I know there are a bunch of you who swear by acrylics, but I have a devil of a time with them thru an airbrush. I only have 2 colors black and red. and only Tamiya. So what is the secret? About 1 in 5 times it works. It is either to runny or I can't get it to work period. Do you run it straight thru the brush? NOw I don't have one of those super-duper all adjustable compressors, just a small hobby version. I have tried mixing water in, alcohol in, some thing by Polly S to add to paint for airbrush use. If you use alcohol, what type. I have isopropel, is there another type that works better (other than wine or beer) ?

The only reason I have problems with enamel is when I use old paint that has settled and it clumps in the brush

Hi Steve

Can't answer to your acrylic paint problem, because I never had that issue (I use ethilic alcool)... But I haven't use any acrylic paints in the airbrush for a long time.
I also have a small low budget compressor

My post here is mainly tpo give you a tip on using old enamel paints:
Filter them through a thin close metal net (like those used for making tank vents and grills).
Although you'll have a little work in the end (cleaning it) it's always better than disassemble the airbrush
Hope this helps,
Skipper

Hey Steve,

I switched to all acrylics because 1. I had a child with respiratory problems coming home and 2. I am allergic to enamel paint.

I thin my acrylics with 90% alcohol I can get at Wal Mart. I have used Tamiya's and Testor's acrylic thinner also, but alcohol is the way to go. I usually go with a 2 parts paint to 1 part thinner ratio and only thin what I need, usually less than 1/2 oz.

Hope this helps.

Try this too:

http://home.att.net/~shipmodelfaq/ShopNotes/smf-SN-AirbrushingAcrylics.html

Thanks guys for the tips

Skipper: I just mae it a point now not to use old clumpy paints when airbushing. If i have to stir too much and add thnner, I just relegate that jar to the hand paint category or to be use when mixing another new color

Gator: I copied that article down. I've got windshied wiper fluid

when I switched to acrylics, I had to learn from trial and error. I still shake my head over the fact that I gave away over $100 in Model Master paint and started from scratch. But it was for a darn good reason.

Kenny hit the key, trial and error. I spray MM and Tamiya. I use either some Tamiya thinner I picked up, or windshield washer fluid. I thin about 50/50, but it seems to depend on the color. As I'm sure you're aware red and yellow are the pits. I never can seem to get them to spray right. I use a DIY compressor I use for my air nailer, and set it at about 20psi.

One tip a guy in our club told me is to NOT spray acrylics through the same brush you use to spray enamel. I can't 100% remember the exact reason, but he did tell me not to do it, and I haven't. I spray almost all acrylics but if I ever need to do enamel I use an older brush I don't care that much about.

Tamiya acrylics airbrush spendidly. The trick I use is to use Tamiya's own thinner. I know it's Isorpopyl alcohol. water and a tiny add of detergent. But using their own thinner works best.

I thin my paint at the ratio of one dropper of thinner to two droppers of paint. Dropper is generic glass eyedropper found at any pharmacy. Keep the layers thin and build up the finish in at least three applications. Let it dry well before touching.

I'm using a Paasche VL-3 and a Vjr. 2. Works for me.

Ed Malewitz
IPMS 7955

I only get 3 results. Either it comes out like water, refuses to spray at all, or comes out at a medium rate. I only use the acrylic stuff to do ship underbodies so pretty much red or black

With enamel I get a larger spray area when I spray, but the Tamiya stuff stays in the jars much better and I get more use than the enamel as it tend to loose viability after a period of time and then clumps up.

I went back today and use just a couple of drops of thinner and the acrylic worked perfectly. My ratio was probably 4 to 1. The 2 to 1 I ran yesterday was way to watery

I pretty much use only acrylics, mostly because they're easier to clean up since you can use water. Also, they seem to dry faster and tha allows me to work with parts and add other coats sooner.

You'd think that an engineer like myself would have a very precise system for measuring, but I don't. However with the Tamiya, most often it seems that something like two parts of paint to one part of thinner works the best. I'll dump the color I plan to use into one of my spray bottles and then just add thinner until the paint is the consistency of skim milk, so I just kind of go by what looks right. The other thing which I've found which helps is what Rodger suggested. I have a home made tank (from 6" PVC pipe) which stores the air from the compressor (so I don't get any pulses) and a regulator with a pressure gage which I set to 20 psi. You can find used stuff like gages etc around in junk yards etc (at least here in Detroit).

And while I suspect it generally isn't TOO critical, I'll typically use the manufacturer's thinner.

And one other benefit with acrylics. If the first coat isn't very good, they seem to be a lot easier to either sand off or just spray over than enamels.

Tom

I will have to agree on the spray over. I got lucky with the first spraying on the Vosper. Despite all the runniness, none of it seeped under my painters tape. The second coat went on fine. OH an added bonus. I have a water trap, but with the super high humidity right now, some gets through. with the acrylic, it just mixes in rather than putting droplets like occurs with enamel.