Iwata spraygun questions for Stencilist (Sheri)

[moonshadow]

I am learning airbrushing to use in murals and stenciling.
In my research, your name, along with great information and tips, keeps popping up. I was thrilled to find Faux Forum and all the great advice.

Here are my questions for you, since I have read your comments related to these topics:

I have Iwata airbrushes HP-CS AND G6.
I think I should get Iwata sprayguns RG-3 and W-101 for large area work.
Can either the RG-3 or the W-101 handle thinned latex paint, like Benjamin Moore eggshell?

The RG-3 comes with a standard 0.6mm nozzle/needle.
Do you recommend any other sizes?
The W-101 comes with a standard 1.0mm nozzle/needle.
Again, do you recommend any other sizes (like 1.3, 1.5, or 1.8), especially if I want to shoot latex?

I know the RG-3 should work with a Great White Shark compressor.
Will the W-101 also?
And if I have to do a lot of heavy spraying, say for clouds, what is the minimum compressor of the cheap but noisy variety I should have?
Weight of the compressor is an issue for me.

I know I want to get your DVD, "Airbrush Niche".
Have you done any instructional DVD's that show use of airguns?
Or any that show spray painting/airbrushing on a ceiling?

Thanks very much for your time.
Selina Harju / moonshadow

P.S. I would also be greatful for input from anyone else who might have some good ideas for me.

[Corrado]

Hello, hope I can be of some help.

Both the RG 3 and W 101 will easily spray thinned house paint, but go for the bigger tip. 1.0 or over will be good. The .6 will still spray, but not nearly as well.

As for the compressors, I hear your pain, as you need one powerful enough to power the guns, but light enough to carry to jobsites. You have to check the cfm requirements of the guns you are using. (Cubic feet per minute) I am still using my 16 year old Sears 1.5 hp compressor with no problems. I have an HVLP turbine gun for the bigger stuff, that gun sprays over a foot wide pattern yet also half an inch, I LOVE that gun!

I'm sure others will chime in with more advice, great people on here, ready to help.

[marsha]

I just wanted to welcome you to the forum.
Corrado I love your avatar!

[stencilist]

Hi Selina,

Thanks for the compliments. Sorry it took so long for me to respond. I've been playing catch up since returning from Salon earlier in the week.

I do use both the RG-3 and W-101 Sprayers, but I have not used interchangeable needles for them-just what comes standard. It is my understanding that using latex or house paint is not recommended for the RG-3, but fine for the W-101. I have used house paint through the RG-3, but it has to be diluted more than I would like, and so I have to go over the area repeatedly to get good coverage and it tends to clog up a bit with house paint. The W-101, with the larger orifice, will have greater output.

The other significant difference between them is that the RG-3 has a round or conical spray pattern, like a large airbrush. The W-101 has a fanned spray pattern, more like a small commercial paint sprayer. I like to use a combination of both when painting clouds, laying in my largest areas with the W-101, enhancing and shading with the RG-3 and standard siphon feed airbrushes. Both of them have rotating color cups so that you can spray at a comfortable angle for the ceiling.

The Great White is a great compressor for murals, and I love the silent compressors, but if you're going to be doing a lot of high volume spraying, I think something with more horsepower is more appropriate. The problem is that the Great White will run almost continuously when painting clouds, etc, because the tank is not really big. I have a Silentaire that is similar to it, and it runs really hot when I'm doing that much spraying. I do so only on an occassional basis, though, and it's been fine. The other option is to find a compressor at a home improvement store that is 1-1 1/2 hp that you can lift, has wheels and a larger air storage tank that will push a lot of paint. I will be noisy, unfortunately. Like Corrado, I used one of these for years, and they do have more versatility. If you can, it would be great to get a Great White or Hammerhead for the fine work, and a noisy, more powerful one for when you need the extra output. You can generally get the noisy ones for under $200.

I don't have a video using larger spray equipment, sorry, but thanks for asking. I do have an airbrushed cloud demo class scheduled for SALI, but will be using airbrushes for that, not the larger equipment.

Hope this helps,

Sheri

[moonshadow]

Thanks so much for the warm greetings and good information.
Just the good stuff that I need to know.

Marsha, thanks for the hello.

Corrado : perfect input on the nozzles!

Stencilist (Sheri) your advice is much appreciated.
I ordered your 2 DVD's.
I am now thinking I should get a Silentare (VAL-AIR 50-T-AIRE) along with a noisy 1 1/2 hp Home Depot type of compressor.

It was a bit of luck that I saw a comment you (Sher) had about using Golden Liquid Acrylics mixed with airbrush medium instead of regular airbrush colors.
When checked up on this I found it is great textile paint as well.
This is perfect for me to airbrush and paint on wearable art.
A big plus when that is a big part of my plans for business.
Now I can use one media and afford to have more colors on my shelf.

I talked to Mike Townsend (UpStateMike) and he recommended the airbrush medium as a good additive to help in spraying wall paint, like Benjamin Moore.
So, this is good for using in the W-101.

So I love FauxForum!

I hope Sheri or another Faux Forum muralist does a DVD using sprayguns and bigger compressors.

Thanks to all.

[stencilist]

Selina,

I think that would be a perfect compressor combo. You'll probably want to use multiple airbrushes as well, and equip your hoses with quick connects, which can be found at a home improvement store. You can get some cool brass levers that are offered through iwata/medea, but they are quite expensive. A cheaper alternative is using plumbing fittings as shown below. Mine is set to use up to six airbrushes, but you can add as many as you want. The airbrushing basics DVD goes over this, but here's a photo of a set up for four you can take with you for reference.

The Golden Fluid Acrylics combined with their Airbrush medium is a great textile paint-does not even require heat setting. You can use the same paint going from the wall to the fabric. This combination gives you control over the viscosity-I like it to be about skim milk consistency.

Glad it helps, and welcome to the forum!

Sheri

[UpStateMike]

Happy to help out the other day Selina!

The Airbrush Medium is good for the Fluid Acrylics and it also works well with other products like housepaints. It should really help improve flow and leveling overall, but with a housepaint, adding just water can cause the paint to bead up on slicker sufaces, so the ABM can make a big contribution for reducing that issue.

Compressors are a personal choice, but I agree about needing one with a larger air tank for spraying big areas. I also have a sears craftsman model with (I think) a 15 gallon tank. This comes on about every 20 minutes or so when airbrushing, but when spraying with a larger gun it fires up probably every 5 minutes or so. This still is far better than the ones like a shark, or smaller compressors. They are seemingly always running and being noisy.

One trick I use for this is to run long hoses from the compressor to keep it far away from me. If you do this though, you will want to have another regulator at the end of the line so you can tweak the pressure while you work.

Sheri, I have a very similar hookup system which cost very little. I don't have those fancy lifesavers looking hose connectors though!

[stencilist]

Mike,

Thanks for your input.

You GOTTA have quick-connects-run right to home depot! Then you can just pop the hose on and off. The colors are just the tags-for some reason they make several sizes rather than one standard, so get one system and stick with that. Use teflon tape for all the fittings to reduce leaks.

Best regards,

Sheri

[moonshadow]

Thanks for the photo Sheri!
I really appreciate it. And the confirmation on the compressor types.
I want to get all the information possible to make good decisions on equipment.

And Mike is so great to talk to.

Thanks.

[UpStateMike]

LOL - Yes Sheri I have the quick disconnects. They are absolutely critical for a set up. I was referring to the multicolored connectors.

I try to have a couple of good clean airbrushes ready to go before starting a project. This way if something is going on with one gun, you just pop it off and go to the other one. There's nothing more frustrating that messing around with a gun that is sputtering or spraying at an angle, or plugged. Just move on and deal with it in the shop.

For general smaller spraying I prefer the Paasche H and VL models. They take a lot of abuse and spare parts like needles are cheap. Larger work is done with a gun that is similar to Iwata's RG-3, but it's from a brand called Olympos, which are very similar quality. For larger work I tend to just use commercial automotive sprayers.

Selina - Thanks for the compliment! I try my best to help out and make it an enjoyable call.

One last tip for any beginning airbrusher/sprayer - buy guns/equipment that suit your immediate needs, not just the "best" or what a salesman tries to sell you. I learned that the hard and expensive way. Learn the basics and then you'll know what you need later on.

[Deelite]

I know this is an old thead, but I have a few questions for you gun-toting folks...
My father in law is a car painter and has given me an iwata airbrush and an automotive spray gun (both gravity fed) and i am just scared to start. I have fiddled with the airbrush and don't know if i need stencils, or how to do a painting with one airbrush, it seems like a lot of preplanning with layers, switching colors, etc. the automotive spray gun i have only used to paint two pieces of furniture with oil paint. wow did they look good!
I guess Im looking for some kind of starter project so that I can get used to using both tools. I don't have a spray tent/booth, so the larger furniture pieces I did outside when the weather was warm and dry. (seems like sept oct are the only months like that!) Any advice on how to set up some sort of indoor spray booth?
I also bought two books, "the ultimate airbrush handbook" by pamela shanteau and "automotive cheap tricks and special f/x" by craig frasier. I haven't found classes offered in my area (baltimore)
whew! thanks!
Dee

[Linda Topel]

Dee.......if you have a local Dick Blick........Pamela Shanteau teaches airbrush classes on a rotating basis.........she is a wonderful teacher ......very through

And I have Sheri's DVD's they are great.......some thing you can replay when you need a reminder is ....A Good Thing

[stencilist]

Dee,

Airbrushing can be a little intimidating at first. Pamela's book is really great and features many different uses, which is important because the airbrush is so versatile.

Linda, thanks for mentioning my DVDs and I'm glad you have enjoyed them. I especially recommend the Airbrushing Basics one, Dee, because it has all the technical information you need as well as some projects designed to build your skills so you can take them to the next level. Also, different tools for masking and when you can go without masks.

In any case the most important aspect is to get it out of the box. Leave it set up if you can. With your spray gun, try just coating your fence with water-or something like that, so you have a completely forgiving situation to get the feel of the spray patterns.

Hope this helps and have fun!

[Robert Bober]

For those who are just starting out with the airbrush, I suggest you get on Youtube and look at some videos on airbrush techniques. There's a ton of them. When you see someone who knows what they are doing and some of the common household items that can be used as stencils to get some cool effects, it takes the intimidation factor out of the tool. You have to go into it with the attitude that it's no different than any other medium you use for the first time. You just have to practice, practice, practice. Get you a bunch of cheap poster board you can get at Walmart for .50 a piece, some little bottles of craft acrylic that's .75 each and in any color you want, thin it down with water the consistency of skim-milk and just doodle with the AB, not worrying about messing anything up. The main thing that you need to remember when thinning paints is to be sure you strain the paint through a panty-hose before putting it in the AB. Experiment with the air pressure and see how it effects the patterns. You'll quickly see all the things that can go wrong and how to fix them before you do the real deal.

[Deelite]

We don't have a local dick blick ( they would do well here though!) but I will get my pennies together for Sheri's dvd.