body and interior Anyone ever use an airbrush for touch-up areas?

[dang]

I have standard sized and touch-up sized HVLP guns for paint but I've seen guys use what looks like an airbrush to touch up small areas under the hood, door jams, etc.  Has anyone ever used one and if so, what do you use?

 

Dan

[Simeon]

Not done it but it strikes me that it would be difficult to get the viscosity right for the tip without going too far off the tech sheet for the paint. Then you risk a failure due to the wrong chemistry. 

 

I suppose it depends upon what paint you are shooting

[vacca rabite]

I've done it.  It works okay.  Its not a very efficient way to paint a car, even small parts.

My paint was single stage 2K paint.  your mileage may vary, but the paint has held up fine.

 

I've also used those Pre-Val canister sprayers.  They work better then an airbrush.  Again, using single stage 2K paint, and way thinned down enamel.

 

 

Zach

Edited September 9, 2016 by vacca rabite

[TobyB]

What you've seen is usually a really small touch- up gun.  It is needle and orifice- sized

to handle the viscosity, as Simeon says, without having to thin the living bejeezuz out of it.
They're cheap, because they're less regulated, (by law, not psi) and often not even HVLP.

They work fine.  I think you can even buy them in the 'airbrush' style- but bigger 'jets', so to speak.

 

As does the airbrush, but I agree with Vacca,

the thing is so freakin' slow that the paint in the jar flashes off before you can get it all applied. 

Looks cool, tho- someone with skill could really

'melt in' subtle flaming and transitions very prettily....

...but actually getting a valid layer of material just ain't gonna happen.

 

t

 

[dang]

Thanks for the responses.  I guess I should've been more specific with the area I'm thinking of.  I'm talking about 1/8" to 1/4" areas where paint has chipped off but in multiple places and doesn't make sense to mask everything.  It would be something that would replace touching up with a small brush or dabbing a paint chip, which may be the way I go anyway.

[Son of Marty]

I have found several Badger brand air brushes at garage sales for a few bucks each and have used them to paint smaller parts like the hood hinges and bolts to match them to the factory color and they work well with enough practice but it's a matter of scale it would take about a week to get one coat on the whole car but for small areas like you have their fine, just practice on a scrap piece a few times to get the hang of it first.

[TobyB]

Yeah, sure- for doing a better job than a 'chip brush' it would work OK.  

You might also do a very steep 'sand down' on the chip

(cut down the sharp edges without sanding a big area) so you can overcoat

the existing paint for a better blend and bond...

 

t

 

 

 

[dang]

5 hours ago, TobyB said:

Yeah, sure- for doing a better job than a 'chip brush' it would work OK.  

You might also do a very steep 'sand down' on the chip

(cut down the sharp edges without sanding a big area) so you can overcoat

the existing paint for a better blend and bond...

 

Exactly my plan.  I was just hoping to find something that cut down the disassembly, masking and reassembly time when touching up in the engine compartment, door jams, even valance chips, etc.  I'll check them out and see what happens.  Thanks guys.

[Simeon]

To be fair this is the kind of process used by the 'Chips-away' / Painless Dent Removal folks. If you can see primer in the hole then using an airbrush to get some paint on it might be good. If it had gone done to steel or has any rust it needs a bit more prep.