Airbrush Tips

[AngoMango]

No this is not about your favourite hard liquor fellas

 

What do you guys use for:

 

1) mixing and thinning enamel based paints when airbrushing? Is it just the standard tamiya-style thinners? What sort of paint-to-thinner ratios would be normal for solid colours?

 

2) cleaning airbrushes after running enamel paints thru them? Is it isopropyl alcohol, and if so, can you get this stuff at hobby shops?

 

Any basic tips would be hugely appreciated.

 

Cheers,

Ango.

[JimInOz]

G'day Ango, for enamels do not use any acrylic based thinner. All you need to use for mixing, thinning and cleaning of enamel paints is the good old turps. It is cheap and it works and it can be had readily. If you want to lash out you can use Laquer thinners, but it is much more expensive. The only difference between the 2, appears to be that the laquer thinners, when mixed into your paint reduces the drying time. I believe that this is because the Laquer thinner has a lower evaporation point, due to it being more refined and having a greater hydrocarbon content.

When mixing my enamels I do use different ratios for different applications.

When airbrushing I use a 30% thinner to 70% paint ratio. For a decent coat.Or a 50% thinner to 50% paint ratio for a dust or lighter coat. These 2 ratios apply to both Turps and Laquer Thinnners. I never go outside these boundaries with regard to airbrushing.

If I am handbrushing I usually use a less than 30% ratio thinner to my paint

mix ie. 20% thinners to 80% paint.

I will use a very thin mixture of paint to do a wash. I will simply dip my brush into the thinning medium and then while it is still soaking wet, dab just the tip of the brush into the paint. At this stage I should mention that you have to be careful using a thinned enamel wash on an enamel based paint job. Obviously if you use to much wash on an area that is undercoated you will remove the under coat if you go at it to hard!!!!

I have used the above ratios through my Paasche H airbrush with great success. Running at no more than 15psi. However I would suggest that you experiment on some old card with your own gear, settings and mixes using the above info as a guide only.

I clean my airbrush cups and brushes all in the thinning medium ie turps or laquer thinner. I will give the cup a rinse out with the thinners then shoot a clean cup full of thinning medium through the gun at a higher pressure. Do not use too high a pressure, or you may damage your needle or gun.I have never gone above 40 psi for cleaning purposes.

In conclusion Ango, the best thing to do is experiment with your own gear and settings and make notes of what suits you. Just remember to never mix acrylic thinners with enamel paints and vice versa. I hope this helps you and is not to long winded. If you need any more info just drop me a line . Cheers to you Ango JimInOz

[D Bellis]

I agree with JimInOz, with the exception of 2 points:

1) I quit using Turpentine to thin enamels because I had a couple paint jobs that refused to dry when using it. I ended up repainting over those with laquer thinned paint to get it to dry. Laquer thinner is all I use now. Fortunately, they cost the same here.

2) The air pressure I use through my Badger 150 ranges from about 15 psi up to about 25 psi. It might just be the differece in airbrushes, your mileage may vary.

 

There are 2 ways to tell if the paint is thinned properly:

1) If the paint spatters (small flecks of paint around the normal spray pattern), add more thinner.

2) If the paint gets blown away from the normal spray pattern creating amoeba looking patterns, add more paint or lower the spray pressure.

 

Beyond that, experiment on some scraps (something smooth, like model box tops) until you're satisfied with your results.

 

Good luck!

D

[AngoMango]

Marvellous, thanks fellas! I don't have access to a very good airbrush, so will really be only looking to paint solid colours at this stage. Your suggestions are of great assistance, and I'll now get into some experimentation of pressures, thinning mix ratios vs drying time, etc.

 

Should be good fun though!

Cheers,

Ango.

[bigern007]

Ango,,,for many years I have been thinning my enamel based paints with VARSOL a common pait thinner/cleaner.The ratio you will need to experiment with[start with about30 percent thinners]

 

Clean the airbrush by shooting acouple of ounces through it an cleaning the orifices with pipe cleaners.

 

Afinal flush through with lacquer thinners completes the job.

Lacquer thinners are very necessary,but very toxic.Try to minimize the fumes and skin contact.....practice,practice,,,,,practice.

 

Ernie

[Bails]

Hi Ango. You have been given lots of good poop from folks who know about these things.....from experince. I will offer you only one thing.....the name of possibly the best lacquer thinner to use for ALL of your enamels.....buy a gallon of Duracryl DTL876 Acrylic Lacquer Thinner by PPG.....get it at your favorite auto paint supply store. It is NOT for our hobby acrylic paints.....it IS for our enamels and lacquers. This stuff just works better than anything I have ever used. Gives me smooth finishes and dries quickly. It was recommended some years ago at HyperScale. It costs about $25 per gallon which is super-cheap by the ounce when compared to the hobby paint thinners. I clean my hand and air brushes with the cheapest odor-free mineral spirits I can find, however for the airbrushes, I give one final blast with a bit of the lacquer thinner prior to setting it aside.

 

Bails-In-Minnesota

[Tzulscha]

OK my 2 cents!

 

I sell airbrushes everyday along with a variety of hobby paints. I have found that most, if not all acrylic (waterbased) paints can be very nicely thinned with isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol. I tend to recommend that you use the manufacturers thinner for solvent based paints. It is just one less thing to go wrong with your colour. (I have to make recommendations that I can guarantee will work, or people will blame me for their screw ups)

Once you are more familiar with your chosen paint then try some of the other thinner types.

 

To thin colours for spraying, my rule of thumb is about 40% colour 60% thinner at about 20psi. This works with all paints in my experience. If you need to do a fine line, I thin to about 30%thinner/70%colour and drop pressure to about 15 psi.

 

My favourite brush is the Paasche type 'H', single action external mix. I can do anything a double action brush can do and clean up and maintenance is MUCH easier. The brush is also a lot less sensitive to paint viscosity as well. (you can almost run peanut butter thru this thing!)

 

I tend to suggest the double action brushes for freehand artwork. I am basicly a lazy slob and a 5 minute cleanup job for a 30 second spray job is not worth it in my book.

 

You will eventually find out what works best for you simply by jumping in and spraying something. You may have noticed that everybody seems to do it a bit different. Find what works for you and go with that.

 

Like I said though, I have to tell people how to do things that I can promise WILL work. There are any number of tricks that you can get away with tho......

 

Now go spray SOMETHING!