Hey Everybody, My name is Bryan, I live in California. I like this place allot, some of you i recognize from sites like Gruntville and such so whats up. Not new to the modding scene but definitely new to the painting (airbrushing mostly) scene.

So lets quit the small talk and get right down to the nitty gritty . Heres my questions..

I have some work im doing on my rig. Mostly dealing with the painting of plastics and bondo and metal. I know the steps to take for a glass like finish using spray paint but i just got my airbrushing equipment and i would rather use that to paint my rig and selected pieces. So my questions are..

1. Do i follow the same techniques as i would when using spray paint, instead just supplementing the spraypaint for some airbrushing paint and a few other details like airbrush coats for adhesion???

2. Do i need a different Primer for the Airbrush paint or will the stuff im using now (Plasti-kote's Flexible Spot Filler - Sandible Primer) good enough for the job ???

3. Do i need to use a buffing compound with airbrushed paint like i would with spraypaint, I know airbrushing usually yeilds a really smooth finish but would the buffing compound be appropriate or is it not meant for airbrush paints ???

4. Do i need to lay down a last coat of midnight blue (6th coat above) before i apply the clear coat or can i simply just wash it off and apply the clear coat ??? the same with the second clear coat before the buffing compound ???

5. And lastly, what is the difference between spray paint, and airbrush paint, besides airbrush paint being applied much thinner than spray paint ???

So if I were to paint my case and what not today using my airbrush, these are the steps i would follow..

- Wet-Sand Aluminum with 320 grit wet or dry

- Apply 1st coat of primer
- Wet-sand with 320 again
- Apply 2nd coat or primer
- Wetsand with 600 grit wet or dry
- Apply 3rd coat of primer
- Wetsand with 800 grit wet or dry
- Apply 4th coat of primer
- Wet-sand with 1000 grit
- Apply 5th coat of primer
- Wet-sand with 1500 grit

- lay down my "Auto Air" Base coat sealer "Dark"
- lay down my "Auto Air" Aluminum Base "Fine"
- Lay down first coat or "Auto Air" Midnight Blue 4200 Series paint
- Wet-sand with 800 grit paper
- Second coat of Midnight Blue
- Wet-sand with 800 grit again

- Lay down 3rd coat of Midnight Blue
- Wet-sand with 1000 grit
- Lay down 4th coat of Midnight Blue
- Wet-sand with 1000 grit

- Lay down 5th coat of Midnight Blue
- Wet-sand with 12/1500 grit
- Lay down 6th and last coat of Midnight Blue

- Clear Coat with "Clear Uv- Blocking" coat
- Wet-sand with 12/1500 grit
- 2nd Layer of Clear Coat

- Buff with 3m Buffing compound

Thanx to all those who help me out. Ill post pics up of my worklog when I get some of this stuff done.

6. And does anyone know where i can get this paint the Bill used on his case.
http://www.mnpctech.com/GalDeuce.html I would especially like it in airbrush paint but spraypaint is good too, could anyone out there be nice enough to maybe throw me a link or at least tell me ??? Thankx ALLz..

Bryan-

Hey! Mr.B Welcome to PimpRig. I know you from Gruntville Hmm I've never worked with air brushes but I know someone will help you out. Once again welcome to PR

Welcome Brian to PR!

About your post, I think you may have hit the nail on the head by mentioning Bill at MNPCTech as he would have been the guy that I would have referred you to anyway. If he doesn't know, I'm sure that he'll be able to point you in the right direction. Drop him a private message or maybe you'll be lucky enough that he'll see this post.

Again, welcome.

Rob

Edit: Oh, good first post, too! That is always appreciated here at PR.

I am certain there is a difference but some of the same principles still apply such as dripping from overspray. I am not, however, an airbrush pimp by any means but hopefully an airbrush pimp will find their way to this thread and help you out soon.
Welcome to PimpRig.

Hey guys, thanx. I feel like you guys are a group of nice people allready. Ya hopefully Bill or another Guru will find his way over here and lend us some of their upper hand knowledge. If not, i might have to ensure Bill makes it over here by throwing him a link LOL. Anyhow, im glad i found this place, SUP JESS, and ill be posting up a worklog here very soon as I get a little more progress done on my Rig. Thanx again.

Quote: Originally Posted by Mr.B Hey Everybody, My name is Bryan, I live in California. I like this place allot, some of you i recognize from sites like Gruntville and such so whats up. Not new to the modding scene but definitely new to the painting (airbrushing mostly) scene. So lets quit the small talk and get right down to the nitty gritty . Heres my questions.. I have some work im doing on my rig. Mostly dealing with the painting of plastics and bondo and metal. I know the steps to take for a glass like finish using spray paint but i just got my airbrushing equipment and i would rather use that to paint my rig and selected pieces. So my questions are.. - Wet-Sand Aluminum with 320 grit wet or dry - Apply 1st coat of primer - Wet-sand with 320 again - Apply 2nd coat or primer - Wetsand with 600 grit wet or dry - Apply 3rd coat of primer - Wetsand with 800 grit wet or dry - Apply 4th coat of primer - Wet-sand with 1000 grit - Apply 5th coat of primer - Wet-sand with 1500 grit - lay down my "Auto Air" Base coat sealer "Dark" - lay down my "Auto Air" Aluminum Base "Fine" - Lay down first coat or "Auto Air" Midnight Blue 4200 Series paint - Wet-sand with 800 grit paper - Second coat of Midnight Blue - Wet-sand with 800 grit again - Lay down 3rd coat of Midnight Blue - Wet-sand with 1000 grit - Lay down 4th coat of Midnight Blue - Wet-sand with 1000 grit - Lay down 5th coat of Midnight Blue - Wet-sand with 12/1500 grit - Lay down 6th and last coat of Midnight Blue - Clear Coat with "Clear Uv- Blocking" coat - Wet-sand with 12/1500 grit - 2nd Layer of Clear Coat - Buff with 3m Buffing compound Thanx to all those who help me out. Ill post pics up of my worklog when I get some of this stuff done. 6. And does anyone know where i can get this paint the Bill used on his case. http://www.mnpctech.com/GalDeuce.html I would especially like it in airbrush paint but spraypaint is good too, could anyone out there be nice enough to maybe throw me a link or at least tell me ??? Thankx ALLz.. Bryan-

Welcome aboard Bryan,
You are wanting to work waaayyy to hard. You are alot more willing to work your tail off than most of us.
I sand them smooth with 320 grit dry paper and then lay down a sealer, paint my colors, clear and rub it out. If your case is very rough then you could sand it with 180 or 220, prime, let dry and finish sand the primer with 320 before spraying your color on. That's it, if you sand your case with 1000 grit, you run a risk of loosing your mechanical adhesion and that could be bad if your paint comse off like Saran Wrap. In my shop all the paints we use is automotive style paints. The only difference is to reduce the paint more to use in the airbrush and use a very slow reducer. A slow reducer will help carry the paint to the surface. If your reducer is too fast, then the paint will spit and spatter on the surface and you will loose all your detail. If the airbrush still spits.... you need to reduce it more. I recommend you go to an automotive paint store and choose some colors, you should be able to get half pints and see if they have some reducer they have 'poured-off'. As far as rubbing the case out to a mirror finish... you have to clear coat. It is alot softer, before it is finished curing and rubs alot easier than a single stage paint.
The only thing with your duty list, is your primer. If the paint store sets you up with urethane paint and you apply it over a lacquer primer, it will go 'crazy' (little pun for fellow painters). The primer will get the appearance that you applied paint stripper to it.
-Sand the case with 320 to smooth it out
-If you doon't have to many sand throughs, just put down your base color
-Do any of your airbrush work, or detail
-Shoot on three coats of clear, sand with 1500 grit wet paper and buff it out

Hope this helps,
Insom

What kind of paints do you use Insomniac? I am new to painting also (about 2 months now). I have been using auto air colors for metal and have had some decent results (but wondering if there is better out there for the price, becuase you can buy these in 4oz bottles too). Also what brand clear coat do you use? And is there an online retailer you like to buy your paints from? Sorry for all the questions Im just wanting to learn.

Wow Insomniac, that was great, just what ive been looking and hoping to hear. Im very new to the airbrush scene but the methods i wrote above work for rattle cans only and i really needed to hear some inside advice. You GAVE IT PERFECTLY !!! I really appreciate it man. What type of clear do you recommend I use. Im airbrushing USing AUTO AIR so which one of these would work from this page http://www.airbrush-depot.com/script...pgm=aacclr.bbx ???

1. I heard the fast dry clear stuff is no good so im not gonna be getting any of that. I also heard that I should buy a cheap gun to apply the clear with, should I ???

2. What should I use to buff it out ?? Do i need like an orbital sander with a buffing pad ??

3. I also heard that when i put a clear on i should cure it with heat. I heard using a heat gun is best for that, I have one of those so no issues there if thats what I need ???

4. Any tips on Types of Airbrush paints not to mix besides a enamel paint and a lacquer clear ??? How about a water based paint with a lacquer clear ??? I also heard that when i sand not to wetsand with water based paints cuz they tend not to "like" wet sanding. So if im using a water based paint, the step above where you told me to sand with 1500, is that dry or wetsand?

5. What type of paint do you think would work best with my application here?? I only want to paint it one solid color. Ill get into doing graphics and stuff later but right now im just looking for a nice glossy show car paint job on some parts of the computer case.

Once again thanx so much,

Bryan-

O and BTW, i cant remember ur name above me, but that link i gave is a good place to buy auto air paints. Lates all.

Does anyone have an imput ?? Insomniac where did u go !!!