Airbrushing Metal
Airbrushing metal uses the same techniques and general equipment as all airbrushing, with the exception that metal requires paint that is designed especially to adhere to it. However, when airbrushing metal, the metal may need to be cleaned more extensively than other surfaces before the paint will adhere, and may require more time and coats to cover. Before you begin airbrushing the metal, you may want to decide on and sketch out the designs you plan to paint, to make sure you have the paint colors and space on the metal surface necessary.
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Things You'll Need
- Cleaning pads
- Bucket
- Powdered house cleaner
- Double-action airbrush
- Airbrushing paints
- Transfer tape
- Masking tape
- Fine-line tape
- Hobby knife
- Tack cloth
Instructions
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1
Dip the cleaning pad in the bucket of water so the pad is sopping wet, and wet the area you’re planning to scuff and clean. Sprinkle the powdered house cleaner on the metal in that area and scrub at the paint’s existing topcoat or base finish, rinsing out the cleaning pad as needed. Rinse the area with water and allow it to dry.
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2
Apply a single-color base coat to the metal with a double-action airbrush. Allow it to dry.
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3
Wrap transfer tape over the area you’d like to airbrush. Make sure the transfer tape is completely flat against the surface of the metal – if the metal is curved, you may need to cut slits into the transfer tape so you can draw it tight. Using masking tape, tape the transfer tape in place at the bottom edge where it folds onto the underside of the metal.
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Draw your design onto the transfer tape using a marker. Cut out the design with a hobby knife and peel away the excess transfer tape.
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Spray the paint – in the color you’d like for the covered area – onto the transfer tape. Allow it to dry. Place fine-line tape over the edges of the design you just painted (the transfer tape is still in place, and the fine-line goes over it). Trim any edges where the fine-line tape goes past the design (such as at overlapping ends), and lay masking tape over it – the masking tape should only overlap the fine-line tape and the transfer paper.
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6
Wipe off any dirt or grit from the uncovered area using tack cloth. Spray a design onto that area freehand – such as a picture of a face, an animal, or whatever you’d like. Cut out stencils from tape and lay them on the surface as desired. Spray each color of the design in all places where you’d like that color, allow the paint to dry and wipe the entire area with tack cloth in between each color application. Start with the lightest color and move down the spectrum to the darkest color.
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Spray small dots and areas of white to make the highlights in the design, and spray even smaller yellow spots onto the white to give the highlights depth. Remove all stencils and allow the area to dry.
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References
- Photo Credit Jupiterimages/liquidlibrary/Getty Images
