|
|
Forums - Modelling / Painting |
The painting forum is for the discussion of techniques on the painting, decalling and weathering phases of AFV modelling and the tools and materials used. |
| Topics | 1432 |
| Messages | 7349 |
|
|
| Subject: | Re: Airbrushing questions |  |
| Date: | Feb 2, 2001 |
| From: | David Nickels | |
Yes, most paints do need thinner; even the ones that say "airbrush ready,"
etc. The only exception to this might be some of the airbrushable dyes for
fabrics.
In general, the consistency of your paint shuld be somewhat like milk. The
mixing ratio to thinner/paint will vary, however. I don't use more than
20% thinner in most cases, and often less. How much you use will depend on
the brand of paint, and even the color. Light shades like tan and white
won't cover well if thinned too much. Metallics, on the other hand,
usually have a lot of pigments and can stand a lot of thinner and will
still cover. Gloss paints usually need more thinner, too, as they are
thicker to start with.
Acrylic paints need to be thinned more than enamels, usually. To thin
them, you can use ACRYLIC thinner, which seems to be not much different
than rubbing/isopropryl aclohol. I use the alcohol as a thinner for
Tamiya, Poly Scale, Gunze and Testors Acryl paints. You can also use clean
water. I prefer the alcohol as it is "thinner" than water and evaporates
out faster so the paint dries faster. Acrylics tend to clog up the brush
more, too, as they dry so fast in the spray nozzle.
Enamels are thinned with an appropriate solvent based thinner. I have used
hardware store mineral spirits with good results, but use Laquer Thinner
more often. When in doubt, use the brand of thinner for the particular
brand of paint you are using. Testors has a stronger thinner for
airbrushing that will give the paint some bite like laquer thinner will.
Testors airbrush thinner does not work well with Humbrol enamels, so,
again, do a test or use the recommended brand.
Often you may need two coats of paint on a model.
If the painted surface looks sandy and rough, the paint is not thinned
enough and you are spraying from too far away so it dries before it hits
the model. |
| |
|
|
|
