Prior to painting, your paints and supplies should be well organized and readily at hand. Pour a quantity of paint into the paint cup or bottle. Set the air regulator to about 25 psi. The airbrush is held like a pencil or pen and your index finger on the trigger. Get in the habit of always testing the spray pattern before applying paint to your work. This will check that pressure is correct, trigger adjustment is correct when using the preset screw, and paint viscosity is satisfactory. Also a quick burst of air and paint through the nozzle just before spraying your carving, will help prevent unwanted paint particles from being sprayed onto your carving.

The following procedure is for a double action airbrush. With the airbrush about six inches from the practice paper, depress the trigger completely to release air, and pull back on the trigger (while depressed) to release paint. Ease trigger forward to stop paint flow while continuing to hold trigger down to deliver air. The further back the needle is drawn, the more paint is allowed to exit.

The key is to work slowly, with small amounts of paint. The lower the air pressure, the slower you can move your hand, and therefore more control over the spray. For fine details. the airbrush tip will be very close to the work, perhaps 1/2 inch or less, and the trigger will only be sightly pulled back. If necessary, use the preset screw to ensure you do not pull the trigger back too far accidently, and release too much paint. For larger areas, the tip will be further away and the trigger will be pulled further back. Remember, for fine detail, spray small amount of paint very close to work. Spraying a large amount very close, results in a mistake.

Once you are familiar with the trigger operation, try to spray small dots. With the air pressure reduced to perhaps 15 to 20 psi, hold the airbrush about 1/2 inch from the paper, and with the trigger depressed fully, pull back the trigger slowly to spray a dot. Continue spraying dots of various sizes, then try spraying some lines. You can try shading and blending colours with the airbrush about 5 inches from the surface. If you are unable to spray fine detail, the paint may require thinning; the air pressure may require adjustment, or the airbrush may require cleaning.

Overspray is the paint that drifts past the area to be painted, and several things determine the amount of overspray generated. One is air pressure and more air pressure means more overspray. Another factor is the distance the airbrush is held from the work surface. If you use a smaller nozzle, there will be less overspray. Use a piece of paper to shield the area you wish no overspray.

You have to spend time working with the airbrush to become skilled in it's use. Once you feel confident using the airbrush, then proceed to paint your carving.