Airbrush advice

[Pat.Hawkins]

Hi Folks,
I'm interested in learning how to do a sunburst finish.
I've had a couple of attempts with hand-rubbed water based dyes with poor results.
(Does anyone know of some decent tutorials)?

I'm also interested in trying airbrushing.

Are there things to avoid for the first-time buyer?
I've seen an Ozito kit for under $100 and Supercheap has some hardware also.

With very little space I'm hoping some tiny compressor will suffice?

Cheers - Pat

[simso]

I would not personally use an airbrush for creating a burst, more technique, offset your hand when painting using a traditional spray gun.

Airbrush, that being said is my go to tool on a daily basis, I can only comment on what I have, I have two airbrushes, both devilbiss dagr’s. The gravity fed one which was expensive is designed for cars, I find I do not use it as the paint needs to be way too thin, the cheaper 80 dollar one - suction fed devilbiss dagr is my worker, perfect finish and spray pattern, sprays nitro no issues

If your airbrushing, you don’t really need a compressor just a storage tank, then you can fill it up at the servo once a week and use it in your shop under a bench or overhead with no noise.

I have a big compressor upstairs, but in the paint booth and downstairs where I airbrush, I just have storage tanks.

Steve

[demonx]

Contrary to Steve’s advice, airbrush is my weapon of choice for bursts. I use an Iwata Eclipse. Any burst you see on any of my guitars has been airbrushed.

When I did an airbrushing course years ago I got to use several styles, the Iwata is by far my favourite.

I also would never just use a tank, I’d only use a compressor.

As far as the cheap ones you mentioned, I’ve never used them so I can’t comment, but I assume that’s it just like full sized guns where the cheap ones spray average and the good ones spray good.

As far as Steve’s comment on paint being way too thin, all you need to do is double reduce. It’s that simple.

[simso]

Looks good

Steve

[Pat.Hawkins]

Thanks guys,
That's something I love about this forum - some many different ways to achieve a result.

I had the chance to play with an airbrush the other day and really enjoyed it.
The compressor struggled (1/8 hp). I got around 15 seconds of spraying before the compressor did a one minute recovery.

Steve, I've caught the odd "How-to" of yours but went to the front page the other day.
http://www.mirwa.com.au/How_to_Series.html


It was amazing to see 80 or 90 tutorials - I had no idea!

There's around ten that I've earmarked for immediate study

(a very appropriate comment above your How-tos......)
Hope its ok to paste it here......

Please understand, my way is not the definitive way, every one repairs differently, its up to you to find out what works for you

thank you

PS.. is that a shellac finish on the gorgeous electric guitar that Allan posted?

Can you airbrush shellac?

Cheers

[simso]

Hope they are of some use, started as something simple and has even amazed me the size it has already become

Steve

[blackalex1952]

I have an airbrush set up that I bought from ebay for $30. It came from a hairdresser who was using it for spray tanning or something. A very good compressor with double pistons, always a reserve when spraying. Two guns also included plus I bought two more. The trick I use is to find the right balance between thinners and spray pressure. I use it for touch up work and pigment/dye combinations especially when hiding things like neck to headstock spline repairs. Also ok for sunbursts. I have even used it to refinish a neck. -Ross

[kiwigeo]

Looks good

Steve

Not quite shiny enough....MORE GLOSS PLEASE!!!!

[Ormsby Guitars]

Forget airbrushes. They are for way more intricate work.

Use what’s called a detail gun. 0.8 mm tip is what we use.

No need to thin/reduce. Perfectly atomised spray pattern. Plugs into your existing spray air leads. Your burst will be done before someone with an airbrush has even plugged it in.

An airbrush will need a wide spray pattern (going against its purpose) and a further distance from the work (creating a dry coat and possible atomisation). Not to mention it’s ultra low air flow rate can create atomisation also.

Sure it works for some, but that’s because they haven’t used the right tool yet. You can also use a chisel for cutting pickup pockets if you really like.

[demonx]

Before Searls Guitars existed, when I used to do guitar refurbs/resprays etc I used touch up (detail guns) for bursts. Then I learned how to use an airbrush.

The thing is, “airbrush” is a broad term, they’re not all created equal. I’ve used some cheapies that there’s no way I’d use for a burst, and then there’s good ones which are perfect.

As far as the comment about “setting up”, all my airlines are cross compatible. Plugs straight in. All the main colours are pre mixed ready to spray. Same amount of work whether it’s a airbrush or a full sized.

If you want thicker spray pattern with an airbrush, you can pull the needle out a bit and it’ll spray as heavy as a touch up gun however with more precision as it’s a better spray pattern, if you have a good airbrush.

In factories they might use a touch up gun, but factory guitars are not always the nicest burst, they’re the fastest burst.

[Woodsy23]

I am nowhere near as experienced in sunbursting as other posters. I have used a Star LVLP detail gun for spraying a sunburst Stratocaster, mixing the wood dye with the lacquer. However, I have just finished a sunburst "dye stain" on a mandolin using an airbrush (for the first time) and it came out quite well.

I bought an airbrush kit from Aldi, just to give it a go but soon found the airbrush supplied to be unsuitable (rubbish) so I bought an Iwata Neo with a 0.5mm tip. This has the trigger operation, like a conventional spray gun but smaller. I used the compressor that came with the Aldi kit and it performed OK. I will probable only do one a year so I don't need anything better.

I obtained the best advice about a dye sprayed sunburst from the Official Luthiers Forum in this post from Hans Brentrup (mandolin section)http://www.luthiersforum.com/forum/view ... 28&t=50074. You'll find his "tutorial" on sunbursting a little way down the first page.

He sprays multiple weak coats of dye to gradually build up the sunburst to the desired colour. I found that to be a good technique for a beginner like me. If the shading wasn't quite right in any "coat", it could be corrected in the next "coat".
I think the same technique could be applied to a guitar, either with a large tip airbrush (0.5mm) or a small tip spray gun (0.8 to 1.2mm).