Question: Airbrushing...?

[Piousservant]

Hi,

 

I've recently bought an airbrush to use, mainly for painting tanks, etc but I'm just looking for a little advice regarding the consistancy of the paint. I've been adding a few drops of water to the paint (using normal GW paints) but it either seems to be too thick or too thin... Is there any sort of rough guide on how to get the right amount to get an even coating on my models?

 

Thanks in advance!

[GumbaFish]

I'll be the first to point out that is kind of a harder question to answer than you might think. It depends on the brand/color paint you are using, the nozzle size of your airbrush, what psi you are running it at and well a bunch of other things too really.

 

As a general rule I find somewhere roughly 1:1 paint:water to be about the midpoint for my mixtures, with some requiring more or less water.

[Macros]

Hi I find that water does not cut it for acrylic paints for airbrushing, it is hard to get it just right and it seems to dry way to quickly. Have a look at some acrylic airbrush medium, it doesn't alter the color, makes the flow much better (what you are after) and retards the drying so that you have more time before the paint builds up on the tip of your gun. A small amount goes a long way too. Also, better flow means lower psi and the closer you can work for more detail. Something like this may help you out http://www.goldenpaints.com/technicaldata/...ngHBforSpraying

I personally use stuff from mr hobby. . .stupid name, it's from japan I think. I have also used some of the new washes as a flow improver, just match the color to what you are spraying. It will make it darker usually. The good thing about that is that the original color can be used as a hilite

Hope that helps

[Tanhausen]

I agree: paint consistency is a pain!

 

I found out that what works for me (I use Vallejo Model Color... since GW/Game Color have too thick a grain for my taste) is a 1:2 paint:water ratio. It usually does go more by how you see it xD

 

Also, I don't use plain water... I use 9 parts water/ 1 part windowcleaner. I have a big bottle (1 litre) with the mix done and add as needed.

 

This consistency is very very light, and it usually means I have to do 2 or 3 layers... but it doesn't clog the airbrush noozle and works well for me.

 

Also, get a humidity filter! Its cheap ( 12€ ) and it will save you a lot of problems :)

 

Hope it helps

[Flak]

I've been using GW paints 1:1 with water, foundations more like 2:3. I find using any more water really gets it to the point of a wash and it doesn't adhere even to a primed surface well. There is definitely a sweet spot where the paint is thin but coats evenly with no dripping/pooling. Just a bit more water and it turns into a wash and gets everywhere, a bit less and it clogs up the airbrush.

[Piousservant]

Hmmm, ok. Thanks for all the replies guys. Guess it's a trial and error, experimentation-type thing... I use GW paints so will try 1:1 and see how it goes from there. Thanks!