Hi guys. Can you point me to where I can buy airbrush kits? I've been painting model kits for a while now but base coating and shading with a brush is a pain in the arse. Are those cheapo Chinese kits okay to use?

deal all , may i know where to buy tamiya arcylic paint in kl?

Found some cans of Mr Super Clear semi gloss in my box.

Decide to use it on one of my refurbished robot.

Boy even for semi-gloss the frosting is real. i got jelly bean like build ups on the weapons.

So i figure out to properly use Mr Hobby top coats, temperature & humidity is not the main issue, main issue is shake well and spray from a distance of 50cm-60cm and only shoot 1 burst per time. it dries up very quick so you can apply 2nd burst after a minute or so. if you do more than 3 burst on same area 1 shot you will get frost. never use continuous spray.

main reason is Mr Hobby top coats spray cans are very dense & high pressure when you press. even at 60cm you should be able to get good coverage on the spray.

still far from being decent compared to airbrush but for folks having no choice i hope this helps.

no idea about gloss because that kind requires wet coat to look glossy, but so far Flat & Semi-Gloss will have frosting issues.

Today was a mess since it was raining day time.

Humidity was only around 70%, decided to AB.

All was alright until sometime later it started bursting water... i have a moisture trap i can see it's wet however it's not even full of water just droplets around the glass.

Due to this was struggling with the compressor as it ended up overheated as i wasted alot of time testing the water.

Any solutions?

I don't have double water trap & air tanks. just single water trap to AB. Also i tried pushing the needle valve on the water trap to vent, but seems not really working. how much psi do i need and any easy way to open the needle valve right now have to use my finger tip.

1st time using ab??

nothing to do with double water trap & air tanks is useless for me.
my AB set only have the minimal psi - 18 psi , using from pagi 10am till 6pm...for few year still going strong.

bursting water??, sometime bcos of the spray mount mula sumbat by the paint. use cotton butt with thinner to clear it...or your paint is too thick, or try to adjust the spray mount to more LOOse.

No not 1st time, 1st time use after rain yes but i think the water not much to do with humidity as today same thing happened.

Top coating 1/100 so the compressor overheated. wait after cool down then reuse, started spraying water. i guess it's compressed air in contact with heat however i still have the moist trap which i just cleaned yesterday, whole glass took out wipe the filter with brush. still bursting water.

pretty sure it's nothing to do with paint mixture since the water comes out even when paint nozzle not pulled.

look like u get a complex ab set.
why need a moist trap & filter?
normal AB set like that one sell in mudah or lelong can do the job nicely.
a normal AB pen is enough. i think the issue is your AB pen. certain part maybe too tight.
when busting water or water drop, mean the head is stuck, & the paint is is thick (or the mix up between paint & thinner not thoroughly )

normal i pour the thinner into the ab cup 1st , then only pour the mixture paint, use 1 finger to close the ab mouth & press the air...u will see the burble inside the cup, this is what i called mixing inside the AB cup. if the paint is thick..pour think & close finger again. Loose the ab mouth for wet paint & tight the ab mouth for dry paint. spray it only paper by adjusting the mouth or mixing. repeat this few step until it smooth.

after finish paint need to clear the ab pen inside & the mouth thoroughly.

good luck.

hi, i'm skeptical with your airbrush exp if you say you don't have a moist trap & filter in your compressor. moist happens when you compress air and the environment is hot, unless you put your compressor in air conditioned room, moist will build up.

and i don't get the explanation behind airbrush problem. the moist comes from the compressor, what has it to do with paint/thinner mix? i mention the water comes from the air, even when the paint trigger has not been pulled just the air nozzle pushed down. I'm using top loading AB fyi not bottom loaded.

or maybe other modelers can share whether moist trap is required or not, in Malaysia weather.

also don't forget without a filter dust goes into the compressor, gets compressed, and enter you AB so you end up spraying dust together with your paint.

and yes i wash the AB pretty clean everytime, take out the needle before storage, and no i don't soak it in a tube of cleaning agent that would be too much and where should i pour the whole tub of corrosive agents to?

u r using tank compressor??
not the mobile or small compressor??
if yes then u need a filter & moist trap.

it stands on 4 legs but i can carry it around easily.

i don't get why mobile/small compressors don't need them.

they get hot even faster than normal compressors so the water build up will be faster & more serious. also don't forget what i said dust gets into the compressor unless you have some sort of filter before the compressor intake.

dust will hit your model surface when u start spraying.... no matter indoor or out door...or with vacuum box.
Tank compressor is expensive , need maintenance, & if u only need ab for painting modeling kit, why need tank compressor.??
the reason small & mobile compressor become popular is cheap, good for beginner, mobility, durable & no need maintenance (pakai buang).
i paint 1/48 su33 & 1/16 big RC tank with large surface also no problem.
i every month minimum paint 1 box of military kit & up to 5 year & more..my compressor still going good.
it already worth the price.

i saw ppl buying an expensive compressor yet only spraying 1 or 2 kit for a year....end up the compressor collecting dust.

good luck.

my compressor not that expensive or big. so far no maintenance. only problem is it gets hot after using for 30 minutes and needs to cool down.

i hear mobile compressors not that cheap also, and they have even bigger heat problem.

the difference between dust in air vs dust in your compressed air is dust can clog your AB, and also gets mixed with your paint, while dust in environment air may get onto the surface it's easy to dust off even on your paint job.

my compressor less than rm300. mobile compressor probably around rm100-200, which ain't exactly cheap enough to pakai buang.

can show pic of your compressor ?

my one is old version. u can get a cheap compressor & airbrush at lelong like below.

Thanks bro.....

i had the trash HD-470 that broke after 1 time use. i don't know if 130 is better than 470 but the nozzle trigger just broke and it's a single piece construction i can't repair it.

This post has been edited by advocado: Jul 30 2017, 10:50 AM

I've been using my cheapo AB kit (from China) for almost a month now. Seems fine except some instances where I wish it could have higher output.

However, I think the biggest difference will be airbrush itself right? The one included in the set is totally trash.

I could be buying a better one with interchangeable head (0.3mm - 0.5mm)

need shops that sell extensive paint stocks, Mr.Hobby, Tamiya, Gaia Notes, Alclad.

prefer physical but online also can. Gundamshop/GWing/Gamer's Arena don't carry much choice.

JSHobby has the most choices but i heard their service is legendary. Also they no longer accept Walk Ins in their physical shop. "Online order collection" only.

Time Machine closed. Now only know the shop in Atria Mall but they carry mainly Tamiya & Mr.Hobby.

-delete-

This post has been edited by RigerZ: Sep 14 2017, 09:44 PM

Bro, can you share more info on JSHOBBY ? i keep hearing the same bad stories but never any actual cases....


for those of you looking for paint, can also try Plamo art center - especially helpful is since kelvin is there to help you out on your modding/airbrushing needs