Hello from the uk

Jimmyfingerz

Mac-Valve Maestro!
Hello everyone
About a year ago I decided at 36 I wanted to start drawing which I have been working very hard at and am at a level I never thought possible for a year in.
I have bought more pencils and paper than i care to remember but it has become a bit of an obsession.
Colour theory is an abspect of art I want to undertake and thought about learning to paint, I’ve always loved airbrush art and am a massive fan of “decent” graffitti so decided to take the plunge and buy my first kit.
It arrives tomorrow and I am very very excited to get going.
I’ve been looking for good tutorials or online courses, i stumbled on his site and thought i’d join a community to help with my progression.
I bought the Iwata Hp-c plus with the power jet light compressor.
I read a lot about airbrushes before I purchased and decided on that one as it was in budget and seemed about midrange to what was out there.
I want to eventualhy be doing portriature and any type of street art really so wish me luck.
Look forwards to meeting and making new friends and would just like to say a massive hello to everyone :)
 
Welcome from Australia,
The HP-C+ and powerjet lite are a great entry point. What paints are you planning on using ? if you've bought a 'Kit' then i'm assuming there would be some paint included ?
The first thing you need to do it a clean up on the brush, just to remove any manufacturing lube that may be lingering, plus it get you to know the brush a little better.
dont ever use force when reassembling your brush, 95% of your assembly is done finger tight, very rarely does it need anything more than that, but occasionally the nozzle / air cap may need a bit of a nip up with some soft jaw pliers, be very careful about crossthreading anything.

If you havent registered with the 'airbrush tutor' website then that would be a recommended first stop, as well as a heap of tutorials on basic maint and technique you'll be able to access the print outs of the exercises, as well as some paid tutorial/print packs that will get you well on your way.

Simply click on the 'Tutorials' link at the top of the page above, register on there (registering here doesnt automatically give you access over there)
print out some exercises and basic tutorials and jump right in,
We are here if you feel overwhelmed/unsure and will throw the life-raft in the water if you feel you're drowning.
 
Welcome Jimmy. Sounds like you've got a great setup already, Which part of the UK are you from? I'll second what JackEb said about registering with the Airbrush Tutor website. There's some great videos on you tube to go along with the exercises. Hope you enjoy the process.
 
Thanks for the replys.....
Hi JackEb i think the kit comes with a few different colours of acrylics but I bout a set of com-art b-w grey set just because I’m use to using graphite so have pretty much been learning in b+w. I think i’ll learn to control the gun properly first and then maybe start addind colour into the learning process.

I have already signed up to the airbrush tutor, I think I signed up to that as soon as I joined the forum ;)

Just a quick question,...........,cleaning the gun.
Now I have watched a few videos on breaking the brush down to clean which osn’t a problem cor me at all but I watched a video yesterday of a guy who just runs a cleaner through his brush at the end of use.
He doesn’t break down after, he just run a liquid which i think was thinners through the brush until it is spraying nothing at all.
What are peoples suggestions?
I’ve no problem breaking down and cleaning after every session but am just wondering is that a pointless exercise if you can just run a cleaner through the brush instead?

Hi SiRoxx
Unfortunately i’m from Milton Keynes lol
Its getting a better place to live but still far tooooooo many rounderbouts
 
Thanks for the replys.....
Hi JackEb i think the kit comes with a few different colours of acrylics but I bout a set of com-art b-w grey set just because I’m use to using graphite so have pretty much been learning in b+w. I think i’ll learn to control the gun properly first and then maybe start addind colour into the learning process.

I have already signed up to the airbrush tutor, I think I signed up to that as soon as I joined the forum ;)

Just a quick question,...........,cleaning the gun.
Now I have watched a few videos on breaking the brush down to clean which osn’t a problem cor me at all but I watched a video yesterday of a guy who just runs a cleaner through his brush at the end of use.
He doesn’t break down after, he just run a liquid which i think was thinners through the brush until it is spraying nothing at all.
What are peoples suggestions?
I’ve no problem breaking down and cleaning after every session but am just wondering is that a pointless exercise if you can just run a cleaner through the brush instead?

Hi SiRoxx
Unfortunately i’m from Milton Keynes lol
Its getting a better place to live but still far tooooooo many rounderbouts

Welcome to the forum from Scotland Jimmy, as far as cleaning yiur brush goes, a complete strip down is normally onky necessary when your brush has problems like leaving paint overnight so that goes hard, or using bad or old paint which might cause clogs and such, normal everyday use of your brush will only require flushing through with airbrush cleaner and then with plain water, a complete strip down after every use is overkill and not good for the brush.

Your HP-C is easy to maintain with the drop in nozzle, some us Will strip down a brand new brush as soon as we get it to clean out any factory oils which gunge up with being sat on the shelves for so long, then lighly re-lube antmy moving parts.
 
Thanks for the info.
It has just arrived so I will strip and clean today.
So cleaning I just strip and use the medea airbrush cleaner and a cotton bud to clean each individual part?
After i’ve cleaned I use the lube just on the airbrush trigger and a little around the needle?
Thanks in advance
 
Thanks for the replys.....
Hi JackEb i think the kit comes with a few different colours of acrylics but I bout a set of com-art b-w grey set just because I’m use to using graphite so have pretty much been learning in b+w. I think i’ll learn to control the gun properly first and then maybe start addind colour into the learning process.

I have already signed up to the airbrush tutor, I think I signed up to that as soon as I joined the forum ;)

Just a quick question,...........,cleaning the gun.
Now I have watched a few videos on breaking the brush down to clean which osn’t a problem cor me at all but I watched a video yesterday of a guy who just runs a cleaner through his brush at the end of use.
He doesn’t break down after, he just run a liquid which i think was thinners through the brush until it is spraying nothing at all.
What are peoples suggestions?
I’ve no problem breaking down and cleaning after every session but am just wondering is that a pointless exercise if you can just run a cleaner through the brush instead?

Hi SiRoxx
Unfortunately i’m from Milton Keynes lol
Its getting a better place to live but still far tooooooo many rounderbouts
Someone has to be from Milton Keynes LOL. You’re right about the roundabouts, but I’ve been to a couple events at the shopping centre there and always that that was pretty nice. As far as a mall goes anyway [emoji3].
Malky has got you covered regarding cleaning. I started off stripping my brush every single time and probably ended up doing more harm than good. That said it’s still working well, but running plenty of cleaner and water through after each session should do the trick.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
At the end of a paint session I will always pull the needle, wipe it clean, run cleaner into a spray-out pot without the needle it to pull any remaining paint through.

Be careful spraying thinners, definitely not good for your lungs/skin/eyes. A lot of the you tubers have ventilation going on that is unseen, most will usually use a mask when the camera isn’t on but do t wear it when doing the video for obvious reasons. Even though most of us use waterborne paint there is still mild solvent in them.

The RZ masks work well and are comfortable
 
Ok thanks guys, I will pull the airbrush apart today and do the first clean and lube then onto the tutorials on here.
Thanks for the advice.

You don't actually need to lube the needle but if you do be sure to wipe it off with a dry paper towel pulling from the back of the needle to the front, I usually do this before a session to help eliminate tip dry, a couple of times during a very long session.

Basically the only things you need to lube are the trigger mechanisms and springs but if you feel that everything is moving smoothly then don't strip it at all, just clean the needle before first use.

You'll be using Com-Art paints to start with which are easy to clean up and are thinned with just water so yiur brush won't need much heavy duty cleaning, I usually got by with just water and used cleaner after long sessions and if the brush wasn't going to be used for a while.
 
Thanks guys
Really appreciated the love.
I’ve really enjoyed working with graphite and plan on continuing. If I progress with airbrushing as I have with graphite i’ve no doubt in my mind it will become another obsession.
Thanks for all the tips. Dogs are walked, chores are about to be started then I shall be having my first play :)
 
First strip down went well :)
First question i read to run it around 12 psi but it doesn’t seem to be enough.
Can anyone advise a rough scope from minimum to maximum range.
 
First strip down went well :)
First question i read to run it around 12 psi but it doesn’t seem to be enough.
Can anyone advise a rough scope from minimum to maximum range.


It's personal taste thing, just gradually raise the pressure until you start to get paint and maybe slightly more, you'll get used to what works for you in yiur own time, everybody's sweet spots are different, I usually wirk around 10 psi with a 0.2 nozzle.
 
Ok thanks Malky.
I think its going to be learning my mediums too.
I was pushing the paint around all over the place at first lol
Fairly good control pver the trigger though, i could pull 25% 50% 75% and 100% dots lile the tutorial on controlling the airbrush vid.
Ar first the paint was spreading where i was too close with too much pressure.
I think i’ll learn though.........hopefully
 
Ok thanks Malky.
I think its going to be learning my mediums too.
I was pushing the paint around all over the place at first lol
Fairly good control pver the trigger though, i could pull 25% 50% 75% and 100% dots lile the tutorial on controlling the airbrush vid.
Ar first the paint was spreading where i was too close with too much pressure.
I think i’ll learn though.........hopefully

You're already showing the correct attitude so I have no doubt you will learn fairly quick:thumbsup:

I have a feeling you're not called fingerz for nothing:)
 
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