posted
I have been working with vinyl for a little bit now and I was thinking about getting an airbrush to start to add some shadow and dimension to my sign projects. Also, I've been practicing with a pin striping brush and would like to incorporate some of that as well.
I have two questions.
1- If I get a small airbrush and I use 1shot through it?
posted
If you want a cheap way of using colours over vinyl, perhaps try Krylon products- they stick to vinyl well.
I've just finished a job on a skiing boat, with a kind of chrome-look lettering, with the colours airbrushed over white cast vinyl (masked, so there's a white outline outside the colour), and then that's put over a backing of black, to give it a black outline.
I used 'Tautflex-air', a waterbased aussie airbrush paint that sort-of welds into the vinyl. It's a great product.
You then put a coat of the special Tautflex UV-clear over that which helps weld it all down.
You do have to lightly scuff the vinyl before eplotting it, and also wipe it down with isopropyl alcohol to clean it.
You could also use screenprinting vinyl ink - but have a good fresh-air supply.
1-shot over vinyl? I wouldn't if you wanted it to last or to stand up to any abuse.
1-shot through an airbrush- yes you can do that, but airbrushing enamels is probably the hardest media to learn to airbrush with, in my opinion.
I think there are some USA paints, like maybe Createx that should stick to vinyl, and should airbrush well, and won' send you broke buying a few colours. Hopefully someone else will answer that better than me!
-------------------- "Stewey" on chat
"...there are no limits when you aim for perfection..." Jonathan Livingston Seagull Posts: 7014 | From: Highgrove via Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia | Registered: Dec 2002
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posted
This is the first job where I tried this. I used Krylon fusion over oracal 651.This guy did me a favor and had a beat up ugly sign. I took the steel blank and sanded it down. leaving some of the old enamel residue.I priced a quart of cheap black auto enamel and reducer and was looking at $70.I used enamel in a rattlebrush and had about $30 in this.I wiped the vinyl down with alcohol first.The amount I owed him was only $100 so I tried to do as nice a job as possible cheaply.You probably want more detail if you want to use an airbrush, but this worked well for bigger fades.
-------------------- Darcy Baker Darcy's Signs Eureka Springs. AR. Posts: 1169 | From: Eureka Springs, AR | Registered: Nov 2007
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posted
David, I've done this alot. I have used vinyl screenprinting inks with great results, but be aware that they are very toxic. So toxic in fact that if I breathe any at all I end up sick for the next few days. The alternative is Krylon Fusion. I use it and clean up with lacquer thinner. Just use a paper cup to spray into and pour it into your airbrush resevoir then spray. No clearing is needed. I've also used createx or it's equivalent and you must scuff it and spray then clearcoat. Hope this helps.
-------------------- R.T.Thomas,AirDesigns/Sign And Airbrush Studio rtart1@earthlink.net
Hattiesburg,MS 39401 Shop 601-584-1000 Cell 601-310-5901 Proud supporter of LETTERVILLE!
"Ahhhhhh.......Juicy Fruit." Posts: 547 | From: Hattiesburg,MS USA | Registered: Nov 1998
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posted
When I used to airbrush on vinyl I would cut the vinyl but not weed it.
Wiped the vinyl thoroughly with laquer thinner.
If necessary, to aid the weeding process later, I would draw around the outside of the cuts with china marker.
Sprayed the blends, shadows or whatever with automotive basecoat. (I would buy pints of about 6 different colours and transfer to plastic dispensing bottles. Mixed colours as needed from those 6 basic colours.)
After half an hour, sprayed the catylized automotive clearcoat using a body shop "touch-up" gun. (don't drench the vinyl, just a light coat followed by a medium coat about 20-30 minutes later. Clean up the touch-up gun immediately. Don't use the catylized cleacoat in an airbrush!!!)
Let cure for about an hour or so, depending on shop temperature and then weed.
Let the clearcoat cure overnight and then masked with medium tack application tape.
It always worked great for me.
-------------------- Dave Grundy retired in Chelem,Yucatan,Mexico/Hensall,Ontario,Canada 1-519-262-3651 Canada 011-52-1-999-102-2923 Mexico cell 1-226-785-8957 Canada/Mexico home
Cut you vinyls and BEFORE weeding them, spray them with a light coat of OS UV Clear Aerosol and let it dry for a couple of hours. It acts as a bridge for the OS paints to adhere to.
Again, BEFORE weeding, airbrush what you need of the design pieces. The real trick is good lighting so you can see the design when you start, but a little over spray will probably help the cuts show as you progress.
Leave it AT LEAST overnight before you put the application tape to it. Too soon and tape marks will show.
I've done this process at least a hundred times with no problems on signs and vehicles alike. Rapid
-------------------- Ray Rheaume Rapidfire Design 543 Brushwood Road North Haverhill, NH 03774 rapidfiredesign@hotmail.com 603-787-6803
I like my paint shaken, not stirred. Posts: 5648 | From: North Haverhill, New Hampshire | Registered: Apr 2003
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