Beginner here

[CoreyH]

Hi, name is Corey and I'm new to airbrushing. I'm in the auto industry and have been fascinated by airbrushing. Bought a cheap airbrush set up to start with but am having a difficult time getting it dialed in. Anyone ever heard of a Point Zero PZ-260 airbrush? Having a real hard time getting it to paint a thin straight line!

 

[Mr.Micron]

Welcome home Corey
While I have never heard of a PZ-260 , A little more information would be nice. What paint are you using and how are you reducing it ?
I have notice most body shop guys tend to reduce as they would for a spray gun and sometimes that just will not work due to it is still to thick to go through a tiny nozzle.
It take a lot of practice to do super hair lines with an airbrush that is what practicing those dang dots and dagger comes into play. While you may have muscle memory from running a spray gun a different set of muscle run an airbrush.

Hope this helps out some . Oh and what airbrush pressure are you using I almost forgot that LOL

 

[basepaint]

Thin is the easy partStraight with the way I shake not so much,I have that brush and it works well at 25 to 30 psi with the paint reduced at 3 to 1 (com-art),the airbrush I have the person used it to do fingernail

 

[markjthomson]

Hey Corey, welcome from New Zealand... Never heard of that airbrush but cheap airbrushes are designed to frustrate newbies... Practice is really important. Now, what sort of paint are you using?

 

[MeeshellMP]

Welcome aboard Corey! A little more info on paint and such would help us out more to be able to answer you

 

[CoreyH]

Thanks guys. I am using Wicked brand airbrush paint. I put probably 10 drops of paint and probably lt 5 or 6 drops of reducer in the bowl and mixed it up.
As far as pressure goes, I'm not sure. I bought this kit off of Amazon for 30 bucks, it's advertised that it's delivering 25psi. There is no adjustment. I've tried removing the cap and that doesn't seem to make a difference. Frustrated for sure! I did take a picture frame and with white paper do dots and a circle to practice shadows and lines, but my lines end up about an 8th inch wide and lots of over spray. Any suggestions?

 

[MeeshellMP]

Thanks guys. I am using Wicked brand airbrush paint. I put probably 10 drops of paint and probably lt 5 or 6 drops of reducer in the bowl and mixed it up.
As far as pressure goes, I'm not sure. I bought this kit off of Amazon for 30 bucks, it's advertised that it's delivering 25psi. There is no adjustment. I've tried removing the cap and that doesn't seem to make a difference. Frustrated for sure! I did take a picture frame and with white paper do dots and a circle to practice shadows and lines, but my lines end up about an 8th inch wide and lots of over spray. Any suggestions?

Try adding the reducer first, then paint, shake...let it sit for a minute or 2. If you only paid $30, its the equipment... sadly enough to say. But first, try that, see how it goes.

 

[MeeshellMP]

Oh, also, at 25psi, your not getting enough pressure. Try using 6 paint, and 10 reducer

 

[JackEb]

its a standard clone brush, .3 nozzle.
https://www.amazon.com/PointZero-Dual-action-Gravity-feed-Airbrush-Nozzle/dp/B004KNFOLS

your reduction of (approx.) 10:5 (paint:reducer) probably needs to be more like 10:10. / 10:20
Pressure is relative to what reduction you are using, the more you reduce, the less pressure you need.

as for the lines, you need thin paint, low pressure and lots of practise so you can do it with some sort of speed

 

[CoreyH]

I wondered if it being a cheap airbrush if it was really worth it, but wanted to see what I could do. I'll try mixing more reducer with fewer drops of paint and see what happens. Appreciate the help. I'd like to get the hang of this and be able to justify spending 200 bucks on an Iwata airbrush. Just having a hard time trying to figure out the ratios and getting a finer thinner line.

 

[CoreyH]

Maybe it is the gun since it's so cheap, anyone have a suggestion for a good airbrush to start with less than a hundred bucks? Don't really want to spend alot on something if I don't know how well I'll be at it

 

[Mr.Micron]

1 drop paint per 3 drops reducer is what Createx recommend and at 25 psi maybe 10 to 15 psi at the brush no wonder you can not shoot fine lines.
Try 5 drops reducer to 1 drop paint , It will take longer to build the color but you will have great control.

 

[CoreyH]

1 drop paint per 3 drops reducer is what Createx recommend and at 25 psi maybe 10 to 15 psi at the brush no wonder you can not shoot fine lines.
Try 5 drops reducer to 1 drop paint , It will take longer to build the color but you will have great control.

I will give that a try tomorrow. I'm just anxious to get started but frustrated I can't get a dang line to come out right.
I'll try the 3:1 ratio first and then the 5:1 if it doesn't work. Thanks!

 

[JackEb]

iwata neo will come in under $100 (US) but has been known to be a little fickle at times. keep an eye out for the coupons the US has from time to time, Coast airbrush / michaels all see name brand brushes, so you could pick up an Iwata Eclipse for a good price

 

[Squishy]

What size nozzle does that brush have. I run Wicked as suggested above (depending on colour, conditions, temp ect more or less), through a .35 nozzle at between 20 - 25 psi (again depending). For my .23 micron its more like 10:1 at 10 psi.

Usually those brushes are bad, and not ideal for learning when you have so much dialling in to do. I recommend the Iwata eclipse as great all round brush, while not a detail brush, it'll get you those fine lines for sure.

Are yo using the proper Wicked reducer??? It really gives the best performance for the paint.

 

[CoreyH]

What size nozzle does that brush have. I run Wicked as suggested above (depending on colour, conditions, temp ect more or less), through a .35 nozzle at between 20 - 25 psi (again depending). For my .23 micron its more like 10:1 at 10 psi.

Usually those brushes are bad, and not ideal for learning when you have so much dialling in to do. I recommend the Iwata eclipse as great all round brush, while not a detail brush, it'll get you those fine lines for sure.

Are yo using the proper Wicked reducer??? It really gives the best performance for the paint.

I'm pretty sure it said it was a .3 tip. I'm just playing with it for now, but was curious as to what ratios and if there was a way to get a thinner line for outlines. I'll keep an eye out for a better brush just didn't want to spend alot on something that I may not even be good at. Just wanting to try it out. Hard to do anything when I have alot of overspray and fat lines

 

[CoreyH]

What size nozzle does that brush have. I run Wicked as suggested above (depending on colour, conditions, temp ect more or less), through a .35 nozzle at between 20 - 25 psi (again depending). For my .23 micron its more like 10:1 at 10 psi.

Usually those brushes are bad, and not ideal for learning when you have so much dialling in to do. I recommend the Iwata eclipse as great all round brush, while not a detail brush, it'll get you those fine lines for sure.

Are yo using the proper Wicked reducer??? It really gives the best performance for the paint.

Oh, and as far as reducer, not sure. I just seen a bottle of reducer and grabbed it. Same Wicked brand. Is there a difference?

 

[WhiteKnight]

Welcome from Canada

 

[Mr.Micron]

Oh, and as far as reducer, not sure. I just seen a bottle of reducer and grabbed it. Same Wicked brand. Is there a difference?

If I may ask where on this planet do you live and where did you buy the paint?
I know Hobby Lobby here in the USA sells both the W100 (older version ) and the W500 ( Newest version ) of Wicked's Reducer. Either will work for Wicked paint but the W500 is way better then the W100 in most peoples opinion.
They also make a version designed for the new CandyO2 but you can use it with Wicked and even the Illustration paints that is automotive in design and contains acetone to aid with fastest dry time and a lot better flow.
The water based world of paint is getting about as choice crazy as the urethane LOL.
But through a .3 set up 3 to 1 should work for you. If that compressor has a gauge on it see what it is dropping to when you have air on (on the airbrush)
If it shows 25 PSI then with a 3 foot standard hose that comes with most of the studio compressor you should have 18 to 20.
As long as you put in the practice time and as Craig Fraser says and most of the pros out there it is all practice LOL

 

[Squishy]

Those ratios mentions should be used as a starting point. There is no magic reducing formula as there are too many variables. Then you can tweak as needed, what was spot on yesterday, may need an extra drop today.
If you really want to get into this, my advice is to get a better brush. It will make it so much easier to learn, as it will perform consistently. The cheap guns are made with inferior materials and machining, usually don't work as well as they should, and damage easily. A better brush will have resale value, so should you decide its nit for you, you can get some money back. Then there is the probability that you will end up buying a good brush anyway, and then wonder why you struggled for so long (I'm not bitter )