Thinning paints ?

[mushroom]

Hi all , im thinking of treating myself to a mini Air Brush and useing acrylic paints but am a bit unsure of how much to thin the paint down, I.E 50/50, or 10/50 , can anyone give me advise please.thank you

[Swampfox]

Question.

How are you planning on using paint on card models?

Most of us are here because we want to get away from having to paint our models after they've been built.

Just curious,
Swampfox

[Zakopious]

There are a number of papermodel sites which have only white models.
The white models often look better painted.

See:
Y's Paper Modelworkshop / Models by Visiters (http://www.terra.dti.ne.jp/~yoshidom/)
?????? ?? ?????? ? ? 1\72 (http://serezasmodels.narod.ru/)
Exclusive Models (http://www.exclusive-models.org/)

[Zakopious]

Google, "acrylic paint airbrush tutorial".
There is a ton of information online.
See if you can find a tutorial for your brand of acrylic paint.

[modelperry]

While not an airbrush expert by any means, I have always heard to thin the paint to the consistency of milk. I do not believe you can apply a general "50/50" mix (or other ratio) to all acrylic brands. You may be able to determine a basic ratio for a specific brand, but it will still be a matter of trial and error to determine that ratio. Also, your ratio will be affected by the type of thinner you use.

I am sure some of the experts (airdave) can correct my errors above and provide more expert advice than I. This is only my two cents worth.

Greg

[subnuke]

Actually, it depends. There is no set amount to thin though some will gladly say there is. It depends greatly on the brush, the paint, your air pressure and flow rate, the effect you are trying to achieve, the surface you are painting, well you get what I'm saying. I use to spray the old Polly S paints straight from the bottle even though advice was to mix 50/50.

It needs to be thin enough to get through the brush plus try it out on a similar surface. You will develop a feel for it over time. Don't test on bare wood then try to spray on primed wood. Test it on exactly what you expect to paint.

At present, I use craft paints. My favorite is ceramacoat because the bottle says whether they are opaque or transparent and the quality is consistent. For thinner I mix 1 cup water (distilled), 1/2 cup rubbing alcohol, 1/4 cup ammonia glass cleaner, 5 drops glycerine. I got a spray bottle for this with the formula written on the side.

I use Master brand airbrush, you get a lot of airbrush for a low price. Master Airbrushes (http://www.tcpglobal.com/airbrushdepot/abdbrand.aspx) For more money, Iwata brushes are excellent.

For air I use a standard tank compressor I got from Harbor Freight. I keep it in another room with a long hose to keep the noise down. Air pressure varies but I mostly use around 25-30#.

This forum has a lot of advice that I used to get started on internal mix airbrushes. I used external mix for about 20 years, constantly clogging. Now I use internal mix and rarely get a clog that stops my work.
The Airbrush Forum (http://www.theairbrushforum.com/)

[mushroom]

Thanks to you all for the coments.:)

[mcusanelli]

After you thin acrylics, make sure you pour it through some kind of fine mesh as you pour it into your airbrush cup / bottle. One tiny lump of this stuff can really clog things up.
Mike

[richkat]

I use rubbing alcohol to thin with, it drys faster and won't warp as bad as thinning with water........Rich

[airdave]

haha The Airbrush Forum...another place I got banned from! lol

I always heck with the paint instructions
or the manufacturer
for the recommended reducer and use it.

As subnuke says, it depends greatly on the brush, the paint, your air pressure and flow rate,
the effect you are trying to achieve, the surface you are painting...

but you want to reduce your paints only as much as is necessary,
so try thinning by 5% increments until you get the flow you desire and stop at that.

[subnuke]

Absolutely on reading the instructions. It is critical. Acrylics (and glues) are the result of a lot of chemical engineering. We may think they are all the same but they are absolutely not the same. The people who made them know the most about them. Read their instructions and follow them.

If you want excellent acrylics, use artist paint. Not student, but artist grade. The major acrylic artist paint companies have airbrush mediums, glazing mediums, reducers, etc. that will allow you to use their paint in an airbrush. It's all about the pigments and artist grade paints have the best pigments.