Hi Ken:

I plan on doing the same thing with my new airbrush this summer.

To thin the paint, you use reducer, which you get at the automotive paint
store.

To make the paint hard, you use a hardening agent, from the same place.
These come as a system for each brand of paint.

You don't put the hardener into the paint until you place on using it. You
will clean your airbrush with either reducer or a paint thinner.

I think for the masking, (which you will need to do unless you have nerves
of steel) I'd use an artist's fisk - the self adhesive kind. Get it at an
artist's suply store.

That way, you can make small precise holes with an exacto knife, and then
lay it over the area to be painted.

I think the best bet is to use several thin coats to build it up over the
paint hole, and then cut it flush with a safety razor held flush with the
surface.

It's important to get any surface rust out of the hole - there's a special
tool, with a fine tip (fibreglass, I think) - that is available at Canadian
Tire for this very purpose.

Likely, if it's available at all in Canada, it's bound to be commonly
available in the USA.

Hope this helps,

Marshall Ruskin
84 Westy
----- Original Message -----
From: "Ken Taylor" <res07cqd@GTE.NET>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Sunday, June 02, 2002 07:34 PM
Subject: Using a small artist's airbrush to detail exterior paint flaws?

> Hi, Volks.
>
> This summer, I plan to do some major restoration on my 1990 Vanagon.  I
have
> quite a few little dings where only the paint came off, particularly
around
> the edges of the doors.  They're the type of things that happen from
twelve
> years of daily use.
>
> I want to improve the exterior appearance, but can't afford the type of
> paint job that one should put on a car that they hope to use for another
> decade or more.  Someone who detailed my car a couple of years ago told me
> about a service that was used by local car dealerships.  The proprietor of
> the service used a small artist's airbrush to work out these types of
minor
> paint flaws.
>
> I have a good airbrush system and I'm not afraid to try something new.
Have
> any members of this list detailed their paint job using an airbrush?  If
so,
> I'd appreciate hearing about your experience.  For instance, did you do a
> minor fill-in of the paint flaw so that it levels with the original paint
> job?  How much did you thin out the paint so that it would it would shoot
> easily from the airbrush head?  Did you do any masking to avoid overspray,
> or did you control that with the setting on the airbrush?
>
> Any suggestions or sharing of experiences will be appreciated.
>
> - Ken Taylor
>   Marysville, Washington