush. If your airbrush is not gravity fed, make sure you get the right size jars. If a jar is too deep, the hose that sucks the paint out will not reach the paint at the bottom of the jar, and if the jar is too shallow then the hose will be too long and the jar won't reach the brush. I use 3/4 ounce jars. 2 pounce jars are also available, but they are wider, and because of where the air hose is on my airbrush, the 2 ounce jars won't fit. I would use those for colors I use a lot, so I can mix them and save them for later instead of mixing them each time. That is the other great thing about jars. If you mix your own paint color but don't use all of it, you can simply keep it in that jar for the next time you need it and you know you get a perfect match.

Airbrushing can sound intimidating at first. However, if you follow these tips, it will be a lot simpler. Really, it is a lot like spray painting, but better. There are a lot more railroad specific colors available and they are just a lot more versatile. I have been very pleased with the way my airbrushed models have turned out, and I'm only getting started!