An Airbrushing Question

[Grimm]

So I just recently got an airbrush and I have a few questions, specifically about thinning. I've been able to spray down some Tamiya primer, but tonight i tried some Gunze Mr. Color thinned with some water, and it just kept clogging the brush.

 

So my questions are, in no paticular order:

 

What sort of paint to thinner ratio is good for a base coat? And I know that I need different ratio depending on what effect I'm going for.

 

If my brush is clogging, what sorta things do I need to look at? The ammount of thinner? The air pressure? I just don't know.

 

I have purchased a book about airbrushing, and it gives a nice ammount of information on painting techniques and maintaining my brush, but it gives little to no info on thinners and how to properly use them.

 

Sorry if this seems a bit basic to all of you, but it would really help me out if you all could give me some pro tips!

[FarEast]

Ok Tamiya suggest a 1:3 ratio of paint to thinner and I believe Gunze Mr. Color is the same but most will suggest thinning to a consistency of milk for a solid colour more so if you are building up layers. For some of my post shading work on WWI aircraft I'm going as thin as 1:8 ratio of paint to thinner.

 

also make sure you are using the correct thinner - Tamiya can be thinned with Vallejo thinner but Vallejo turns to gunk with Tamiya Thinnners so be careful.

[Grimm]

Thanks! I now realize that I put way to much paint into the mix. Also, for good measure I'm gonna go ahead and pick up some Mr. Color thinner.

[FarEast]

No problem Grimm - I got in to the hobby last year and spent a lot of time just practicing with thinning paints and air pressures on the brushes I'm now getting some pretty good results.

[Grimm]

Yeah, it'll take a lot of practice and patiences, but what in this hobby doesn't? I'll get the hang of it at some point. Once again, thanks for the help!

[Paulster]

You will find that Mr. Color Leveling Thinner works the best. Me personally, I always match same brand thinner to paint. Not going to blow a $100 plus however many months of time cause I was too cheap to buy a $8 can/bottle of the proper reducer.

[Grimm]

Ok, sounds good, I'll pick that up then. I haven't had much time recently for modeling, so I haven't bought anything yet.

[Iceman]

Agree with Paulster,  Mr. Color Leveling Thinner is excellent when it comes to airbrushing Gunzye or Tamiya acrylic paints. I also spray a very light and fine coat of pure leveling thinner directly over the paint coat I just laid down before it dries, I find that it really provides a smooth and even final finish.  Just don't touch it for a few hours as this type of thinner slows the paint curing time down.  I also use the Tamiya yellow cap lacquer thinner for thinning Tamiya acrylic's, drying time is faster then with the Mr. Color and works well for painting smaller parts.  I had pretty much given up on airbrushing Tamiya acrylics as I never had good results with them using the Tamiya X20 thinner.  Then I learned that they are not actually true acrylics and are lacquer based, switched over to thinning them with the lacquer thinners and never looked back, made a huge difference in the manner in which they performed through the airbrush and the final finish.  They are now my favorites in addition to the Gunzye line of paint.

[Grimm]

Once again, to all of you, thank you! It's great that so many have come to anwser a new guys question. And I dont think Im ever gona try water as a thinner, just gonna stick with the brand thinner. And my clogging issues where definetely thinner problems, now with proper thinning my airbrush sprays pretty well.

[Iceman]

I had the clogging issues with using Tamiya X20 thinner with their own line of acrylics, but as I mentioned previously, I discovered that they are not true acrylics.  For thinning true acrylics, like Vallejo, AK Interactive, MIG, etc., I have been thinning with a mixture of 50% of the brands acrylic thinner and 50% distilled water and it has worked fantastically with my Iwata airbrushes. 

[Wingco57]

What pressure would be best without the paint hitting the surface too hard to prevent puddles? I use Revell Aqua

And thin to a 50:50 ratio. Although airbrushing large areas works really well, it's the smaller parts that sometimes

Make painting difficult.

Cheers

Cees