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Painting is a critical step in your model making adventures. It is no less important than assembly and requires a great deal of patience and skill. It is quite easy for it to go wrong and when it does; it is difficult and sometimes impossible to go back and save what you have done.
Two things can ruin your painting: drips and brush marks. To avoid brush marks, Scientific MHD brings you a selection of airbrushes, for a clean, precise and, above all, even finish.
How do you choose your airbrush ?
An airbrush is a small paint gun, usually about the size of a pen, which is most often used for fine arts and model making. It is used to make flat strokes of paint that don’t leave brush marks. It can also be used to create colour shading on a painted surface.
In model making, it is best used to paint large surfaces, such as the hull of a boat, an aeroplane or the body of a car.
There are different types of airbrushes; single action and double action. A single-action airbrush can only modulate the flow of compressed air. A double-action airbrush, on the other hand, can control the flow of compressed air and the flow of paint separately. This is probably the first thing you will look at when choosing your airbrush. The price will vary accordingly, but if you need a decent dual-action model, be prepared to spend the money.
You’ll need compressed air to use your airbrush and this should also be factored into your budget. Although the canned air/ propellant cans may seem more affordable, they can be costly over time, as they will often need replacing. The compressor, on the other hand, only consumes electricity. Even though the purchase price is higher, in the medium term, it is a much better investment.
How do you maintain your airbrush in good condition ?
An airbrush can be used to apply paint or other products (ink, glitter, etc.). Without proper maintenance, it can quickly become clogged and unusable. A nozzle or a needle can quickly become stained by the paint of a medium and you should therefore clean your airbrush after each use.
Cleaning your airbrush piece by piece is part of the routine maintenance. For a thorough clean, you should dismantle the entire airbrush and this should be easy to do. The first step is cleaning. Careful not to lose any pieces, so make sure you keep them all in the same place to avoid this. It is better to use a clean space to avoid other elements clogging it.
The cleaning products used will depend on the medium. If you are using water-based paints (e.g. gouache) or ink, demineralised water will probably be sufficient. For model paints, however, you will need special cleaners which are available in shops and on our website in the Tools and Parts category. 70 % alcohol will do the trick too.
You will also need a set of cleaning brushes, cloths and cotton buds. The aim is to clean the airbrush on both the outside and inside.
