Best Needle size.

[Steveo535]

Hi All

I have started car modelling again after a number of years in the armour world and just wondered what the best needle size is for spraying a cars body.

My current airbrush is an Iwata High Performance Plus with a 0.3 mm needle but struggling to cover the body and just wondered if I need to go up a needle size.

Cheers Steven

[jmurphy18]

Hi Steven, I am fairly new and not the best but I will offer my 2 cents on your question. I have two airbrushes a Grex with a .3mm needle that I prime with and an H&S Ultra with .2mm and .4mm needles. I shoot most of my work with the .2mm with the exception of primer and clear. For those I switch to the .4mm and up my pressure. Using a Grex tankless compressor that is small. If you were covering your tanks with a .3mm then the 1/24 cars should not be an issue. 1/10 scale I am not sure about and will let more experienced users speak to that area. HAGD

[digger303]

I use a procon boy 290 it's a Mr Hobby trigger version of iwata.... I know there's more to it, but that's a quick explanation.
It has a 0.5 needle , fan nozzle and it consumes more air. I use it for the bigger kits as I can keep a wet edge and move the brush reasonably quickly. It works great for big models and large area's.

edit..... I have a bit more time to elaborate on that now.

1/32 ww2 aircraft so far is all I'v used it for. Most of my kits are 1/35 and I would use a brush with a .3mm needle for that and for stuff like bikes or artillery where there are small parts and littly nitty gritty area's to get to I would use a small AB , but still with the .3mm needle. What I mean with a smaller AB is one that consumes less air therefore sprays less paint . Once you go below .3 in size you have too be extra careful with your paint as it can easily block and spit if you don't have it thinned exactly right. Even different paint brands will have a influence on that.

[Kevthemodeller]

I use H&S 0.2 needle to colour coat my cars/bikes and a 0.4 to clear coat, I've never had any issues with coverage with a 0.2 needle. Are you sure you've got things set up and paint thinned correctly, you should have no problems with coverage with a 0.3 needle.

[Steveo535]

I use H&S 0.2 needle to colour coat my cars/bikes and a 0.4 to clear coat, I've never had any issues with coverage with a 0.2 needle. Are you sure you've got things set up and paint thinned correctly, you should have no problems with coverage with a 0.3 needle.

Thanks for the replies.

The set seems ok PSI at 20 the paint was decanted Tamiya T-S paints I'm thinking I'm not putting it down thick enough. When I do a light coat it's taking 6-7 coats to get a semi decent colour.
Will lay the paint down a bit thicker on my next model.

[niro750]

Get a fan patterned brush.i have an iwata, I use my standard brush for all parts and when I do the body I use the fan pattern. As was mentioned above these bigger brushes need a compressor that can keep up but the finish is unrivaled by a smaller brush. The paint stays 'wet' and you can lay down Great coverage very quickly without going too heavy. It also has a trigger so it's nice to hold and use for bigger jobs. I also have a mini fan pattern airbrush (between the size of a full size and a hobby brush) and it's a little big to be fair. It's better for much bigger jobs.

[F27pax]

Your deceptively simple question is, in fact, very complex. There are many variables in airbrushing of which needle size and air pressure are only two. Perhaps the main factor is the paint that you are using and its consistency. Other factors include the temperature you're spraying at and, in some cases, humidity. There is also personal experience in which you learn what best works for you by trial and error, possibly too much error in my case. For example, after many failed attempts to use it I disposed of all my acrylic paints and now use only lacqures. To do this I have a standard Badger Patriot (.5 needle I believe), Badger Extreme Patriot (.3 needle) and Badger Sotar (.2 needle). The latter gets used only rarely for small and detailed work. For the other two, which one I use depends on which paint I'm using and how much coverage I want to achieve as quickly as possible. With all these paints I almost always lay down two coats over primer - and often the second coat is not really necessary. I aim to achieve this good coverage with as few coats as possible because every time you airbrush something there is the danger of making a serious mistake, so the less coats the better. In any event, you need to keep on trying to find out what works best for you, there are no (very few) simple answers.

[Kaj45rpm]

Iwata revolution with a 0.5 needle works great for me (for car bodies it's perfect)