How-To Prep the Surface: Canvas 

Yes, I have always preferred a smooth surface for my artwork. You may be able to reduce the glare on the painting you've already completed with a matte varnish or clear coat though.

Thank you!

Thank you!

Thank you again Richard!

Thanks Aaron! Glad you found some value in the video!

I've never tried the foam brushes. So, I don't know how smoothly you can lay down gesso with them, but the aerosol gesso goes down super smooth every time. It's a great option to have in your tool box!

Thank you for watching!

I'm glad it helped you out Doug!

Great tips! Thank you for sharing!

Hey Guy. I've never tried the foam brushes for this purpose and didn't think about trying one until you mentioned it. I always prefer to spray the gesso rather than brushing, or spreading the gesso with some other method. I used a different method in the video simply because many watching probably don't have access to the spray equipment we use on a daily basis. I should start bouncing my video ideas off of you prior to filming lol. I could've easily added a foam brush application in the video if I had thought of it. Again, thanks for sharing your knowledge with everyone too! And yes, you can absolutely use solvents over the gesso once it has cured.

Hey Paul! Those flat canvas panels will work fine. Personally, I've never been a big fan of them simply because I can never seem to find one that isn't warped.

Hi Mike. The size of the needle and tip really depends on the consistency of your Gesso. I tend to mix it pretty thick (less dilution with distilled water) and use a primer gun with a 1.6 needle. You can use the 1.4 or even the 1.0 needle to spray Gesso, the caveat is you'll need to reduce it more and you won't be able to fill the texture in the canvas as quickly. The 1.4 will likely work fine. I think it would be faster to use the hand application method rather than the 1.0 needle. The 1.0 would be great for the last one or two coats after the canvas has been prepped. I've never used marble or quartz dust in my mixture. The Gesso alone works great in my opinion.

Hi Dennis! I've been away for a bit, so I apologize for the late reply. I use a HVLP gun with a 2.0 mm tip. I don't have the equipment needed to measure viscosity, I've just developed a feel for the correct dilution for good spray characteristics.

Essentially yes. The main difference is I use actual paint for illustration board rather than Gesso. You can find a video covering that process here ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-P8XF-Y2WFMU.html As far as the varnishing technique video goes, I'm in the middle of a commissioned painting on canvas as I type. I'll create a video for that as well once the work is complete. Thanks for watching and taking the time to comment!

@@wickedartstudio Thank you for the insight. I just watched the video on surface preperation for paper and it is also very helpful. I will be looking foward to seeing the varnishing canvas video!

@@wickedartstudio I don't understand--why do you prep illustration board for airbrushing? While cold press has a little texture, hot press (both illustration board and Arches watercolor paper, 140 lb.) is as smooth as glass and both are ready for paint with no prep other than maybe a quick wipe with rubbing alcohol to remove any fingerprints. Though I only use hot press board now, I've used several different brands of cold press board in the past for airbrushing with no issues whatsoever, never needed any prep or primer.

@@sped17373 I apologize for the very late reply. I miss this sometimes. Honestly, I don't paint on illustration board very often and I've never used hot press. On the cold press board, I always seem to get little fibers sticking up out of the board once I start putting paint down. It seems like fibers creep up after the board begins to absorb some of the moisture from the paint. I get much better results after prepping the surface with a few coats of paint before I begin my artwork. Maybe I just need to purchase a better quality illustration board...I really don't know. Like I said though, I rarely paint on the stuff anyway. If you have great results without any prep, that's awesome!

For the initial coats I reduce it 2:1 (2 parts gesso and 1 part water). The final coats are reduced 1:1 (equal parts). I use a full size spray gun with a 2.5mm needle. Thank you for watching!

@@wickedartstudio thank you I have a 1.8 needle hvlp so will try the final coat with it.

A 1.8 should work fine. You might need to add a little bit more water to the gesso though.

I did not know you needed to prep canvas..does it reduce the absorption of the paints.? Can you do a split canvas to see the difference?

The H series is a single action brush. You really need a dual-action airbrush if you plan to do artwork with it. A dual-action brush offers far more user control compared to single action. There are a few artists out there that have mastered using a single action airbrush with fantastic results. So, it can be done, but the learning curve is steep compared to the learning curve with a dual-action airbrush. The issue you're having with the acrylic mix not spraying well is likely due to one of two things: either your air pressure is set to high, or your acrylic mix is to thin. You have to find the balance between the correct viscosity to mix your paint and the air pressure setting that will atomize that mixture well as it exits the brush. Very thin paint is easy to spider web like you mentioned and be spread around (or pushed around) if your air pressure setting is too high. You might find this video helpful ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-_sg48yHf1Mk.html

@@wickedartstudio thank you ill check it out. Thanks for the responce

The price of a bottle of Gesso will depend on what brand you choose, as well as where you are located in the world. I pay less than twenty dollars where I am and that bottle will go a long way. You can absolutely use the same process as I showed when prepping paper. It all depends on how much texture you want, or don't want on the canvas prior to painting. Gesso will cover the canvas texture. Paint will not. I prefer a very smooth surface and that's why I use Gesso. You don't have to prep a canvas at all if you don't mind painting over the texture. Thank you for watching and taking the time to comment!

I always recommend starting within the air pressure range the manufacturer recommends for your particular gun. For example, I normally spray thinned gesso with a 1.4 mm Iwata LPH-440. My air pressure is set to 18 psi at the gun. The manufacturer recommends 16 to 18 psi. I've found the recommended pressure is normally very good. So, I would start within that range and adjust from there if needed. When it comes to thinning the gesso, I normally add 10 to 20 percent distilled water by volume.

Hey Jeff! When I thin gesso to spray with a spray gun I don't add very much water at all. I use a primer gun with a 2.0 mm tip. So, it doesn't require very much reduction in order to spray it through that gun. Little reduction also allows the gesso to build similar to a high build primer. I prefer a very smooth surface to paint on. Applying gesso and sanding in between allows me to get rid of the texture on canvas. Auto Borne Sealer doesn't have the same build characteristics as gesso. Sealer will cover light sand scratches, but it's not designed to cover much more than that. I suppose you could use sealer in place of gesso for this purpose, but it would require a lot of coats to completely remove the texture on some canvas. There's nothing wrong with using sealer if you're not interested in removing all of the texture, or as your final coat over the gesso though. Both are excellent foundations for an airbrush painting.

@@wickedartstudio thanks Trevor yes I just shot some AutoSealer today and you’re correct it did seal and make the surface smooth and with a nice satin finish but it didn’t flatten the canvas texture. Polyester is a more modern fabric now widely used in Australia due to its synthetic nature it resists rot in humid conditions. It does provide a super-fine tooth for more detailed work and I think I might start using this and just using AutoSealer on that Probably not as flat as you like but it is very smooth to begin with and nice to stretch and work with as well as its archival properties I used to use Fredricks clay illustration board that was available many years ago Love your work and pragmatic tips . I might try your gesso tips as I do find the canvas texture creates high low over spray issues. Aluminium composite sheets seem to be good but I had trouble keeping mine flat after mounting. It’s got a weird black rubber core that I dislike but I didn’t get it from an art shop so it might’ve been cladding

@@jeff547943 Hey Jeff! I still use clay board for a lot of my videos simply because it's inexpensive. It also takes less time to prep because the surface is already super smooth. For commissioned work I use canvas. Fredrix has a blue label cotton canvas that is very smooth that I really like. It is more expensive and I'm not sure if it's available in Australia or not. If it is, they might offer a polyester version as well. I'm not sure. I haven't tried any of the polyester fabrics. I might have to look into that. Thanks for the tip! The overspray issue you mentioned when working on textured canvas is the main reason I prefer working on a very smooth canvas surface. It's hard to combat that. At the end of the day, we're all a little bit different and we all have to find what works best for us individually. Some artists are very adaptive and use the overspray to their advantage. I prefer working on aluminum panels that are just plain aluminum without the rubber core as well. I have some of those Dibond aluminum panels with the core that I purchased a long time ago to try them out, but I haven't got around to using them for anything yet. Anyway, I appreciate the kind words very much my friend! Thank you!

Great question, unfortunately, there is no definitive answer for every situation. It really depends on the spray gun you are using, as well as the needle size in the gun. I normally use an Iwata LPH-440 with a 1.4 mm needle to spray thinned gesso on canvas. My air pressure is set to 18 psi at the gun, which also happens to be within the manufacturers recommended air pressure setting for that gun (they recommend 16 to 18 psi). I've found the manufacturers recommended air setting is usually where the gun performs best most of the time. So, I would start within whatever range is recommended for the gun you use and adjust from there if needed.

That's a great tip!

Can you clarify what you mean by that "shiny effect"?

@@wickedartstudio i see a lot of cars or aluminium plate with candy paint 2o, and it so shiny and clear. Probely they use clear coat in the end also.. But i was wondring if you Get the same resultat if you use it on a canvas?

@@Sparkspliff Yes, you absolutely can with a high-quality clear coat. The downside with canvas is the surface is textured from the beginning. The texture will take away from a brilliant glossy clear coat finish to a degree unless you smooth all of the texture out prior to painting.

@@wickedartstudio was hopeing so, got my sparmax Compressor to today, paint will come soon. Was thinking about a few layers of gesso and sand it down,, and try candy paint,,and top it of with clear coat :) Or use aluminium plate..But very much thank you for the answer :) Much love from norway:) Got some painting on Instagram, so next level is to master airbrush :) Check out sparkspliff if you guys have time :)

@@Sparkspliff I like your art! Thanks for sharing!

No, it is not necessary to prep a canvas. I go through this process simply because I prefer to get rid of the texture on the canvas before I begin painting.

Thanks.

Wicked Art Airbrush Studio for what?

@@Fishing-gs9ku The comment.