Airbrush Area: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 13:13, 18 April 2025

The airbrush area is located in the electronics room and contains our airbrushing related tools and machines. Not just for creating beautiful airbrush art, but also for painting 3D-printed models and other materials. Using an airbrush is easy, fun to learn – and a lot better for the environment than spray cans.

Access

To use the machines in the airbrush area, you need to get an airbrush introduction.

Airbrush cleaning

Cleaning at the end of your session

Regardless how short or long the airbrush has been used. Properly cleaning the airbrush every time you finish using it is essential to keeping the airbrush working well and avoiding costly problems. Simply rinsing the airbrush with water or cleaning agent is not sufficient. The entire airbrush needs to be disassembled as demonstrated during the airbrush introduction.

Here's why thorough cleaning matters (in short: not cleaning = expensive)

Dried paint will clog the airbrush: Even a small amount of leftover paint can dry inside the nozzle, needle, or internal passages. Once that happens, it creates blockages that restrict airflow. In some cases, the airbrush may stop working entirely until it's deep-cleaned — or parts replaced. The nozzle and its o-ring are the most sensitive parts and may get damaged during deep-cleaning. (Cost: €20-30; the o-rings are not available on their own).
Skipping cleaning might feel faster in the moment, but fixing a clogged or damaged airbrush takes much longer. It can take hours trying to troubleshoot issues, disassemble tiny parts, or order replacements. 10-20 minutes of proper cleaning after every use saves a lot of frustration.

An airbrush is a precision tool — please treat it like one. Cleaning it properly every single time ensures it works when you (or others) need it.

Cleaning during your session:

between changing colours: simply rinse the airbrush with a little bit of water or cleaning agent (window cleaner)
if you pause your session (even if it's just for a few minutes)
- make sure the ink compartment is empty
- submerge the airbrush in water (yfor example a glass jar filled with water, placed inside one of the cutouts on the right hand side of the airbrush booth)

Airbrush Colors

Only water-based, dedicated airbrush paints are allowed to be used with our airbrushes.

If you'd like to use anything else than water-based, dedicated airbrush paints (for example solvent- or oil-based colours), you're free to bring your own personal airbrush and connect it to our compressor.

See Material:Airbrush Paint for more information and experiences!

Spray Booth and Air Extraction

Make sure you always have the spray booth's air extractor turned to on to "max Level" (Level 3) when the airbrush is in use (don't forget to use ear protection). The easiest method would be to keep the extractor running throughout your entire session, even if you take a break. That way, you don't forget to turn it on. Always keep the curtain behind you closed. Aerosols can travel for quite a long distance across the room, and we'd like to keep the other equipment free of paint. Once you've finished your session (whilst cleaning the airbrush): keep the air extractor running for a few more minutes and open the curtain and the door, to allow for additional air exchange in the room.

The spray booth we've built should be large enough to accomodate most needs, be it a A1-sized airbrush painting, or a t-shirt, shoes etc.

At the rear of the spray booth, you'll see a metal plate which can be tilted towards you, for a convenient viewing angle. For painting miniature figures / 3D-printed models etc: you'll find a turntable in one of the drawers. Also: Working with the airbrush is a lot more convenient if you lift your model up (to just below eye level). Positive side-effect: This also increases air ectraction efficiency.

Airbrush Exercises

Here is a PDF with some basic airbrush exercises. Download, print and attach them to the backdrop in the spray booth. (Airbrushing onto a vertical canvas is easier than placing the canvas onto a horizontal surface). Even professional airbrush artists do warm-up exercises before they start a project. File:Airbrush Practice Sheet.pdf

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-{{Incomplete}}
+[[File:airbrush area.jpg|thumb|right|the airbrush area when it was opened in April 2024]]
+The airbrush area is located in the [[Location::Electronics Room|electronics room]] and contains our [[airbrushing]] related tools and machines. Not just for creating beautiful airbrush art, but also for painting [[3DP|3D-printed]] models and other materials. Using an airbrush is easy, fun to learn – and a lot better for the environment than [[Spray Paint|spray cans]].
-This page is work in progress. We are aiming to open the new airbrush area in February this year.
+== Access ==
+To use the machines in the airbrush area, you need to get an [[Airbrush Introduction|airbrush introduction]].
-The airbrush area is located in the [[Location::Electronics Room|electronics room]] and contains our [[airbrush]] related tools and machines. Not just for creating beautiful airbrush art, but also for painting [[3DP|3D-printed]] models and other materials. Using an airbrush is easy, fun to learn – and a lot better for the environment than [[Spray Paint|spray cans]].
+== Airbrush cleaning ==
-===Airbrush Colors===
+===== '''Cleaning at the end of your session''' =====
-Dedicated airbrush paints are usually water-based acrylic paints, with a milk-like consistency.
+Regardless how short or long the airbrush has been used. Properly cleaning the airbrush every time you finish using it is essential to keeping the airbrush working well and avoiding costly problems. Simply rinsing the airbrush with water or cleaning agent is not sufficient. The entire airbrush needs to be disassembled as demonstrated during the [[Airbrush Introduction|airbrush introduction]].
+Here's why thorough cleaning matters (in short: not cleaning = expensive)
-'''[https://www.aerocolor.de Schmincke AERO COLOR]''' is very high quality, and ready-to-use without the need to mix/dilute any further. (Besides their large selection of readymade colors, they even offer instructions or "recipes" on how to mix [https://www.aerocolor.de/fileadmin/aerocolor/AERO_COLOR_RAL_R_Toene_131016.pdf RAL colour tones]). Airbrush paints are very expensive – around €300 per litre(!). But the good news is: even just a 4-5 pipette drops of airbrush paint can go a very long way. Try to get a feel for this (you'll be surprised!), and try not to use too much.
+* Dried paint '''will''' clog the airbrush: Even a small amount of leftover paint can dry inside the nozzle, needle, or internal passages. Once that happens, it creates blockages that restrict airflow. In some cases, the airbrush may stop working entirely until it's '''deep-cleaned''' — or '''parts replaced'''. The nozzle and its o-ring are the most sensitive parts and may get damaged during deep-cleaning. (Cost: '''€20-30'''; the o-rings are not available on their own).
+* Skipping cleaning might feel faster in the moment, but fixing a clogged or damaged airbrush takes '''much''' longer. It can take hours trying to troubleshoot issues, disassemble tiny parts, or order replacements. 10-20 minutes of proper cleaning after every use saves a lot of frustration.
-Do '''not''' pour unused colour from your airbrush back into the original bottles, as this will contaminate the original colour tone.
+An airbrush is a precision tool — please treat it like one. Cleaning it properly '''every single time''' ensures it works when you (or others) need it.
-You'll find a donation/honesty box in the airbrush corner where you can donate back to our community. As little as €0.50 per session will probably have you covered, even after a long session. (A 30ml bottle costs about €9).
+===== '''Cleaning during your session:''' =====
-Be careful when using cheap / no-name airbrush-paints, as you may have to thinnen them with a dedicated medium and/or distilled water. The same of course applies to any "non-airbrush" paints. An airbrush is a precision tool, with very fine nozzle diameters ranging between 0.2 and 0.5mm. If your paint is too thick, it '''will''' clog your nozzle within a few seconds.
+* between changing colours: simply rinse the airbrush with a little bit of water or cleaning agent (window cleaner)
+* if you pause your session (even if it's just for a few minutes)
+** make sure the ink compartment is empty
+** submerge the airbrush in water (yfor example a glass jar filled with water, placed inside one of the cutouts on the right hand side of the airbrush booth)
-Best case scenario: you'll have to disassemble and clean the airbrush.
+===Airbrush Colors===
+Only water-based, dedicated airbrush paints are allowed to be used with our airbrushes.
-Worst case scenario: the clogged nozzle spills paint blobs onto your beautiful piece of art!
+If you'd like to use anything else than water-based, dedicated airbrush paints (for example solvent- or oil-based colours), you're free to bring your own personal airbrush and connect it to our compressor.
-If your paint is too thick and you'd like to dilute it with water: please use distilled water, especially for large quantities of paint that you want to store over a longer period of time. (Tap water can contaminate your paint, so it may become moldy / reduce shelf life).
+''See [[Material:Airbrush Paint]] for more information and experiences!''
 ===Spray Booth and Air Extraction===
@@ Line 29: / Line 38: @@
 At the rear of the spray booth, you'll see a metal plate which can be tilted towards you, for a convenient viewing angle. For painting miniature figures / 3D-printed models etc: you'll find a turntable in one of the drawers. Also: Working with the airbrush is a lot more convenient if you lift your model up (to just below eye level). Positive side-effect: This also increases air ectraction efficiency.
-===How to connect the airbrush to the compressor===
+== Airbrush Exercises ==
-To connect the compressor hose to the airbrush, please use the adaptor piece. The compressor will keep its pressure even if no airbrush is connected.
+Here is a PDF with some basic airbrush exercises. Download, print and attach them to the backdrop in the spray booth. (Airbrushing onto a vertical canvas is easier than placing the canvas onto  a horizontal surface). Even professional airbrush artists do warm-up exercises before they start a project.
+[[File:Airbrush Practice Sheet.pdf|alt=Airbrush practice sheet|thumb|Airbrush practice sheet]]
-===Compressor settings===
-===Cleaning the airbrush===
-Cleaning is '''mandatory''' after every session. Even during a session, be aware that paint can dry quickly and clog the airbrush. If you interrupt your airbrush session even for as little as 5 Minutes: please remove any remaining paint AND rinse the airbrush with water and a few drops of cleaning agent, using the dedicated cleaning jar.
-At the end of the session (if no one else wants to continue using the airbrush corner): please clean the airbrush thoroughly, following these instructions: (This should take around 15 Minutes, so don't leave it too late.)
-*remove any remaining color from the compartment
-*fill the compartment with water and run it through the airbrush (Please use the rinsing jar for this, so to collect all coloured water and residue)
-*disconnect airbrush from compressor
-*disassemble the entire airbrush on a large enough and clean surface; make sure no parts fall down, particularly the needle (€15 replacement cost!) – see animated GIF below
-* clean all parts, removing ALL visible paint. Please do not use any metal brushes for cleaning.
-*reassemble the airbrush and put it back into its case – see animated GIF below
-====Animated GIFs that show the disassembly and reassembly of our Iwata Neo CN airbrush.====
-Airbrush disassembly (click image, then on the following page click "open in Media Viewer")
-[[File:Airbrush-Disassembly.gif|alt=Airbrush disassembly for cleaning|frameless]]
-Airbrush reassembly (click image, then on the following page click "open in Media Viewer")
-[[File:Airbrush-Assembly.gif|frameless]]
-==Airbrush-Corner Induction==
-This is the content required for an induction to our Airbrush Corner. '''Reading this does NOT replace the mandatory session with a [[tutor]]!''' It will make it a lot quicker though ;-)
-If you need this induction, please reach out to the following tutors: [[User:Björn|Björn]]
-===Health & Safety Precautions===
-{| class="wikitable"
-|+
-!Danger
-!Description
-!Precautions
-|-
-|Aerosols
-|Airbrushing creates aerosols / vapours. Although most airbrush paints are typically water-based, you don't want to inhale those aerosols / paint particles.
-Solvent-based AND water-based can cause pneumonia and other long-term lung problems.
-Masks with "P2" or even better "P3" filters are the minimum protective gear when working with water-based colours, as they'll protect you against paint particles.
-If you're using solvent-based colours, you should also wear a mask with "A2" grade filters to protect against the solvent fumes. (These "gas and vapour cartridges" have a use-by date and need to be replaced from time to time, according to the manufacturer's recommendations).
-For example, here's the filter guide for 3M masks and filters: [https://multimedia.3m.com/mws/media/565214O/3m-cartridge-filter-guide-and-brochure.pdf English Version]– [http://multimedia.3m.com/mws/media/995779O/datenblatt-asd.pdf German Version]
-|use spray booth air extractor AND a respirator mask (grade A2 P3) with a tight fit
-wear goggles / glasses
-do not do any face painting
-|-
-|Paint
-|some paints may contain substances that are harmful to your skin
-|wear gloves
-|-
-|Airbrush needle
-|Every airbrush gun has a needle inside. The needle is usually covered/protected, but will become accessible when you disassemble the airbrush for cleaning.
-|Handle with care, never "poke" the front of the needle
-|-
-|Compressor
-| compressed air is generated and released through the airbrush:
-*the airstream can cause damage
-|
-*do not point the airbrush at yourself or other people
-|-
-|Noise
-|Noise from the air extractor (the compressor is relatively quiet, and turns itself on/off depending on air pressure settings)
-|Noise protection gear
-|-
-|Spray Booth
-|The spray booth contains an adjustable metal plate, which is attached to two hinges at the top. When reverting the metal plate to its standard vertical position, make sure your fingers don't get caught.
-|Grab the metal plate on the left/right side, NOT underneath.
-|-
-|Paint fumes
-|Paint aerosols might travel away from the airbrush corner. We want protect our beautiful 3D-Printers.
-|use spray booth;
-close the curtain behind you
-|}
-=== Practical Demonstration===
-*show airbrush and needle functionality before connecting airbrush to compressor
-*connect airbrush to compressor
-*change compressor pressure settings
-* add paint / change paint / demonstrate how "thin" or "watery" the paint needs to be
-*spray examples with varying needle positions (fine line / area fill etc)
-*disconnect airbrush from compressor
-*empty compressor / use valve
-*disassemble airbrush
-*clean airbrush
-*reassemble airbrush
+[[Category:Airbrushing]]
 [[Category:Facilities]]