my 1st show

[slvrback]

well as some of you know ive been picking the brains of some of you guys/girls to get me started w/ out making to many mistakes.. i chose a indoor craft show and today was the 1st of 2days. things went well.. i guess. i bought a compressor w a tank to have constant air w out all the noise. im also runing 6 brushes at a time. got set up early turn the compressor one and WAITED. it was about 2 hours into the event when i got my 1 client. when i tried to spray i had no air.. i was WTF.. it had shut of and i ddnt realize it.. i couldnt get it to run even though it was turned on. thank god i had brought my trusty smart jet.. over all not a bad day.. not too many kids but did about 20 and hope to to the same tomorrow. ill post my thought tomorrow and the question i have running thouigh my head,,

[Cowboy]

Not to bad for a first , I never done a show like that , But I can imagine it would be a pain if things aint werkin right . Good luck tommorow & Dont ferget ta take pics . CB

[Whit]

with a tank,, usually has a regulator,,, was the regulator open ???
even without running,, should be air in the tank,, the reason it turned off was
prob because the tank was full,, well,,, glad your first day was good !!!
Mark this as your first leg of "Experience" !!!

[sharonsstudio]

slvrbk
If you are looking to do shows right now.. find ones that say fun fair santa clause. or anything to involve kids with games and things.. we have a festival of trees here involves alot of kids.. just a thought..

[slvrback]

thanks sharon, ill keep that in mind for my next event. hey whit thats what i thought also. it had air but ran out while i was useing it and it never turned back on. thats when i switched units.it turn on after it sat for awhile. the damn thing seemed to over heat. ill run it again in the am to see what happens knowing i got old faithfull.

hey cowboy ill try to take some tomorrow. can i ask what kind of events you do. its cold outside so im looking at indoor stuff now till spring.i did network alot about private events.. B-DAYS ETC..

o-yea!! my brushes/ paint jars seemed to clog alot also. i ran water based paint from TRENDY TRIBALS. running through a 035 master brush.. anyone know why???

[Skids]

I'm betting there's not enough amps on the circuit to start the compressor....

anyway, in my days doing that type thing, I learned that i could sit and wait all day long, but if i had something up there workin on it, people would watch and the next thing you know someones handing you money......

p.s. just wonderin...in your avatar, are you really naked wearing a pizza box on yer head? everbodys been askin ya know...heheheee

[Cowboy]

thanks sharon, ill keep that in mind for my next event. hey whit thats what i thought also. it had air but ran out while i was useing it and it never turned back on. thats when i switched units.it turn on after it sat for awhile. the damn thing seemed to over heat. ill run it again in the am to see what happens knowing i got old faithfull.

hey cowboy ill try to take some tomorrow. can i ask what kind of events you do. its cold outside so im looking at indoor stuff now till spring.i did network alot about private events.. B-DAYS ETC..

o-yea!! my brushes/ paint jars seemed to clog alot also. i ran water based paint from TRENDY TRIBALS. running through a 035 master brush.. anyone know why???

slvrback I,ve been Perty much retired for quite awhile now . I dont even go to anything anymore .

But When I did , I ussually Hit all the rodruns , carshows , dragstrips , race tracks , Even truck stops . Allways had Mt Stripin kit as well as an AB kit , portable air tank , Just in case . I Had an air compresor ran off The Vehicle Engine for extra air supply if needed . ( Much like the ones on Big rigs to Supply air for air breaks ) , Just hadto have a good air Filter & water / oil trap . Ussually I stayed perty busy & wasn,t really even Tryin to .

I allways drove an old Rod or Classic , That was covered with My werk one way or another . Best advertisement Ya can get .

I Never Did Temp tats or Body painting like its done today But I,ve painted on some Pretty interesting things , lol . Best of luck , CB

[ScorpionAir66]

Hi slvrbak....i do temp tatts here in Oz...i dont use a compressor, i use CO2 cylinder with regulator adaptor for my airbrush to connect to, i have had the same tank goin for when you add it all up.. 16 hrs..its not empty yet....makes for easier set up in my opinion..no power needed..Just a suggestion to maybe consider cos sometime its hard to squeeze all the stalls that need power into once space .. I did a gala day for kids sport yesterday, must have done 100+ tatts in 43 degree celsius heat (our hottest November day ever & i'll never work in that kind of heat again :D), even the ink was gettin' hot! i only use black ink and put shimmer or glitter in some sections and the kids go nuts!!!
Good luck with your new venture!!! :)

[slvrback]

p.s. just wonderin...in your avatar, are you really naked wearing a pizza box on yer head? everbodys been askin ya know...heheheee[

haha just working in the garage. it was a hot day and needed somthing on my head to keep the sweat out of my eye's.

well, were do i begin.. oh yea the compressor.. when i got to the show the 1st thing was hook up my brushes to the NEW compressor to try to figure this out. it started right, filled up the tank and cycled through a few times. i touched the side and this thing was HOT!. it seemed to "sputter" then shut off. i hooked up my iwata and it ran like a champ. the only problem was i ddnt know how to adjust the pressure on the iwata so was shooting 30psi all day. later that day it was slow and i bypassed the manifold i bought and it seemed to work fine w a single brush.it was just a pain SWITCH to the brush i wanted to use for multi colors. FYI: the manifold is from TCP glibal. its there turnstyle one.

the day was slow w kids but we got a decent response from the one that were there. i did have one parent come back from yesterday complaining it wore off in less then a day. of course i did it again for free.

can anyone fill me in on how long you can let you brushes sit before paint begins to dry. i kept having to clean the brushes as well as the bottle necks. i have a syphon feed system. i ran water based paint from trendy tribals.

[slvrback]

Hi slvrbak....i do temp tatts here in Oz...i dont use a compressor, i use CO2 cylinder with regulator adaptor for my airbrush to connect to, i have had the same tank goin for when you add it all up.. 16 hrs..its not empty yet....makes for easier set up in my opinion..no power needed..Just a suggestion to maybe consider cos sometime its hard to squeeze all the stalls that need power into once space .. I did a gala day for kids sport yesterday, must have done 100+ tatts in 43 degree celsius heat (our hottest November day ever & i'll never work in that kind of heat again :D), even the ink was gettin' hot! i only use black ink and put shimmer or glitter in some sections and the kids go nuts!!!
Good luck with your new venture!!! :)
WOW!!! a 100+.. AWSOME. HOW MUSH ARE YOU CHARGING?

[ScorpionAir66]

Slvrback....when i do the gala days for kids sport i charge a hourly rate, usually they hire me 4 hrs minimium @ $AU65/hr. If its at a fair i charge separate for each tattoo
$AU5 small & $AU10 large. Weather has a HUGE impact on how busy you will be at fairs, check local papers, schools etc for kid friendly events!

The sport gala day are always nuts though, i make sure all the kids in attendance have a tatt, then if they want more they can line up again & again & again :D but usually most kids only want two..
My tatts last upto a week, however this does depend on how the customer treats it ..i tell them to be gentle with it and it should last, but some peolples skin is more oily than others and this can affect the tatt. i also "set" my tatts by lightly dusting baby powder over them with a large make up brush, it does make them go white for a bit but it blows away...
P.S - ...if the day is hot or windy i find the ink does clog up and i just flush my brush with metho.... i never leave tatt ink, or any paint, in my brush overnight, i pretty much clean everything when i get home.. hope this helps :)

Good Luck and Have Fun!!

[slvrback]

hey scorpion, i cnt wait till i get a few paid event instead of trying to drum up business.. even though im more then comfortable selling my self and abilities it would be great to be paid for the time and not just the work. as far as the paint and the clogging it was during the work day that i noticed it glogging. not sure it was to thick for my brush or just the air drying it out...im gonna call the maker and see what i can do..you guys using water base or alcohol ?

[ScorpionAir66]

slvrback...it is made by the company that i get my paints from, Australian Airbrush Co,
i think its alcohol based? as i clean up with methylated spirit then flush out brush with water. I also clean off tattoos with rubbing alcohol, which is what i use to clean the customers skin before tattooing them :)

[sweet loretta]

Well lessons learned. You'll have plenty more!

Even if no one is coming by to get sprayed you need to be blowing a bit of paint here and there to keep the tips of your brushes wet. The clogging was in the tips. Which you can keep wet by additionally spraying a bit of water on them (alcohol for alcohol based makeup). Just a small fine mist bottle next to your brushes. Also you can flick that needle back and forth to clear a tip. But really just always keep them wet by spraying a bit onto a paper towel.

Experienced with Trendy Tribals and the alcohol based makeup for the Aussies - any brand - keep the tips wet, keep the makeup flowing.

[ScorpionAir66]

Well lessons learned. You'll have plenty more!

Even if no one is coming by to get sprayed you need to be blowing a bit of paint here and there to keep the tips of your brushes wet. The clogging was in the tips. Which you can keep wet by additionally spraying a bit of water on them (alcohol for alcohol based makeup). Just a small fine mist bottle next to your brushes. Also you can flick that needle back and forth to clear a tip. But really just always keep them wet by spraying a bit onto a paper towel.

Experienced with Trendy Tribals and the alcohol based makeup for the Aussies - any brand - keep the tips wet, keep the makeup flowing.

Thanks for the tip SweetLoretta...the paper towel is a great idea! Especially on windy days....:thumbsup:

Checked out your web, awsome !!!

[sweet loretta]

I like to paint little landscapes from time to time if it's slow, paper towels making for such great cliffs and clouds............

[Tommy36597]

I remember my first show because it was a disaster. It was a car show. When I got there, I didn't realize how long my set up time would be. It turned out to be a lot longer than I expected and people were waiting and waiting until finally they just left. After I was set up, it took forever just to get a customer in. It was my first time using a tank and not a compressor. When I finally went to spray them, none of my equipment worked. It turned out I had a bad regulator on my tank which I couldn't do anything about there at the show. Basically, I was done for the day. So, after paying $25 to enter the show and another $20 to feed my helpers and I for lunch, I was in the hole for $45. That doesn't include the money I spent on the paints, tank, etc. All in all it was the worst day I ever had airbrushing. I'm not too disappointed because I knew it can only go up from there and it has. A bit of advice, if you have a bad show, don't give up. There is always the next one.