# Air brushes and woodworking.



## hawkeye10 (Jul 28, 2015)

Does any one use an air brush in finishing your projects? I bought one and have been reading on the net trying to learn about using it. There is a lot to learn. If you use an air brush please let me what you use and the type of projects you use it on. I really think once I learn a little more it will be a lot of fun.


----------



## Gaffboat (Mar 11, 2012)

I use mine occasionally for painting the signs I make as well as for my small projects like The Woodlot Incident where I painted the characters and tree with the airbrush. Like you, I watched a lot of airbrush videos on YouTube. I think the best way to learn to use the airbrush is just start using it. You can paint on scraps of cardboard or paper to get a feel for how the controls work and how far you need to be from the surface being painted. When using the airbrush for signs I found I used a lot less paint which made sanding off the excess paint much easier.

I have mixed colors from the basic set to make the color I wanted and found that to be pretty easy. Additionally, I find that the transparent or semi-transparent paints let me build up layers of color for a more organic look.


----------



## Cherryville Chuck (Sep 28, 2010)

I`ve used mine to lacquer burl clocks. I could use my touch up gun because they are a small project but I inherited it from my in-laws and it holds about the right amount of lacquer for the job, doesn`t use much air, and cleans up easier and with less solvent than a larger gun.


----------



## Garyk (Dec 29, 2011)

Many wood-turners are using airbrushes to enhance their turnings now. It's a movement to attract collectors into the wood-turned products. Binh Poh (Chicago) turns thin walled turnings that look like a drinking glass. He then airbrushes a picture on the outside and then pierces the piece with a Foredom. Those pieces sell for $900 + at Neiman Marcus. His best seller is one showing the Chicago skyline with the windows in the buildings pierced. His life story is amazing, but that's another story. Google him. The AAW magazine shows many airbrushed pieces if you are interested.


----------



## RJT501Win (Apr 21, 2012)

Hi Don
I mainly use mine for painting detail on toys. Like others I learnt buy watching u tube and practice on scraps and cardboard etc. The one I purchased has three sizes of needles. Handy from small jobs to larger. Recently I went to a toy show and was introduced to a trigger as apposed to a top button air brush. After having a test go at the show it is much easier to use for what I do. I must get one of those.
For most of my other projects I use a HVLP (high volume low pressure) spray gun. I purchased a cheaper set of two from eBay and the smaller one I use lots.
Once you get the viscosity settled and at 15 to 18 psi it is like using a rattle can. I use it so much that I have made myself a small portable spray booth using an old box fan and disposable chux cloth as filters. I particularly like the finish I get on my final clear coats.
Cheers
John T


----------



## JOAT (Apr 9, 2010)

Gaffboat said:


> I have mixed colors from the basic set to make the color I wanted and found that to be pretty easy. Additionally, I find that the transparent or semi-transparent paints let me build up layers of color for a more organic look.


I don't air brush, or spray paint. I do use latex paint tho, brushed on, and often mix 'custom' colors. Like Oliver said, it's easy. However, if you want to duplicate a 'custom' color later, you had better write down all your quantities of each color, or you could be days coming up with the desired color. Either that, or mix up a whole lot at once. when I paint my figures, not real large, I don't use a lot of paint, so anything mixed could be just drops of each color, or possibly plastic spoonfuls, a little goes a long way for me.

And for colors I only use the three basic colors, red, yellow, and blue. And dark green, white, and black. Hehehe I get the darkest blue and green I can get, you can always lighten them up with white, but I have found it is impossible to mix a decent green or blue. Same with black, you cannot mix a suitable black. With those six colors I can come up with about any color you can think of. Except orange, for some strange reason when I tried mixing orange, I could only come up with various shades of pink. Hell, I was even using color wheels, and could still only get pink. So, wound up buying a can of orange. xz


----------



## Seenya (Apr 11, 2010)

I've used an airbrush to spray shellac on small projects. Works well.


----------

