How to stop putting too much paint down and avoid paint splatter 

Thanks very much for the comment Bill!

I can't thank you enough. You might be the first person who has ever said that I talked, and got straight to the point :-) W

Ah really happy to hear that Michael - thank you for the comment!

I know right, when I opened mine a bright light shown out of the box and I know I heard angels singing

Ah thank you so much Allan! Really appreciate your comment - I will pass it on to all the staff!

Thanks buddy!

Thanks Paul. Much appreciated.

Glad you're enjoying them and finding them helpful :-)

Hey - thanks so much for that comment. Confidence is built on success, but also on learning to not fear failure. And always remember: "If you hear a voice within you say 'you cannot paint,' then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced." Vincent Van Gogh. W

Thanks so much for this comment! Really happy that you're getting a lot out of the channel. Your application sounds really interesting!

Thanks for your comment! Glad they are helping.

@@harderairbrush there is also a question that's been sitting at the back of my head, I have the ultra 2024, will the old ultra 0.2 needle+nozzle set work with it? And will there be future optional nozzle cap options for it?

Yes and yes :-)

We will do that Curt! Thanks for commenting.

Thanks very much for the comment - that's exactly the goal! Please share with people who you think they will help!

Thanks very much for writing Ian! Appreciate you comment too.

Thanks Mikey! Hope that they have been helpful. W

I was thinking the same thing last night!

Everything that slides, doesn't mind a bit of lube. Our engineering fits and finishes are smooth enough that they don't NEED lube, but as we all know, a little lube never hurts. I wouldn't lube anything that touches paint, and generally, airvalve components don't really need it. The trigger system, the whole back end - everything to do with the "feel" of the trigger system - this is a good place to put a little lube. Recommend Iwata Superlube, as it generally seems to be the only one that doesn't make paint get grumpy.

Thanks for your comment, BUT It's not always relevant to start the flow of paint off target. I'm concerned by your point 5... if you JUST release, then most likely, you will shut the air before the paint... this then results in a drop of paint sitting on your needle tip, ready to ruin your day the next time you press down. The ULTRA 2024 does prevent this happening by the way, even IF you do just release. The best habit is to make sure that you finish every stroke by pushing forward, and then releasing up. This way, your needle tip is always perfectly clean, and then there is zero risk in starting a painting stroke ON the target - something which we frequently need to do. Hope that helps! W

Hey what an awesome message!! Thanks so much for taking the time to write and really glad that you like the channel. Thanks for joining us and keep us informed about your progress together! W

Thank you Sir!

Thanks very much Robert!

Our pleasure!

Thanks very much for the comment!

Thanks buddy!

If you want the "today" solution, then a thick cloth which is damp works great. For something more elegant - it's coming.

Our pleasure :-)

Thanks very much for this comment! We are aiming for that adjective - MAGNIFICENT!

I've never tried it, but it sounds like it could work...

Thanks!

you have to take the needle guard off the older models if you wanna do that

Thanks Mike.

ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY! Got it!

Thank you! Hope it's helpful.

Behave yourself LOL! Did you watch the instructions??? Please do :-) link here ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-H1mZfKxvnhM.html

@@harderairbrush thanks bro 😉😉😉😉

Coming soon... it's going to be really quite something!

It will not reach the mouth of the nozzle, and therefore it does not do the job well. HOWEVER, please understand that this is really a last resort. It is so easy to keep your nozzle clean with just liquid if you never let paint dry in it. Much safer, much faster, much cheaper, much easier!

@@harderairbrush thank you very much!

Honestly, the trigger response could do with improving, which was the first goal which we set ourselves to fulfil with the 2024 airbrushes. You will feel a very real difference on the new airbrushes. There's too much great work out there to say that the previous models had a "problem" but it's true to say that we could improve them there, and that's exactly what we've done. Personally, I'm super happy with the results and the reviews around RU-vid are coming in with the same opinion. I would go so far as to say that I believe that the 2024 H&S trigger response is now at the pinnacle of what's available today.

I really wish my experience matched that expectation but honestly, I've never used a retarder and found a significant different. However, glad you're finding that - might be different behaviours in different locations/ humidities. However, the habits described here will help whether it occurs earlier or later. Thanks for the comment!

@@harderairbrush Interesting! Experiences can vary - from my experience about 10-20% retarder about doubles the 'spray time'. However i use it together with a lot of thinner, maybe the combinations makes the difference? Ratio is about 5 x paint:3 x thinner:2 x retarder.

Hey Tony - thanks for the question - I assume you mean EVOLUTION when you refer to the Eclipse :-) anyway, honestly, anything up to and including cellulose or toluene thinner is no problem for all the paint bearing parts. Try to keep it away from the airvalve though, as the very small o-ring in there is a little more sensitive, and should not need cleaning anyway, as it is purely air-bearing. So go ahead, use whatever you want. No worries.

Yes I did mean Evolution. See, this is what happens when someone walks into your office and starts asking questions about something totally unrelated to what you are doing! Thank you. I was concerned about the internal seals and the finish. @@harderairbrush

Hey there - take a look at Angel Giraldez' video about how to thin Citadel... Citadel is a bit of a unique case as they don't have an airbrush thinner... Angel has tried and tested lots and has found that the Tamiya X-20A thinner works great... I'm sure this will help.

Hey Andrew... it's just convenience and precision, but only necessary to get the fPC if you use air pressure adjustment frequently, and for me, only necessary when you really want to explore low pressure effects. Having the air pressure adjustment so near to the aircap allows you to set the pressure much more precisely and find your desired pressure much faster with the fPC than with the regulator. And of course, you can do it more frequently and much faster, as it's right there on the airbrush. I really like it because it doesn't interrupt the creative process. Hope that helps!

@@harderairbrush Thanks!

Hey buddy - so sorry to head that! I can assure you that ALL our air caps are always put on only with hands. We do not use a tool to do that in factory for precisely this reason. However, I'm really sad to read this, and so we would like you to get in touch please. Email me on wjs@harder-airbrush.de - I would like to send you a new body for your airbrush so that you don't have that damage to that beautiful finish as a result of this difficulty, and we will also throw in a beautiful set of soft nosed pliers to help you with your Neuropathy without causing any damage in the future. I will also have our CNC room create a tool for you to use for taking your head on and off without needing to resort to pliers, but will enable you to develop enough torque even if you have grip issues. I've thought about what you need and I have already created the design - we can make it within two weeks for you - please get in touch. Many thanks, W

@@harderairbrushand this is one of the main reasons why I will continue to buy H&S products. Taking care of your customers in this day and age has been lost. H&S continues to take care of its customers. Thank you so much for going above and beyond! I cant wait to get my hands on my Squidmar black when I get back home!

@@harderairbrush thank you so much for your most generous offer, which has blown me away. I will ping you an email. Thank you Warwick and the rest of the team @H&S 👍

Our pleasure!

@@harderairbrush Hi Warwick did you receive my email OK? Cheers Steve

It depends on the humidity of where you are located. Best advice... After you're done, wait until the compressor has cooled, then do it. If you can't remember to do it after waiting, just do it at the end of the session. It's so fast and easy, that you might as well just do it each time. Never leave pressurised air in the tank, also...

Definitely. Once our inventory levels catch up with demand, it'll be there. In the meantime, check with our site and with Spraygunner.

Thanks for joining us! We anticipate that we'll be up to date with all of those within the next week and a bit... sorry for the delay - after that we'll be fulfilling them from stock!

Thanks for the suggestion David... did you check Cult of Paint's channel for that? They might already have something...

@@harderairbrush never heard of them to be honest My painting level tends to be just above battle ready, so I lose interest in the longer video formats for painting so these q&a vids have been really good for me

Actually they just did a great tutorial just for this... ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-h8p-kFRsf10.html

Hey Matt! Do watch the ULTRA instructional video that the QR code goes to which came in your box... that covers how to get hooked up. The airbrushes all come with a quick connector, BUT you probably don't have that on your hose - just unscrew the quick connector and your hose will most likely go straight on. Most hoses now are 1/8bsp and this is what our airbrushes connect to. If your hose isn't that, any air hose with a 1/8bsp female end will work. Hope that helps!

@@harderairbrush this is fantastically helpful! Thanks!

Ah but you must find the centre. Focus on your airbrush, and allow your mind to be like water. Then, you will hear the sounds of atomisation, and feel the flow of the colour. I recommend watching Kung Fu Panda for more instruction. Seriously though, you don't need an air compressor or a spray booth THAT loud to power an airbrush... but if your rig is really loud, then pay attention to how fast the paint starts to flow when you get on the trigger - how quickly it begins to move - this should be instant. As soon as it is not, take a quick glance at your needle tip. That's another reliable way of detecting a bit of colour drying on the needle tip. Hope that helps you to relax more whilst airbrushing!

Thank you for your reply, much appreciated. Rest assured, I will persevere. Looking forward to seeing more info on the 2024 Evolution.

Hey buddy - thanks very much for reaching out! I hope that some others will also comment and give advice. Have you watched the ULTRA Painting Process video on our channel? If you like that method of painting, then the ULTRA 2024 would be a great choice. If you already have good control of the double action trigger then probably the EVOLUTION 2024 is a better choice. With regard to the various artists that you mention - all great - for example, take a look at Angel's latest video - it is shot using the ULTRA system. Spare parts and upgradeability - this is a feature of H&S generally, and with all the new items and parts coming out it will admittedly take a little while to populate into the various dealer outlets and so on, but I'm sure that everything will be easily available soon, and of course as things are released, you'll always find them on our shop at www.harderairbrush.com I do know that Cult of Paint DID come to Australia, so look out for their next trip - and actually I think Emil came as well recently, so it can and does happen! For me, if you're already confident with basing and priming, either the ULTRA or the EVOLUTION 2024 will work great for you. Whilst you can upgrade them with Infinity heads etc, there are other things on the new Infinity which are unique to it. But honestly, our airbrushes are designed to help people progress, and I would recommend taking the one which is the appropriate stage for your painting journey. Not obligatory of course, but it does help pave the road and make it smoother! Hope that helps!

@harderairbrush thank you for the fast and thorough response. Yes, i have seen the videos. I have a couple additional quick questions. Can the Ultra provide good results for volumetric highlighting? Can the evolution also be adjusted to control the paint flow? Cheers

Hey buddy - the answers to both of your questions, is yes.

@harderairbrush do you plan to release a new infinity brush soonish?

White is like the building jump in the Matrix. Fact. No-one gets it the first time, even The One. Firstly, you need a really good white. If you're struggling and struggling, then you might not be using a good one. I don't know all the good ones, but the ones that I haven't struggled with are: Vallejo Game Air, Tamiya, Golden, Createx Illustration, Pro-Color, to name a few. Generally speaking for fine stuff, try thinning not so much, and DROPPING the pressure a bit. The feel on the trigger is dramatically different, but dropping the pressure and thickening the paint a bit helps the opacity, and with the somewhat decreased atomisation, it also helps a bit to sharpen up the linework... pay close attention to keeping your needle tip clean though. Hope that helps!

@@harderairbrush Thank you very much! I am on my way to the workshop to try it out!

Let us know how you got on!

@@harderairbrush thanks! This helped, i am using schminke aero color supra white, it feels better than vallejo air but i already ordered pro-color to try that out. The line is not as clean as with normal colors but I can work with this, mainly I am using it for osl and volumetric highlights so the second coat of color hides qny imperfections! 😁

This week!

Hey buddy... no that principle is unlikely to work across the board. Firstly, technically, it's more correct to describe needles as "designed for the 0.28mm nozzle" rather than 0.28mm needle, as that 0.28mm exists along a taper, whereas the nozzle can clearly be described as 0.28mm because that's the factual size of the aperture. The interaction between the needle and the nozzle is not really the critical aspect of what dictates fineness of spray. It's actually much more the relationship and the interaction between the needle tip, where is sits at a point in space relative to the airflow shape and focus that's coming out of the aircap. That is really the critical thing, and where the design focus is. Now bear in mind that the needle is a moving thing, and then you understand the design challenge a little better! It has to fulfil the job of acting as a flow control valve on the paint, as well as interacting with the airflow in a positive manner to influence atomisation/ detail etc. So if you put a random needle into another airbrush, you might discover something that the manufacturer didn't but most likely you won't. Not saying it isn't possible though! But you might spend a lot of money without results... With regard to your Paasche - I am a fan of the old VL! It was actually my first airbrush. Personally, I never used the #1 set-up much - I preferred the #3 set-up - even for detail. I just found it overall friendlier to use, and 95% as good for detail as the #1. A very nice compromise, that head, actually. So in summary, we didn't just "put a 0.2mm needle into a 0.28mm nozzle"... we designed a new system of needle/ nozzle/ aircap optimised for detail work with today's paints, and this is the result. It's a system, not a parts bin special :-)... hope that helps!

Thanks for the detailed response, although I'm still not sure about the new system. I'm sure we'd all like to see the Evolution's fine line capabilities demonstrated. Incidentally: You got detail out of a VL3? You must be a god. Back in the day, I was pretty proud to get fine lines out of a VL1. (One had only about ten seconds of working time before the tip clogged.)

Yes, it's true - the VL1 was a bit tricky that way, as was the V1, in my opinion. But I was very fond of the VL3 and the V2... I actually developed a custom aircap and needle shape for both of those back in the day, which I used to make by hand. Fun times.

This is what I suggest people do when wanting to practice. Food coloring watered down to just see the tint works really well. Just spray on paper or cardboard and you can see it really well. Hope you have fun learning to airbrush!

Hey Diego... thanks for the question. Firstly, there's no risk of "damage" with any paint really... no paint is going to damage a solid metal airbrush ;-) It's more that you have to learn how to handle the airbrush whilst cleaning it - please watch our various videos on this topic, as it's way easier than most people make it out to be, honestly! Food colouring is great because you can paint and paint and practice the control of the airbrush. However, painting with acrylics etc needs additional skills, specifically avoiding tip dry and therefore clogging. The interesting thing with food colouring is that you can practice control without needing to learn the other things. However, eventually you need to learn those other things too. But please don't think that using real paint carries the risk of damage - not true if you have good habits on how to clean - if you do it the right way, it's super easy and fast. Watch any of our painting process videos and you'll see them. Very simple! Hope that helps. Also remember that food colouring is super thin and so it flows faster than acrylics, for example. So whatever trigger control you learn with food colouring, will need a bit of adjustment when you move to acrylic. One way to using food colouring and getting a more representative experience is to use your food colouring at more like 18psi to slow it down a bit :-)

Hi John - sorry for the delay in responding! Sound VERY much like the paint is far too thick. Watch our paint prep video here for tips on how to prepare it: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-eQAWW3cUT2c.htmlsi=eVaF98n752-wZBOT&t=101

Buone idee - grazie per il tuo commento!

Hey there - love the user name by the way... regarding Emil's video - no problem with "pressure washing" at all - go ahead. The hot water thing I've heard before. As I've said in other videos, remember that airbrushes are made from elements from the Earth's crust - hot water isn't going to touch them at all! No worries :-) BUT the hassle of boiling water to make it hot etc etc - no way - too much trouble! No benefit to using it, and lots of hassle. Keep it simple - use the cleaner recommended for use with whatever paint product you're trying to clean and spray it through. That's all you ever have to do. So many people trying to make it complicated, and I really have no idea why :-) perhaps it's to try to make the "this one trick" clickable video - I don't know :-) but honestly, keep it simple, use cleaning and thinning products from the same manufacturer as whatever paint you're using at the time, and life will be excellent!

I just watched that video too. My Ultra 2024 is expected delivery on Monday.

I have a little self-heating cup that plugs into the wall just for airbrushing. I push the button for the desired temperature (1 setting below boiling) and use a dropper to get it out. 1 dropper of hot water and scrub with a q-tip, another dropper of hot water to flush, a little bit of airbrush cleaner to flush, and then one last dropper of water to flush the cleaner. That being said, it's a lot of steps, and after watching so many videos from Warrick, I've just started flashing with water and cleaner to see which way is faster... I'll know next week after putting some more time on my new Evo 2024 this weekend 🤓 I'll probably save my current method for the last cleaning of the brush at the end of a session...

@@NathanBest I just came across the Badger boss from 11yrs ago saying just frequently blow through cleaner like you have OCD (my words) and you'll never need to take it apart. Sounds good to me. Perhaps a little careful backflushing if required.

@border304 I'll try that too! I *very* rarely need to take them apart... I think twice in the last year. Flushing seems to work just fine, unless I let it sit too long 😵

Yes, it's risky! I hope that I made that clear in the video - you have to be super confident that what's under the model is properly cured and/ or sealed in.

That is a very useful comment, thank you to you too 😂 (correction made)

@@harderairbrush You're welcome. My Ultra 2024 is scheduled for delivery on Monday. Been enjoying your videos. Thank you.