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AIRBRUSH 101
.
A simple guide to understanding airbrush terminology,
types of airbrushes, and their recommended uses
This guide is offered to help airbrush users select the best airbrush for their application,
and to provide important usage/maintenance information.
Comprised and provided compliments of
BADGER AIR-BRUSH CO.
"Your own personal airbrush department"
www.BadgerAirBrush.com
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Summary of Contents for Badger Air-Brush AIRBRUSH 101
- Page 1 AIRBRUSH 101 A simple guide to understanding airbrush terminology, types of airbrushes, and their recommended uses This guide is offered to help airbrush users select the best airbrush for their application, and to provide important usage/maintenance information. Comprised and provided compliments of BADGER AIR-BRUSH CO.
- Page 2 DUAL FEED refers to an airbrush that has the ability to be used as either gravity feed or bottom feed depending on the user’s varying application needs. This type of airbrush is patented and exclusive to Badger Air-Brush Co. The Bottom Feed airbrush is best for general and production applications. The bottom feed airbrush facilitates the use of more material without having to frequently fill the material reservoir.
- Page 3 SPRAYING AND CLEANING THE AIRBRUSH Spraying – The key factors in properly spraying an airbrush are operating air pressure, amount of material being released by the airbrush, and the distance the airbrush is being held from the surface being sprayed. For fine lines the airbrush should be held as close as possible to the surface with a small amount of material being released, for broader spray coverage the airbrush should be held 4”...
- Page 4 OTHER AIRBRUSH RELATED EQUIPMENT, MATERIALS, AND ACCESSORIES Air Sources COMPRESSORS - A unit that generates at least 30 PSI is recommended to start airbrushing. Some applications, such as T-shirt painting or other fabric painting, may be more efficiently done at higher pressures (up to 65 psi). Other applications, such as finger nail art and illustration may be more effectively done at lower pressures (as low as 10 psi).
- Page 5 CHOOSING THE RIGHT AIRBRUSH FOR YOUR APPLICATION So you want to know which airbrush is best for you (or better said for your application). Or In the words of many curious aspiring airbrush users “what’s a good airbrush to start with?” The simple and best rule of thumb when selecting an airbrush is “figure out which airbrush best does what you want to do, get it, and learn to use it”.
- Page 6 Art - Photo Re-touching Best airbrush type: Double/Dual action, gravity feed (or side feed), internal mix SOTAR 2020, Renegade Velocity (Jet), 100G/LG, OMNI 4000/5000, (100, Renegade Spirit) Professional photo re-touching is about good masking technique and exact dot manipulation. A masking medium is required to create defined “sharp”...
- Page 7 Bakery - Home/Small Bakery Decorating (cup cakes, cookies, round cakes, some ¼ sheets) Best airbrush type: Single action*, gravity feed, internal mix w/ free flow air valve 100GB/LGB, BakeAir 4000/5000, VEGA 1000B *the term single action when referring to specially set up bakery airbrushes differs from than the conventional airbrush related definition of single action.
- Page 8 Beauty - Airbrush Tanning Best airbrush type: Double/Dual action, bottom feed, internal mix Totally Tan 3000, 155 Anthem, 175 Crescendo, VEGA 2000, (Badger 350) A professional salon applied airbrush tan generally requires 1-1.5 oz. of tanning solution to complete, which makes a bottom feed airbrush with a 2 oz.
- Page 9 Decorative Painting - Ceramics Best airbrush type: Single action, bottom feed, internal and/or external mix Badger 350 Easy, Badger 200 Precise, VEGA 600 Although many ceramicist use the airbrush in a fine art oriented manner, for which the above fine art airbrush recommendations apply, most use the airbrush for base coating and applying glazes to their ceramic pieces.
- Page 10 Hobby Model Finishing - fine scale detail (figures, z/n scale RR, museum/competition finishing) Best airbrush type: Double/ Dual action, gravity feed, internal mix 100G/LG, 105 Patriot (Arrow), Renegade Velocity (Jet), SOTAR 2020, VEGA 1000, OMNI 4000/5000 The detail aspect of model finishing equates to that of a fine illustrator who has selected a static model as his work surface. Precise detail model finishing requires maximum airbrush control and fine “soft”...
- Page 11 Industrial - low volume/small scale production Best airbrush type(s) - Single action, bottom feed, internal mix – Badger 200 Precise, VEGA 600 Double/Dual Action, bottom feed, internal mix – 155 Anthem, VEGA 2000 Anything production will usually involve the usage of larger volumes of media, so it will be more efficiently done with a bottom feed airbrush. As smaller, non-basecoat, production projects (i.e.;...
- Page 12 TECHNICAL AND TECHNIQUE TROUBLESHOOTING TIPS: cause / corrective measure 1) Bubbling in color reservoir (color cup or jar): A. Damaged nozzle seal / Make certain the paint tip is properly seated in the angled recess of the airbrush body, and that all surfaces between the two components are cleared of any debris and are not marred or scratched.
- Page 13 B. Inadequate air pressure / make sure your air source is supplying adequate air pressure: Gravity feed airbrush 10-30psi / Bottom feed airbrush 20-40psi 9) Dot blotching or spattering at beginning or end of spraying: A. Nozzle flooded with media / “flooding” the nozzle occurs when the airbrush is not triggered properly. It is important to learn and use correct airbrush triggering technique - make sure to always return the trigger to the forward (color off) position before releasing the trigger to turn off air.
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