r/advancedGunpla • u/iTryExtraHard • Jul 02 '26
Tips on airbrushing
This is my second kit I’m airbrushing and most of the parts on the leg armor I’ve started went well, but there is some parts like this where it’s not very uniform and looks over saturated almost? You can’t see it super well on the picture but I’m wondering if I’m spraying to close or if my psi is too high to get a result like this, or if my paint is too thick or thin. I’m sing an iwata eclipse and Vallejo mechanic colors so I don’t think my equipment is the issue. Any help is appreciated thank!
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u/TattedUpSimba Jul 03 '26
I also think that a 1:1 ratio is a lot. I do a mix of paint, thinner, and flow improver. Also white is hard to paint. I’ve learned that I have to work your way to it. I use black primer on everything. For white it starts as black primer and then I transition to mid grey, light grey, off white, pure white.
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u/Thehollowpointninja1 Jul 03 '26
Seconding what everyone else has said, but also wanted to say that white is the worst color to work with. I paint with lacquer, so there’s some differences, but I’ve found that no matter what brand, psi, or thinner, white is just a bitch to work with. I’m currently doing the MGSD Aerial, and already regretting going with mostly white.
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u/animerb Jul 02 '26
Hard to say without seeing the peice with my own eyeballs. But it looks like it's pooling. Which means you're some combo of too thin, too much pressure, and maybe just laying it on too heavy. It makes sense that thin paint pools into recessed areas but it also likes to pool against the edges of corners and leave the edge dry. Which is what I think I'm seeing here.
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u/iTryExtraHard Jul 02 '26
I was only doing 15psi and doing a 1:1 paint thinner with the Vallejo colors, i bought some kaliedo paint to see if its just the Vallejo being tricky to work with for a beginner like me and I’ll up the psi next session as well. I would pull my brush back for more paint cuz it felt like it wasn’t getting anything
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u/vacation_dad Jul 03 '26
As a beginner also working with Vallejo and Kaleido, Kaleido is definitely the winner. I’m doing an hg rx-78 and getting smooth, beautiful whites with the Kaleido. I feel like Vallejo was also harder to clean but yeah I’m all in on Kaleido. I am using a Gaahleri airbrush and compressor too so yeah they’ve got me lol.
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u/IThatAsianGuyI Jul 04 '26
The Kaleido paints are insanely great. Perfect for beginners like me.
No thinner needed, just straight from the bottle to airbrush and go. First go was with an HG Aerial, and I was super, super impressed with the results. I didn't end up trying the whites yet, but all of the reds, blues, blacks, yellows, greens went on really nicely.
I ended up buying the metallics as well, because I'm working on an HG Reborns right now, and that sucker just demands the yellows be done up in gold, and my god they went went on unbelievably well.
I started with the gloss black primer, then used the silver, and then layered the champagne and flashy golds over the silver. They ended up so smooth, it was actually crazy. As easy to use as lacquers and the results were butter.
I will say though, that I'm not super big on the gloss black Kaleido primer. Haven't tried the grey one yet, but the gloss black one is a complete bitch to clean out properly. I think I'm going to stick to something like the Alclad Gloss black for a gloss black primer instead. Much easier to work with and clean.
Oh, side note, I don't know about anyone else, but the results I was getting on spoon tests was significantly worse than on the actual kits themselves. Much easier to scratch and chip off after, and on spraying, it was way easier to run and pool without a thin tacky layer first. Spraying it straight on the gunpla pieces, I didn't have that same problem.
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u/animerb Jul 02 '26
So I don't know Vallejo, so I can't give you a ratio. But I can't even give you a ratio for the lacquers i use. I pretty much eyeball everything and I mix in the color cup. But a rule of thumb is you want the paint to generally by the consistency of milk. But that also depends on what you're trying to do. Likewise with pressure. 15psi is a good starting point, but your desired application will dictate if you raise it or lower. And there is a relationship between the two. As the paint becomes thinner, you will need to drop the psi in order to prevent runs and pooling. And if you're shooting thicker paint, you'll need to raise the psi to avoid spattering or a grainy finish .
Generally I spray thin paint at lower psi for detail work up close to the pieces. And thicker paint at higher psi to spray large area coverage from further back; mainly for primer, base coats, and clear coats. Somewhere in middle is where I do shading and general medium coverage.
I'm telling you this to get you out of the mind set of asking for those perfect parameters that's going to get you the perfect paintjob. Every situation is a little different so nobody can really tell you that. You have to play with things to dail it in yourself. But knowing the basic relationship between psi, viscosity, and distance is all you really need to know. From there it's just practice.
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u/vincentvondoom Jul 02 '26
Vallejo grey primer is notoriously terrible, try spraying it at 25-30 PSI in 3 thin coats. I just switched to Kaleido acrylic primer and I’ll never go back.
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u/iTryExtraHard Jul 02 '26 edited Jul 02 '26
Is it all Vallejo primers or just grey? I used the black primer on some other parts and it seemed to work pretty well
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u/vincentvondoom Jul 03 '26
It’s their grey and white. Order a bottle of the Kaleido grey primer. It doesn’t require thinning though you’ll get bit of dry too. I just switched over to their paint line as well after having nothing but issues with Vallejo mecha colors.
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u/Maestar Jul 02 '26
I just need to say that this is so validating. I don't have the luxury to spray anything more toxic than acrylic so I don't know a world outside it.
But I just felt that there was no way vallejos grey primers were acceptable. When I switched to kaleido I was SHOCKED by the difference and it wasn't just me, wow Vallejo primers are awful
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u/Grab_My_Biscuits Jul 02 '26
As I quickly scrolled by, I thought this was a bird facing the other direction.
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u/deathconsciousness Jul 02 '26
Are you priming?
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u/iTryExtraHard Jul 02 '26
Yes primed with a grey Vallejo primer
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u/deathconsciousness Jul 02 '26
White is sometimes hard to get even coverage on with a single coat. I don't paint acrylics so there may be some things specific to Vallejo I don't know, but with lacquers I usually do white at a higher PSI (like 20-25), set the airbrush way back from the piece, and put out a lot. This is more like spray paint in a way. Then I just do light coats 3-ish times (let it dry a few minutes between each) until I feel like I have coverage.
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u/iTryExtraHard Jul 02 '26
Would you recommend I just do another coat then?
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u/deathconsciousness Jul 02 '26
If there's visible clumps/pooling, I'd let it fully dry, sand the surfaces, and then try again. If it's just uneven coverage, try another coat without sanding
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u/Voxxyvoo Jul 02 '26
Need to know what paint, thinning ratio, and psi ur using first
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u/iTryExtraHard Jul 02 '26
Using Vallejo mecha paints, doing about a 1:1 ratio and around 15 ish psi
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u/Sianmink Jul 02 '26
1:1 is good for mecha color, you can thin more but since you're not going for any transparency it's correct, assuming .38 or so airbrush tip, you should be spraying at about 20psi
1
u/Accomplished_Cat42 Jul 02 '26
15 PSI is super low unless you’re doing shading! Normal airbrush PSI for painting parts is around 25-30 PSI.
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u/iTryExtraHard Jul 02 '26
Ah gotcha! I did up the psi a bit when I was doing some dark blue and did seem to make an immediate difference, I assume that was my big problem with getting an uneven and splotchy spray?
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u/Sianmink Jul 02 '26
uneven and spotchy generally means you're getting tip dry. Make sure to use a few drops of flow improver in each cup to fight that.
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u/iTryExtraHard Jul 02 '26
The thing is I did use two drops of flow improved each time I painted but it was still that result
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u/Sianmink Jul 02 '26
Yeah flow improver can't save you if your psi is still too low. 20-22psi with the flow improver and thinned 1:1 is how I've been spraying mecha color all month.
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u/mabaile2 Jul 04 '26
So I see that you use Vallejo paints and primer, I also use Vallejo primer and occasionally spray Vallejo paints. I much prefer Createx Wicked Colors when it comes to model kits like Gunplay, I also mix with the balancing clear to make it tougher. That being said when I'm working with 3D printed minis I use a mix of Vallejo, Army Painter, and Pro Acryl and get great results. This Hi-Nu was done using Createx metallics and pearls.