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Using Acrylics paints.


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I have seen many references to members using water based Acrylic paints for model finishing.Many say that the ordinary types sold in say B&Q give satisfactory finishes.

Several questions really; How would you use the aforementioned B&Q types? Can they be sprayed or are they best used for brush, assuming they were thinned with a suitable agent for spray application.Brushing would also need some thinners in mu experience of using them in the home.

I have found some receipes for both thinners ( Including, Flow improvers & Fluid retarders) and cleaners on the net. I am suggesting these types as against what seems to be the more expensive 'Modelling' types.

When talking spray, can you use the less expensive guns , often provided in furniture recolouring packs?.( I have several, used for these water based materials on furniture seem to give a reasonable finish.)

There are so many questions but I think these will kick it off!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Bas

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The more expensive airbrush paint thinner, if Genuine Bas, is expensive for a reason, and sometimes we can make useful thinner ourselves, but don't discount the good stuff entirely as you may need it in the future.

The good stuff, the expensive thinner, has some acrylic cross linkers added, which help the next coat of paint stick to the previous coat.

 

For now, use your home brew.

Airbrush paint has finely ground pigment, and again, is why it is expensive.

As you say, household acrylic is thicker, hard to spray, but it will spray.

Don't forget, you keep adding water to water, you will spray . . . . water ! ! !

 

Try for 10% of your homebrew thinner in your matchpot colour, it will work, it is just " expensive " works better.

 

Don't go buying an £100 airbrush quite yet, a £15 off eBay will do you fine.

Start with a large needle and jet, say 0.5mm and practice.

Clean your airbrush every single outing, do not leave it dirty, it will bite you.

The airbrush dismantles into dozens of pieces, but do not mess with it for no reason.

Just blow through clean thinner at the end of the session.

 

 

Edited by Denis Watkins
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I had some issues airbrushing the B&Q valspar acrylics - I believe there is just too much pigment in there, so even when thinned they were clogging the airbrush badly. I have no issues with the airbrush and Tamiya or Vallejo acrylics or Humbrol enamels.  The B&Q paint covers nicely with a soft brush and a little bit of Owetrol conditioner added helps reduce the brushmarks. Next time I try to airbrush the B & Q paint I'm going to try straining it through a pair of tights after a thorough stirring and thinning. I use neat windscreen washer fluid for thinning and clean-up.

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I really wouldn't try to save money by using domestic acrylic paints from B&Q. It's a different beast from the very fine specialist paints from top modelling-paint producers. I use Vallejo and find it a consistently excellent product.

Should explain that while building static plastic aircraft & car kits, and venturing into airbrushing, it took me a long time to get sorted! Maybe I was a slow learner, but I struggled; now of course it's a doddle: use disposable plastic 3ml pipettes (Ebay) to dribble acrylic into the airbrush cup, add maybe 10-20% water (filtered, or purefied for preference), then a single drop of Rowney's flow enhancer (from art supply shops), mix thoroughly, works fine. I've tried thinning with isopropyl alcohol, and windscreen washer fluid, found no advantage over good pure water.

Re airbrushes, I also advise against trying to save a few quid by buying el-cheapo Chinese knock-offs of quality models. Been there, done that, waste of time and money. Cheap rubbish doesn'tproduce results and will drive you to distraction. I have three Japanese Iwatas, 2 x HPC-Plus and an older, smaller, HPB. Shop around for best deal: I bought a couple from Thailand at good prices, and another s/h on Ebay. Clean them religiously and they'll work really well.

Hope this helps, good luck!

Tony

 

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I'm proceeding quite nicely with my first plastic kit build (Revell P47) for almost 50 years and am getting reasonably competent with my Paashe airbrush. I'm using Tamiya Acrylics and thinning them approx 30-50% with regular meths. No issues at all so far, paint drys quickly and seems to bond very well to the substrate after an over night cure. No problems with masking off areas and paint coming away. I did try using water as a thinner but found the paint took a longer time to go off and was more prone to runs in my inexperienced hands - I'm happy with the meths.

I do have a cheap single action airbrush from Machine Mart which is way inferior to my double action Paashe and is so much more difficult to get a good result from - so beware buying very cheap stuff and making a rod for your back especially as a beginner IMHO.

Took me twenty minutes to strip and clean the Paashe first time around, but can do it in under five now!

Edited by Cuban8
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3 minutes ago, Graham R said:

I find a cheap ultrasonic cleaner with washing up liquid and water does the job of cleaning acrylics from your airbrush works well, plus it can be used for a multitude of jobs including the bosses jewellery. 

Mine has just died! Bought it several years ago from Maplin Electronics, now unfortunately defunct. Where to get a replacement... Agreed,an ultrasonic is ideal for cleaning airbrush components, though I found a good scouring beforehand is necessary, and warm water plus a drop of detergent, with multiple repeat sessions.

Tony

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Big fan here, for sport scale models. 

They are cheap, easy (forgiving) to spray, and you can get in any colour you like. 

Ref below: chipmunk red, white, grey over ceconite and epoxy fibreglass; Russian spit green and grey undersides over epoxy fibreglass and overcoated with flat clear spay can enamel; PR Spit blue all over over wbpu and over coated with 2k clear for glow fuel proofing; and tiger moth cream sides (ceconite) over coated with 1k automotive gloss clear. all these mentioned colours are hardware store acrylic mixed to colours of my choosing, in a mix of resene, Val spar and who knows what else.

I thin the paint to the consistency of full cream milk with plain tap water,  and spray with a cheap mini 125ml hvlp touch up gun, as found on ebay for around 15-20 pounds, e.g. Link

Unless you're aiming for top level sCale,  why not?

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20210815_103003.thumb.jpg.5e8bb03a6d1aab353823f5c9dfaf26b1.jpg

 

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2 hours ago, Tony Harrison 2 said:

Mine has just died! Bought it several years ago from Maplin Electronics, now unfortunately defunct. Where to get a replacement... Agreed,an ultrasonic is ideal for cleaning airbrush components, though I found a good scouring beforehand is necessary, and warm water plus a drop of detergent, with multiple repeat sessions.

Tony

You gave me a heart attack there. My initial read was SHMBO was dead, not the cleaning box. I thought, no cakes.

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Thank you for your replies. I should have said I am not looking at plastic kits but Rc planes, a little bigger. It's use would be on an irregular basis hence the avoidance of expensive equipment that for most of the time being lying unused.I will have to fully digest the replies before making further comment.

Bas

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Spent this afternoon airbrushing on my latest SEMFF depron creation, using Tamiya acrylics, RAF Dark Green AF81, with a wee bit of Dark Green, thinned with windscreen washer fluid and all went reasonably well. I'm not at all convinced by the surface finish of the depron, which shows every little nick and dent, but it will have to do.

 

As a follow up I plan to add the contrasting Ocean Grey camouflage using the B&Q acrylic, which I'd previously used to touch up the paintwork on one of my foamies, applying by brush. I thinned the B&Q paint down, then strained it through a pop-sock, with the retention, as expected, of quite a high content of solids. I haven't sprayed it yet, but have great hopes that it will be more successful than my last attempt.

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