Iwata hp-c plus... what should I expect...

K

kitalor

Guest
Hello all,
I have recently purchased the hp c plus and was hoping I could get some more info on what I should expect. I purchased this because from some things I read it seemed to be a good all-round airbrush. I am currently painting some large fibreglass statues and was hoping to put some golden high flow acrylics through (combined with liquitex airbrush medium, slow-dri and water). It seems to me that any combination of these will not pass through this brush without lots of stuttering or so much water there is no point.
So next I move onto some inks and even then I am having trouble all the while attempting the milk consistency. Next I am straining my ink mixture through a coffee filter and even then some issues although I did seem to get it right once but have not been able to repeat.
Within all this process I think I have learned to clean the brush properly.
I am going by the rule that water or cleaner should be coming out predictably when clean which they seem to be doing... Am I right in thinking there is a narrow sweet spot with this brush in terms of getting the paint consistency right???
 
Hi kitalor. Could I ask you pop over to the intro section here http://www.airbrushforum.org/introductions/. Everyone will want to welcome you (they are scared of stranger danger), but also background info will help people advise. Like roughly where you are in the world (for supplies or anyone living nearby who can help), how much experience you have, what equipment you have (compressor, other AB's etc) what type of ABing you like and what your goals are. You can put a link to this thread there too, and possibly more folks will see it.

It sounds as if this is your first time ABing????? Every brush/paint/air combo has its very own sweetspot, and it is a tricky thing to nail down at first. There's no magic formula as there are so many variables with different brushes paints, and even weather and humidity are a factor. It is a fairly narrow margin. The rule of thumb is more reducer = less pressure. Milk consistency is a bit of a generic phrase, a rough guide really, but different colours can behave differently because of the amount of pigment needed and so need to be reduced differently, and temp can mean further reduction, as can nozzle size etc. (Bear in mind that many paints saying spray from the bottle mean using a .5 nozzle a reasonably high pressure which I can't remember as I'm having a brain fart but probably around 35 - 40 psi). The HP-C plus has a .3 nozzle I believe, so shouldn't be as fussy with paint as a detail brush, but will still need a fair amount of reduction.

You need to make sure your nozzle is spotlessly clean. This is the major cause of issues for newbies. It may look clean, but it takes the tiniest amount for the needle not to seat correctly, and is easy to block when you don't have your paint mixtures correct. So pay it special, but gentle attention (you don't want to split or flare it, or scratch the inside). Whenever I think my nozzle is clean, I clean it again just in case. If your needle feels spongy when you put it in, if you are getting skipping, splats, stuttering, or it takes longer for paint to come out and you have to pull back farther, then it is a sign of a dirty nozzle. You can also check your spray pattern, is it spraying evenly, are you getting any distortion in one area etc. When your nozzle is clean you can then begin to experiment with reduction. Be methodical, reduce one drop at a time, if it's grainy add more reduction or up your pressure, if it's spidering lower pressure or add more paint etc. For art, people generally prefer low pressure and more reduction for finer detail, and make more passes to intensify colour, fabric painters who have to blast paint in, prefer thicker paint and high pressure, I would imagine you will be somewhere in between. When you have paint that lays down satin smooth, and in continuous lines, this will become your base mixture. You can then adjust as needed according to conditions/colours etc.

Out of interest, how large are the fibreglass statues? And are they for out door use.?? The HP-C plus is a great AB, and as you say an all rounder, but depending on how large the statues are, may not be ideal for too large a coverage, it could look patchy, and opaque paint will be most helpful there as you can keep building it up til it looks even. Also if the statues are going to be outside, you will want to use a paint that is lightfast, and it will need to be protected with some sort of clear. You don't mention how you are prepping the statues, which could have an impact on how the paint lasts too.
 
What @Squishy said... is it designed for outdoors? You might want to consider a UV protection. Now, it is generally a bad idea to mix mediums from different manufacturers. Golden do mediums for their paints and liquitex do mediums for there. They are not intended to work together and while they may work together you can no longer rely on performance guarantees from the manufacturer. I use golden most of the time. It reduces well with water but I spray it straight most of the time doing illustration type work.

Practice is the next important thing - that is the only way you get to know the equipment.

And while you are giving us an intro, have a read of the nettiquette document - explains who we are... :) Then have a good browse through the site. Welcome.
 
Hey guys thanks for the rapid response.
It is not my first time airbrushing but it is my first attempt to get more serious and do things right. There is a methodical scientific way of doing things (i am learning) which is kind of contrary to my nature.

Squishy thanks for the info. I guess I am trying to figure out what is normal and how to know when the brush is clean. I will try cleaning the nozzle and looking at the spray pattern again. I see another unboxing of this brush where it comes with a test sheet where the airbrush has been tested in the factory. Mine just came in a black carboard box with a quick start guide. It would be nice to know that what I am starting with is not defective.
What is a base test medium to spray? Like if I spray mostly water with a couple of drops of ink will this help me diagnose anything? Or will crud in the nozzle only show up when the paint gets thicker?

Also can higher pressures cause skipping?

So many questions. I will do a bit of cleaning and report back
 
Skipping...? sounds more like dirty paint or blockage. Hey can you go along to the intro page and do an introduction as @Squishy asked...? Link is in her post. Look forward to seeing more! Cheers
 
What @Squishy said... is it designed for outdoors? You might want to consider a UV protection. Now, it is generally a bad idea to mix mediums from different manufacturers. Golden do mediums for their paints and liquitex do mediums for there. They are not intended to work together and while they may work together you can no longer rely on performance guarantees from the manufacturer. I use golden most of the time. It reduces well with water but I spray it straight most of the time doing illustration type work.

Practice is the next important thing - that is the only way you get to know the equipment.

And while you are giving us an intro, have a read of the nettiquette document - explains who we are... :) Then have a good browse through the site. Welcome.
Sculptures are definitely indoor. My goal is to use the airbrush to save time with things like shading but to flick back between paint brush and airbrush. I mostly use matisse derivan tube acrylics when painting normally. I understand some pigments are thick by nature and shouldn't be put through an airbrush. I read of people using the golden high flow for airbrushing but I think I am either doing something wrong or they are just never going to be compatible with this airbrush.
Thanks for the info on the mediums will look for some 'liquid gold'
I tried my old 'super cheap auto' airbrush last night with some of these mixtures and it was coming out a lot easier. I think it is a .5 nozzle.
When you say you spray the golden straight what product is this and what airbrush?
 
Golden high flow... exactly what you are using. It is specifically designed for airbrush. The thicker paints have larger pigmments so by the time you reduce them enough to spray they come out of suspension and look nasty. I'm using an iwata eclipse with the 0.38 nozzle. Send a photo of what the skipping looks like. Things to consider, what compressor are you using? Are you getting tip dry? Are you getting blockages in the nozzle through dirty paint?
 
Does your compressor have a reservoir on it? I suspect it does...
 
Golden high flow... exactly what you are using. It is specifically designed for airbrush. The thicker paints have larger pigmments so by the time you reduce them enough to spray they come out of suspension and look nasty. I'm using an iwata eclipse with the 0.38 nozzle. Send a photo of what the skipping looks like. Things to consider, what compressor are you using? Are you getting tip dry? Are you getting blockages in the nozzle through dirty paint?
My mistake I am using golden fluid acrylics
 
Ah ok, not designed PRIMARILY for spraying but sprayable when mixed with their medium... so first thing, don't mix it with liquitex... that might be a problem. Get some of the airbrush medium. Even reducing it with water I suspect won't be useful either. If you can get the high flow that will work a lot better ... What size area are you spraying? I reduce mine when I want REALLY gentle coverage or hair thin lines...
 
Ah ok, not designed PRIMARILY for spraying but sprayable when mixed with their medium... so first thing, don't mix it with liquitex... that might be a problem. Get some of the airbrush medium. Even reducing it with water I suspect won't be useful either. If you can get the high flow that will work a lot better ... What size area are you spraying? I reduce mine when I want REALLY gentle coverage or hair thin lines...
Thanks. I have to run for now but I will try some different things out and get back to you with some more detail and images
 
Yep, there is your problem. Like markjthomson said Golden Fluid Acrylics are too thick for airbrushing and have to be mixed with Golden Airbrush Medium mixed 1:1 I used them when painting a Tshirt and they sprayed fine from my Iwata Eclipse. You may need to add more Airbrush Medium and/or a few drops of bottled water, just play around till you get it to flow.

You would be better off with the Golden High Flow Acrylic paints that are designed for airbrushing.
 
Yep, there is your problem. Like markjthomson said Golden Fluid Acrylics are too thick for airbrushing and have to be mixed with Golden Airbrush Medium mixed 1:1 I used them when painting a Tshirt and they sprayed fine from my Iwata Eclipse. You may need to add more Airbrush Medium and/or a few drops of bottled water, just play around till you get it to flow.

You would be better off with the Golden High Flow Acrylic paints that are designed for airbrushing.
Thanks for that I now have some createx illustrator paints that seem to be flowing nicely
 
You need to make sure your nozzle is spotlessly clean. This is the major cause of issues for newbies. It may look clean, but it takes the tiniest amount for the needle not to seat correctly, and is easy to block when you don't have your paint mixtures correct.

Yep this must be the air brush equivalent of the i.t. support desk "have you tried turning it on and off again?";)

At the moment I am taking my nozzle off at the end of the day and storing it in some medea cleaner. I read this somewhere but I'm curious if others think this is a good idea. Or if acetone would be a better choice?
 
Yep this must be the air brush equivalent of the i.t. support desk "have you tried turning it on and off again?";)

At the moment I am taking my nozzle off at the end of the day and storing it in some medea cleaner. I read this somewhere but I'm curious if others think this is a good idea. Or if acetone would be a better choice?
Probably not needed... I keep some water in my brush when not in use to help keep things soft and every 5 to 10 hours put through a flush of cleaner. You'll learn as you go. Keep it well flushed after use and it will be fine. You'll get a feel for when it needs a good flush and clean.
 
Probably not needed... I keep some water in my brush when not in use to help keep things soft and every 5 to 10 hours put through a flush of cleaner. You'll learn as you go. Keep it well flushed after use and it will be fine. You'll get a feel for when it needs a good flush and clean.
Thanks. But it doesn't hurt?
Also as to the topic of the post I am now enjoying the brush quite a bit now I am used to it. The liquitex acrylic inks are particularly nice to work with. However I am still considering a .5 brush for heavier paint. Any suggestions?
 
No, not really but you'll probably find in 6 months time you've relaxed a lot. I have the eclipse and you can get a separate 0.5mm nozzle/needle... quick simple solution...
 
Back
Top