TOPIC:

Then I'll leave it, it does look ok, it's only at close inspection there are flaws. I think I'll get the body under the magnifying glass when I mask for the fuel tank, see if I can do any better.
Now, still a technical question about painting. I've bought an original style grill, according to the build manual I should be painting the radiator in gun metal, problem is, just like the ww2 grill this repro has the radiator cast into the grill, any tips on painting it anyone?

You could try a very thinned paint mix, & drip it in using the eye of a needle - thinned paint tends to "flood" an area up to the edges, which is ideal for bits like this. You might find the raised bars might spit the thinned paint off, but those bits should be easy enough to brush-paint with a small brush & non-thinned paint.

If you're using water-based acrylics, I guess the thing to do would be to paint the bits you're unsure of first, then if it goes titsup it would be easy enough to just wash it off again & try something else

Thanks eddrick, I would have never thought of that! I was told earlier in this thread I could thin tamiya acrylics with distilled water, I'm using tamiya acrylics so tomorrow I'll get some distilled water if time permits and experiment with that idea. Have you tried it before? If so can you give me an idea how many parts paint to parts water might be a good mix for this?

Yes I've done it before, but only on small plastic model kits (Think the last time was on the grille of my 1/25 scale carbon fibre racer - have a look at that - click on the link in the bottom of my posts).

The thinner the paint is, the better it will flow/flood - it needs to be like ink or thinner.
HOWEVER, I've only ever done it with solvent-based paints, so I'm not 100% sure how water-based paints might behave.
Sorry, can't give you an exact mix ratio (All paints are different), but like I said, keep thinning until its like ink (Which is pretty much what you're aiming for as an airbrush mix too by the way...)

Another trick would be to find some bits of scrap to practice your methods on, before attacking the important bit

Fantastic, thanks! I've been using the tamiya paint straight out the pot in the airbrush, it seems to work ok but no doubt I won't be able to achieve the same quality as you experience modellers. I only attempted to use an airbrush for the first time yesterday so to be brutally honest I haven't got a clue what I'm doing!

Paint must be thinned for use in airbrushes & sprayguns. Aim for a mix like thin ink.
"Thinner" needs to be whatever the solvent base of the paint is, ie for acrylics that's usually water. Humbrol(etc) model enamels are usually isopropyl alcohol nowadays, but used to be xylene. - read the paint tin label to find out what the solvent is, to know what to thin it with.

Air pressure - as low as you can get away with... The thinner the paint, the less pressure the brush needs to be able to "pick up" the paint & chuck it out of the front.
I usually aim for about 15psi on my airbrush (Mine's got a 0.2mm nozzle).
If you're using compressed air (ie a compressor, NOT aerosol propellant cans) the you need a water-trap/filter/regulator unit - you'll be surprised at just how much water is in the air, & this will cause "splats" if it goes through your brush.

IF your brush is a "Dual-action" type, press the button down to turn the air on, then pull the button back to turn the paint on. The more you pull the button back, the more paint comes out, BUT the air has to be on for that to happen.
Start the air/paint before hitting the workpiece if possible - there's usually a burst of higher pressure air when you first press the button (Meaning a splodge of paint, so it's better that doesn't get directed at your treasured model)

Tamiya do sell thinners for acyrlics - X-20A Thinner, it comes in 10ml jars or 250ml square plastic bottles. You could also have a go at making your own - the recipe is proprietary, but using it & from the cocktail of smells this is my guess (which keeps evolving BTW):

55% water (discussing what this smells like would be a distraction here )
25% Isopropanol (smells a bit like Ethanol, but different ("faster"?) ... not particularly helpful I know)
10% Methanol (wood alcohol)
5% Ethanol (alcohol alcohol )
5% Butanol (smells like bananas - really!)
trace surfactants (for wetting/levelling)
5% other stuff (because it can't be that easy )

All the different alcohols will be doing different things in there, I'm not a chemist so I couldn't tell you what - my guess would be overall that they balance evaporation rates for a band of working temperatures.

TBH I'd suggest you buy then genuine stuff unless you really want to experiment - but water on it;s own is not going to work properly.

Wow, thanks so much, you've both been incredibly helpful.
I'm embarrassed to say I've been doing just about everything wrong.
I'm not thinning my paint, spraying at 60psi and often wondered what the "double action" part of the airbrush was even for, I just set the needle then hit the air button to spray!
You've inspired me to experiment with the airbrush a lot more, obviously I need to put some time in and get to know my tools better, I think the flat paint I've been using has probably been quite forgiving to be honest.
Back to the terrible job I made of the mudguards, last night I'd decided to leave them alone, this morning I had a change of heart and decided to try again, I'm much happier with the second attempt. I think masking right up to the body is too technical for me at the moment but in not getting quite so far in I think I made quite a nice job of it:)

Apparently Windex can be a good alternative for acrylic cleaning and thinning (but it might influence the colour somewhat).

Good evening all. I've had such a lot of useful tips I can't wait to get the airbrush back out and practice, unfortunately I dropped the little glass paint bottle last night so no more airbrushing until the new bottle arrives. Instead, after cleaning up the mess, I decided to lacquer the NOS bottle. I'm really happy with the results and it got me thinking, can I lacquer over stickers? The body of the car was painted with both rattle can and my dodgy airbrush technique, consequently I have a very flat finish from the airbrush and a slightly more glossy finish from the can, I wondered whether going over the entire body with lacquer after I've completed it might even out the paintwork whilst offering protection and sealing in the stickers? As always any thoughts appreciated. Lee