"Airbrush Quick Tips"

08/08

Trigger Pre-Sets—What is the purpose of that knob at the back of the airbrush handle or the screw in front of the trigger?  These are trigger pre-sets that are designed to limit the motion of a dual action airbrush trigger, in essence turning it into a single action airbrush in order to spray a consistent line.  Dual action airbrushes will usually have one of either preset mechanism.  The knob at the back of the handle restricts how far back the trigger can be pulled, while the screw in front of the trigger pushes the trigger back to a set position.  Thus when you depress the trigger it remains at a set place or it restricts how far you can pull back on the trigger, respectively.  So, for example, if you want multiple dots of a particular size, it’s convenient to preset the trigger of the airbrush.  Visit www.iwata-medea.com for a great selection of airbrushes/paints/accessories.

Shake It Up—Have you ever poured a pre-reduced opaque airbrush color, e.g., Com-Art, into your airbrush color cup and it was so transparent that you could see through it?  While stored, airbrush colors tend to separate, with the pigment settling to the bottom of the bottle.  You must shake the color to thoroughly mix the pigment with the medium so that the paint will be opaque.  You will notice that airbrush color bottles have a small ball bearing inside so that when you shake the bottle, the paint becomes thoroughly homogenized.  This should be done periodically throughout the work day to ensure that the paints spray opaquely.

Diaphragm Compressor—This is a small and inexpensive compressor of a moderate noise level that is used in airbrush technique.  Unlike a piston-operated compressor, this produces air in a pulsating manner that can be interpreted in the airbrush spray.  This can, however, be alleviated by attaching the compressor to a storage tank.  Normally the highest pressure available is around 35 pounds per square inch (psi).  A diaphragm compressor is not especially suited for spraying high viscosity materials such as artist acrylics, but it works really well when spraying inks, dyes, watercolors and airbrush paints.  It is designed to propel one airbrush at a time and is not compatible with larger spray guns.  However, because of the cost factor, diaphragm compressors are well suited for beginners, students and hobbyists.  See www.silentaire.com.