Thank you. You have given me a lot to think about.
) of Vallejo Model Air I add one or two drops of Vallejo airbrush thinner. To reduce dry tip on the needle and nozzle area I often add one drop of Vallejo Flow Improver. All put directly into the cup then I mix well using a very thin stir stick made of plastic.
Great, thanks. Definitely valuable information. My issue is getting enough paint to complete my model and the typical airbrush paints only come in small quantities. I would probably need 10 times what those little bottles contain(this is just a guesstimate). So, my workaround, if it works, is to buy craft paint and dilute it with what I thought was going to be distilled water, but upon further reflection, I would use an appropriate thinner. I'll definitely practice on something before actually using it on the Bismarck.Hi Jack,
Over the years I tried different manufacturers model paints for airbrushing but not craft paints. After some frustration I eventually settled on Vallejo Model Air acrylic paints. What a difference! Easy to use, easy cleanup, easy to dispense from the paint dropper bottle, large colour range and a fine even spray. I don’t use anything else now.
The trick to airbrushing is to get a consistency that looks like 2% milk. Vallejo can be airbrushed straight from the bottle but after some experimentation I have found I use the following “mix”. For every ten drops (yes I count them
It took a little getting used to and I adjust slightly if the paint from the bottle seems to thicken as you reduce, from use, the amount left. I am particular in making sure the thinner and flow improver is from Vallejo. You may get advice and opinions from many other modellers ranging from “use water”, “use Windex” and so on. My feelings are to use the same make of thinners for the same make of paints. That way you are following the paint manufacturers recommendations.
Make sure it’s Model Air if you go with Vallejo.
Hope this gives you some thoughts.
Thank you for the information. When you mention art acrylics, are you referring to the paint that comes in tubes?
If you wish rattle can paints can be decanted from the can and used in an airbrush. Plenty of you tube videos show how to do that. Also videos of this on the fine scale modeling site. As for craft store acrylics, in general they are much thicker and the pigments have not been ground as fine. However there are videos on you tube on how to prepare and use these acrylics in an airbrush. I have never done so.
I use Tamiya acrylic paint only and I thin with Tamiya acrylic lacquer thinner it works great! the 3 mil bottles of [paint just add the thinner to the first ring on the neck of the bottle and load your airbrush
I believe so. THe model air paint is the one that they recommend for airbrushing
Looks great.
yup. that's what i did but i may try out my own thinner since i need a lot.
