Airbrush

Tips for the Airbrush Artist

The Art of the Dot:  Stippling – This is a term that refers to visible dots that are utilized to create various effects.  Some artists create these by using an airbrush.  Both internal and external mix airbrushes can achieve a stippled spray.  An external mix brush does it almost automatically because of the method it employs to spray paint.  Internal mix airbrushes will produce a stippled spray when the air pressure is lowered to around 2 psi.  In some cases you can achieve a stippled spray by removing the air cap.  For best results in stippling, both types of airbrushes should be set at a low air pressure—the lower the pressure, the larger the dot.  This incomplete atomization will usually develop large specks of paint that are controllable by the artist.  Stippled spray is used to develop various effects, e.g., the rough surface of a metal casting, the look of rust or fabric and background areas for color field painting.  As opposed to the soft delicate spray usually achieved with the airbrush, artists find the ability to stipple very convenient.

Don’t soak the airbrush! — It’s important when cleaning an airbrush that you do not immerse the entire tool in a cleaning agent, be it soap and water, lacquer thinner or gun and equipment cleaner.  There’s no reason for paint, inks or dyes to be present anywhere else in the airbrush except for the color cup and the tip.  If paint or another material somehow works back into the area of the trigger or further back toward the handle, you must disassemble the airbrush and clean it by hand.  If you soak the airbrush in cleaner, the solvent and any paint that is dissolved will invade the triggering mechanism—which can then easily gum up the works and make the trigger sticky or impossible to manipulate.  It will also cause deterioration of any seals in the airbrush that are not solvent resistant (although most airbrushes today have solvent-resistant seals).

The dual action airbrush rocks! – The dual-action airbrush is the most popular model in use because of the triggering method.  This style of airbrush enables you to change the amount of paint sprayed without stopping your hand movement.  Just depress the trigger completely for air and then pull back on the trigger to release paint.  The amount of paint is determined by how far back you pull.  Remember, the result is determined by the amount of paint emitted and how close the brush is held to the work surface.  With the dual-action airbrush you can spray from a fine line (pencil thickness) to a wide line (1-1/2”) without stopping for readjustment.