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Getting close to finishing my first complete rc body.
First, a thank you to those who recommended the createx paints. They are locally available, and affordable. So far they seem fairly easy to work with. I have used them in both sizes of needle/tip combos. Straight out of the bottle, and with varying amounts of reducer, with good results.
Don't discount your previous experience! Use of color, proper design and layout, and many other skills will directly transfer over to this medium.
If you can make worthwhile creations with a rattlecan...you can use an airbrush. There are some differences. Airbrushing, particularly on the inside of an rc body is a sloooowwwww process by comparison.
This image here is painted with spray cans on a ceiling tile. Start to finish is under half an hour. No masking tape was harmed in its creation. Everything moves with a speed and rhythm that makes the creative process more fluid. When approaching airbrushing the spray patterns and infinite level of control will be super easy to adjust to as the are very similar, one is just smaller and more precise.
If the world thinks you are kind of cocky and arrogant ....good! Art required balls ...big ones. You need to be willing to take chances in ruining things, having stuff not turn out how you planned, and ultimately show it to someone else...maybe even the whole world via the internet and take whatever critics will throw your way. The only time being humble will help you in this process is when masking. Get real humble masking. 2nd and 3rd guess everything, rip of all the tape and start over. After the masking is done bring whatever confidence you have to the table. Once paint is flowing, being timid and unsure will achieve poor results. Having tattooed for many years professionally, and achieved a level of confidence that I can freehand with sharpie, and make it permanent on skin with 6 of your drunk friends and you watching...smashing paint on a wall or canvas or rc body does not come with a ton of stress. The stress is in the slow pace that it occurs. Mask, spray, literally watch paint dry.....mask, spray, wait and watch again, and again, and again. The ultimate solution is going to be to paint like 5 at a time, so I can mask and spray with more continuous activity.
A question I have seen a lot, that no one so far wants answer....can I do something worthwhile with an airbrush that doesn't say paasche, or Badger, or whatever other name I will pay an extra 100 bucks for? Yes...yes you can. I am running the black widow from harbor freight, that I used a coupon for to make it even cheaper and getting some good results. It's gravity feed, easy to disassemble and maintain, and as long as you keep it clean/adjusted for the application has been doing an excellent job.
I'm running my automotive compressor. It's 20gal tank, and 50ft of flexible line before the std airbrush hose. It's regged out at 30psi, there is some loss over distance if not running hard line from the tank. I expect pressure at the airbrush is probably between 25 and 27 psi which has not caused me any problems so far.
I decided on a different approach to this, and have watched zero YouTube videos on airbrushing atm. I figure the time for that will if I have a problem, or techninique I can't sort out I will look those up. For now, I did the craziest thing and read the owners manual to get started. The one it comes with is pretty straight forward and answers question directly related to the piece of equipment I am holding....neat.
This was the first project I took on.
Throwing some heat colors on the headers for my sprint car. If you are just getting started this is an ideal project. It's small, relatively simple, on the outside of an object. Inside an rc body is a terrible first project. It awkward, the hose interferes with hand position trying to reach things at the correct angle, the color progression is backwards, and if you do lettering you will also need to mirror it. Get comfortable with your equipment first before adding all this bs in the mix.
I have white and black left to spray before I am calling it done. I have taken some progress picks, and have decided not post any of those before the finished product is done. As long as I have time, I am guessing tomorrow night...at the latest Wednesday morning. I want give the paint time to dry long enough I can pull the outside protective layer, and have at least resting on the car.
In conclusion airbrushing is fun. If you are considering it....do it. Major downsides....the paints don't smell as fresh and delicious as rattlecan full of solvent based color....if I can get over that so can you
First, a thank you to those who recommended the createx paints. They are locally available, and affordable. So far they seem fairly easy to work with. I have used them in both sizes of needle/tip combos. Straight out of the bottle, and with varying amounts of reducer, with good results.
Don't discount your previous experience! Use of color, proper design and layout, and many other skills will directly transfer over to this medium.
If you can make worthwhile creations with a rattlecan...you can use an airbrush. There are some differences. Airbrushing, particularly on the inside of an rc body is a sloooowwwww process by comparison.
This image here is painted with spray cans on a ceiling tile. Start to finish is under half an hour. No masking tape was harmed in its creation. Everything moves with a speed and rhythm that makes the creative process more fluid. When approaching airbrushing the spray patterns and infinite level of control will be super easy to adjust to as the are very similar, one is just smaller and more precise.
If the world thinks you are kind of cocky and arrogant ....good! Art required balls ...big ones. You need to be willing to take chances in ruining things, having stuff not turn out how you planned, and ultimately show it to someone else...maybe even the whole world via the internet and take whatever critics will throw your way. The only time being humble will help you in this process is when masking. Get real humble masking. 2nd and 3rd guess everything, rip of all the tape and start over. After the masking is done bring whatever confidence you have to the table. Once paint is flowing, being timid and unsure will achieve poor results. Having tattooed for many years professionally, and achieved a level of confidence that I can freehand with sharpie, and make it permanent on skin with 6 of your drunk friends and you watching...smashing paint on a wall or canvas or rc body does not come with a ton of stress. The stress is in the slow pace that it occurs. Mask, spray, literally watch paint dry.....mask, spray, wait and watch again, and again, and again. The ultimate solution is going to be to paint like 5 at a time, so I can mask and spray with more continuous activity.
A question I have seen a lot, that no one so far wants answer....can I do something worthwhile with an airbrush that doesn't say paasche, or Badger, or whatever other name I will pay an extra 100 bucks for? Yes...yes you can. I am running the black widow from harbor freight, that I used a coupon for to make it even cheaper and getting some good results. It's gravity feed, easy to disassemble and maintain, and as long as you keep it clean/adjusted for the application has been doing an excellent job.
I'm running my automotive compressor. It's 20gal tank, and 50ft of flexible line before the std airbrush hose. It's regged out at 30psi, there is some loss over distance if not running hard line from the tank. I expect pressure at the airbrush is probably between 25 and 27 psi which has not caused me any problems so far.
I decided on a different approach to this, and have watched zero YouTube videos on airbrushing atm. I figure the time for that will if I have a problem, or techninique I can't sort out I will look those up. For now, I did the craziest thing and read the owners manual to get started. The one it comes with is pretty straight forward and answers question directly related to the piece of equipment I am holding....neat.
This was the first project I took on.
Throwing some heat colors on the headers for my sprint car. If you are just getting started this is an ideal project. It's small, relatively simple, on the outside of an object. Inside an rc body is a terrible first project. It awkward, the hose interferes with hand position trying to reach things at the correct angle, the color progression is backwards, and if you do lettering you will also need to mirror it. Get comfortable with your equipment first before adding all this bs in the mix.
I have white and black left to spray before I am calling it done. I have taken some progress picks, and have decided not post any of those before the finished product is done. As long as I have time, I am guessing tomorrow night...at the latest Wednesday morning. I want give the paint time to dry long enough I can pull the outside protective layer, and have at least resting on the car.
In conclusion airbrushing is fun. If you are considering it....do it. Major downsides....the paints don't smell as fresh and delicious as rattlecan full of solvent based color....if I can get over that so can you
