With the birth of the 360, most of the mods I have seen were airbrushed. It seems as though more and more airbrushers are popping up. As a result of this, I have recieved quite a few emails asking which airbrush to buy, how much paint to buy and proper techniques. I figured I would start a tut to clear it all up.
Well, here it is:

To start out with, do not expect to buy an airbrush and start painting graphics/murals the next day. In fact, don't even expect to be able to apply paint evenly the next day. What I am saying, is don't buy an airbrush to paint something on your case. It can take months to even master the basics of airbrushing.
For example, if you want a skull airbrushed on your case, you won't be able to learn how to do that in a few days, instead contact me or one of the other airbrushers on the scene to do it for you.

^To sum that all up, don't get an airbrush to do a current project. Get it so that you can learn how to use it to do future projects

Equipment
Starting out in airbrushing can be quite costly. There is no way to avoid this if you want good equipment, however you can get a better value for what you spend.

Airbrushes: The typical cost of a good siphon feed airbrush is anywhere from $60-$100. For a first airbrush, get a siphone feed as they are much more versatile than a gravity feed. Personally, I would recommend the Paasche VL as a great starter airbrush. Don't try to cheap it with an airbrush because you will just end up buying a better one later on and having a peice of crap sitting around. The only exception is if you buy a cheap plastic hobby airbrush to give airbrushing a try before you commit. Chances are, you will end up buying multiple airbrushes for different types of work.

My setup:


Hobby airbrush:

^I have one of these available for a few dollars, PM me if you want it

Compressor: There are compressors available online made specifically for airbrushes however I would reccomend getting a bigger compressor from Lowes or HomeDepot since they allow for more options such as using an HVLP spraygun, DA sander, etc. These range from $100-$200. Be sure to get a quality one, even if it means spending more money.

HVLP spraygun: I would definately reccomend getting one of these, It allows for a much more even basecoat and clearcoat. If you don't plan on doing intricate details, get one of these instead of an airbrush. If you are getting an airbrush, I still highly recommend buying one to use with your airbrush. These are also available at Lowes or HomeDepot.

MORE TO COME

Yea i have a Badger 155 and i love it. Good post stail for all the beginner airbrushers.
EDIT: Haha i just noticed in the my setup picture i have the same exact bottle of paint that you have sitting in the bottom left hand corner Its Createx Pearlized red am i correct?

dont go on the cheap onthe paint either

and yes, get a spray gun since thats pretty much the only way to use a clear

How true you are. Not to mention learning how to properly mask and detail. For even regular detail on such a small surface as a faceplate, you would need an even more precise/expensive airbrush ranging up to $299 (not to mention the practice to produce such detail). Excellent tut stail.

Yup, its Createx Pearlized red. I used it to support a faceplate I was painting blue. Some of the paint got on the bottle so one is blue and one side is red



yeah, i can't stress this enough. USE AUTO PAINT, not t-shirt paint. Im not done with the tut yet. I am going to add stuff about paint types and proper techniques for applying paint. I just don't have time right now.




Thanks! its not even done yet. I am going to add what I said above and then restart it and try to have it pinned.

Paint:
There are many varieties of paint. USE AUTOMOTIVE PAINT. It is the only paint that will stick to the plastic without the use of an ahesion promoter. There are many types of automotive paint. The leading brands are House of Kolor (HOK), PPG and AutoAir.

HOK&PPG: these are both urethane based automotive paint. They have high VOC content which basically means that there is lots of bad stuff in them (chemicals). These require that you wear a certified air respirator. The main difference between the two is that HOK is more of a custom paint where as PPG is used for factory finishes. These paint dry very quickly (within seconds). The downside is that they are very expensive and they must be reduced.

AutoAir: This is a very easy to use paint in terms of mixing and the fact that they are ready to use right out of the bottle. The downside is that since they are water based, they are harder to apply and they take longer to dry. Back to the pros of AutoAir, they are cheaper, they have low VOC content meaning they contain barely any harsh chemicals and they are easier to clean up. I recommend AutoAir for begginers

DO NOT USE T-SHIRT PAINT, THERE ARE NO BONDING AGENTS IN IT THAT BINDS THE PAINT TO PLASTIC

Here is a pic of a recent order of paint:

thats some nice paint you got there. I have some but i dont keep it inside i keep it in my heated work area in my garage ( my own personal painting booth )
we think alike stail

Be careful, thats t-shirt paint youve got there. Comes off of plastic really easily. Or at least in my experience it does.

Lol i know dude, i have been airbrushing t shirts for 4 years now. And i have used this on plastic before. (on nextel cell phone housings) and it bonds pretty good even though its not meant for this. as i said above my auto paint is in the garage.

tsk tsk, you should be ashamed of yourself painting on plastic with t-shirt paint! The least you could do is to use some adhesion promoter

And your right, we do think the same. Then again, don't all airbrushers think the same?

ILL ADD MORE WHEN I GET HOME FROM SCHOOL

BUMP. Nice tutorial.

bump

darn, i forgot to add more. Ill do it later today. By the way, this is like the rough draft. I will redo the tut in more detail when I have more time. Just wanted to get it started

I was going to get a Vega 2000 because it was recommended by a couple friends, and I believe I see one in your picture there. I was just wondering if I was right and if so, how you liked it.

Yup, your right. I bought is off of crazy8 a while ago. So far, I love it. The only problem I have had is that the needle and the aircap are rather fragile since they are so thin. The easy way around this is to keep 2-3 extra of each around although that can be a bit expensive after a while. Aside from that, I am in love with it. I am strongly considering getting the Vega 1000 too, the gravity feed version of the 2000 model