Newbie to the forum: Airbrushing Crawford's acrylics?

[yambam26]

Hi all,

I hope you guys can help me out :biggrin:

I went to my local art shop and but some 250ml tubes of Crawford's acrylic paint, Ive used this paint before on canvases etc...

I had a brainwave that this would save me money in the long run as i can mix the colour to what i want exactly and for a cheap price than Vallejo model air.

Ive tried thinning with water as this is what ive always done, It went through the airbrush after many attempts at thinning it to the correct consistency..Although its spraying on like tiny water droplets which take ages to dry even if i i use a hair dryer but this then causes it to run :sadcry:

Ive read about using Rubbing alcohol at it evaporated quickly, Although can cause clogging of paint.

Im trying to airbrush White paint btw not the best colour to cover with but its for a roof of kit im doing at the minute

hope you guys can help me out, Sorry for the long post just frustrating getting this right :thumbsup:

[Guest]

I think the answer is to experiment

It's isopropyl alchohol you need, rubbing alcohol has weird medical stuff in it I think. Personally I'd try some Tamiya or Xtracrylics thinner, that's alcohol based

I have a feeling you'll struggle to get consistent results but it's worth a try, if it doesn't come off you can always use the artists acrylics for painting figures etc

Good luck and let us know how you get on

[yambam26]

Thanks for the quick reply it very much appreciated

Ill get some isopropyl alchohol soon as i can its worth a try, Can this be used to thin vallejo Model air?

[John]

I once tried a big tube of acrylic from Range, it was dirt cheap but no matter what I tried I couldn't get it to flow right and it was a right pain to clean my ab afterwards, good luck

[Guest]

Can this be used to thin vallejo Model air?

Yes but model air is pre-thinned so not really necessary, water works just as well with Vallejo anyhow

[Ian M]

I think that part of the problem could be in the particulates artists paints are made from. Being formulated to be applied with a brush or pallet knife, the particles in the paint are not as fine as in a paint designed for spraying. This will make it hard to spray and get consistent results. I have some artists acrylics that I brought for primer, 400ml for about a quid. My 0.3 airbrush just chokes on it but the 0.5 sprays it sort of OK.

If you use water to thin for air brushing, be sure to use distilled water as the chalk and minerals in tape water do weird things to both paint and airbrush.

I read a good tip for thinning acrylics the other day. Mix the paint and thinners 50/50 in a small glass jar. The swirl the mix around the sides of the glass. If you can not see the fingers you are holding the glass with the paint is to thick and needs thinning. If you can see your fingers clearly all the time, its to thin! If you can just see your fingers through the paint its about right!!! Smart!

Ian M

[yambam26]

Thanks for the replies guys,

I think ill try some Thinners/Isopropyl alchohol see if that works. As you said Ian could be the fact that the paint is meant to be brushed no sprayed and its quite possible that its not fine enough,Thanks for the thinning tip,Seems a simple way to get the consistency correct every-time

If it doesn't work as Andy said i can use it for figures,bases etc

it could be a case of going towards Vallejo model air.. as it works every time and is designed to be sprayed, If i could find a gd deal where i could get the primary colours then atleast i could mix my own colours?

Thanks everyone for the replies,Very much apreciated :cool2:

[Guest]

I'd second Ian's diagnosis on the problem according to paint type.

I've tried cheap artists acryl before and like John, not had any joy and clean ups a bugger and blockages frequent, the other way you could go is for sets of airbrush artists paints like Createx, (acryl)

Createx Airbrush Colors Opaque Airbrush Set 2oz (60ml)

Theres another popular brand whose name I forget but they are Lacquer, (cellulose), based.

These are designed for airbrush graphics artists and can be sprayed without thinning as per Vallejo, although I found with them that they work better thinned slightly, they seem initially expensive but are good sized bottles and can be squeeze decanted straight into the AB cup.

Re mixing with thinner, I usea similar method to the above but mix in a pot or pallette with a brush, (i load the brush with paint, decant whats needed into the pallette / pot then drop thinners in and stir with the brush), when you swipe the brush up the side of the pot it should cover but look slightly translucent, this is the 'milk' consistency you're looking for.

[John]

it could be a case of going towards Vallejo model air.. as it works every time and is designed to be sprayed, If i could find a gd deal where i could get the primary colours then atleast i could mix my own colours?

I stock all the Model Air paints, you can find them here if you want to buy in bulk let me know

[yambam26]

Hi M1ks,

Ive heard of createx paint before on youtube etc.. Its not to bad prices but its alot more paint in a tube

Thanks for the thinning tip very much appreciated,When i have a bit more money to spare ill probably venture in createx paints ...

I may just buys some Vallejo maybe just to get used to spraying with my airbrush and atleast its a cheaper option for me atm,

Thanks John,Ill bare that in mind,I would be looking at around 10 paints could you give me a idea on a price you could do them for, I wouldn't be straight away as im a bit stuck for moeny atm but with this month or start of next month

[Guest]

If you go for the Vallejo from John, I will say I heartily recommend his service, i've had a few things from the forum shop and the service is second to none, great packaging, excellent postal rates and lightning fast delivery, several others on here will agree and none of us are paid by him to say so, (unless i'm missing out? John?)

Looking at your other post you mention you do mainly civilian vehicles, cars and trucks? May be worth contacting John through the shop to see what he's got, ( I use a combination of Humbrol Enamels, old habits and all, and that's all there was when I were a lad and the only models were various scale Airfix Spitfires, and Tamiya acryl)

I think, but may be wrong, Vallejo model air are more geared for military colours?

The createx are good paints but mixing your own colours would I reckon get tiresome very quickly and you'd always need to mix enough to make sure you can complete a spray job.

[yambam26]

Ive been reading through many posts and many of those have mentioned John to be a great person to deal with and the shop to be second to none which from what ive seen of the shop seems to be really good

Well yes i mainly do Cars but i do tanks and aircraft from time to time and i may go into doing a couple of boats the more i browse the internet the more tempting they become

I started off with Humbrol enamels and i found them easy to work with i brush painted a spitfire kit with them and the finish is really good .. I would airbrush enamels but i also use acrylics and acrylic clear coats, I know that you can use humbrol over acrylic but not the other way round ...

I had a browse through the selection in the shop and they are mainly military colours but there is the basic primary colours,I now what you mean mixing can get boring but its rewarding when you make a colour thats against the grain.

I guess im going for the safe option with vallejo as its pre-thinned, The createx is gd in bulk but has to be thinned to the consistency as you said before which im sure will work fine ... Is the drying time instant like spraying vallejo?

Thanks again

[Guest]

None of them are instant to be honest, what happens is the solvent flashes off more quickly with acrylics, to fully cure you still need to leave overnight to 24 hours, enamels have a slower evaporating solvent, oil based, which takes longer, i usually allow 48 hours before masking enamels.

But yes, the createx has a drying time akin to tamiya enamels and others i've tried.

If you need anything specific talk to John, he can source most things so if it's not on his site he may be able to get it and it's always worth checking.

The usual procedure for laying paint is

Lacquer, (cellulose) / Enamel / Acrylic

in theory cellulose over either of the others or enamel over acryl can strip the underlying layer, however if the acryl is fully cured you could get away with careful spraying of enamel but I wouldn't try to put cellulose over the top of either, being a hot solvent it's more likely to eat through the base layers, other than the specialist Alclad lacquers it's not worth trying

[yambam26]

ah the acrylic won't be touch dry but it'll look dry ... plus i guess with a well heated room not to hot would help the paint .. just like using a hair dryer ..

Well that's something to learn from those drying time you mentioned well worth knowing

Ill talk to John and see what he can do for me