How do you thin Acrylic paint so that it can be used in an airbrush

Kevin the Lubber said:
I also only use vallejo model air, a little goes a long way! I find some colours are more prone to blockages than others so now always add a few drops of flow improver (but from reading the above think I'll try thinners next). Instead of mixing flow/improver/thinners with the paint in the airbrush cup, I collect empty vaping liquid bottles, give them a good wash and make up the mix in these; it allows me to give them a good shake before using the mix and my sense is that I have far fewer blockages than mixing in the cup. I can then keep leftovers for later. I use those little ziplok bags to keep the original and mixed together so I know what's what. Obviously any small bottle would do, including empty paint bottles, or you could be more scientific and just add the thinning agent to a new bottle from the outset.
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yes agreed. it is a good paint. i didn't know that some colours are more prone to blockages. Interesting bit of information.
 
I had a hell of a time with the model air yellow ochre, tried several different bottles in case it was a batch issue but all were especially prone to blocking. Adding a few drops of flow improver did the trick.
 
Jack Sparrow said:
I have been reading information on the internet with regards to how to thin acrylic paint so that it can be used in an airbrush. I know there are paints designed to be used in an airbrush without dilution, but they are expensive and you don't get a lot of paint. So, I was wondering is it ok just to use distilled water to dilute craft acrylic paint or must I use a thinner that is designed for this purpose?
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Hi Jack Sparrow,

Barbatos Rex on you tube does testing and reviews of paints among other things, he did a review of low cost Artists Acrylic thinning it enough to spray, here is a link to the video, I think he has done more on low cost paint but this is a good starting point I think. If you want to get strait to where he starts talking about the paint it starts at around the 10 minute mark.


Cheers,
Stephen.
 
Stevedownunder said:
Hi Jack Sparrow,

Barbatos Rex on you tube does testing and reviews of paints among other things, he did a review of low cost Artists Acrylic thinning it enough to spray, here is a link to the video, I think he has done more on low cost paint but this is a good starting point I think. If you want to get strait to where he starts talking about the paint it starts at around the 10 minute mark.


Cheers,
Stephen.
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Thanks. I'll have a look at it.
 
Jack Sparrow said:
yes agreed. it is a good paint. i didn't know that some colours are more prone to blockages. Interesting bit of information.
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Airbrushing is all about Practice, Practice, Practice!!! using different paints, air pressures, thinning %, Paint type, and MFG!! it will boil down to personal preference what works best for you, I prefer acrylics with fewer fumes more forgiving, and easy cleanup, Thinners for acrylic I use Alcohol,
 
Jack Sparrow said:
I have been reading information on the internet with regards to how to thin acrylic paint so that it can be used in an airbrush. I know there are paints designed to be used in an airbrush without dilution, but they are expensive and you don't get a lot of paint. So, I was wondering is it ok just to use distilled water to dilute craft acrylic paint or must I use a thinner that is designed for this purpose?
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I spent 2 years building 1/12 scale formula one cars and model cars are all about the paint job!! The best results I achieved were using Model specific acrylic paints, do not use craft or artist-type paints!! Thinning I would use thinner specific to the type of paint but acrylics, thin the paint till it drips off a mix Stix with the consistency of 2% milk! if you do this and keep your air pressure between 12 to 18 psi you should not have any sputtering or splotching. actually, I shoot with an air pressure of around12psi to 15psi. again stick with one paint mfg. and one type of paint whether it be acrylic, enamel, or lacquer acrylic is what I use easy to deal with easy cleanup, and sprays great. I stayed away from pre-mixed so-called airbrush paint never works well for me I like thinning my own stuff! buy a good airbrush buy good model paint, thin your own, and Practice! You will find your comfort zone and will paint anything you want. paint for building Models is not cheap, but the results are you get what you pay for in most cases, again I would stay away from the artist and cheap craft acrylics, I agree if you are going to paint a lot of things in the same color may be auto paint or bulk paints would be the way to go, especially in the clear and topcoat types but for small jobs like models, when color changes by model or part I would use standard model paint! again it is staying with one brand and one type and PRACTICE, PRACTICE. well that is my 2 sense on that subject hope it helps
 
bandido said:
I spent 2 years building 1/12 scale formula one cars and model cars are all about the paint job!! The best results I achieved were using Model specific acrylic paints, do not use craft or artist-type paints!! Thinning I would use thinner specific to the type of paint but acrylics, thin the paint till it drips off a mix Stix with the consistency of 2% milk! if you do this and keep your air pressure between 12 to 18 psi you should not have any sputtering or splotching. actually, I shoot with an air pressure of around12psi to 15psi. again stick with one paint mfg. and one type of paint whether it be acrylic, enamel, or lacquer acrylic is what I use easy to deal with easy cleanup, and sprays great. I stayed away from pre-mixed so-called airbrush paint never works well for me I like thinning my own stuff! buy a good airbrush buy good model paint, thin your own, and Practice! You will find your comfort zone and will paint anything you want. paint for building Models is not cheap, but the results are you get what you pay for in most cases, again I would stay away from the artist and cheap craft acrylics, I agree if you are going to paint a lot of things in the same color may be auto paint or bulk paints would be the way to go, especially in the clear and topcoat types but for small jobs like models, when color changes by model or part I would use standard model paint! again it is staying with one brand and one type and PRACTICE, PRACTICE. well that is my 2 sense on that subject hope it helps
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thank you for the valuable information
 
I have airbrushed over 40 model cars and ships using enamels, lacquers and acrylic paints. All will work. You have to understand that model cars usually require a very fine smooth finish, that is usually not required in ships. There you usually find a flat or a satin finish. There you can use cheap acrylic paints and develop an appropriate finish that looks great. You just have to thin it with a water based thinner. Some use water, distilled water, a water/alcohol mixture or Windex. All will work, just need to experiment a bit.
 
RogerD said:
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 :D) 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.

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 on How to thin acrylic paint for airbrushing.

Make sure it’s Model Air if you go with Vallejo.

Hope this gives you some thoughts.
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Hello. I have been using a thinner I bought, but it goes pretty fast. What else can you use, can you use straight water?
 
In most acrylics you can use straight water, however I found that is not the best reducer. You can also mix rubbing alcohol and water about 10 to 20 percent alcohol to water. I also found windex is a useful thinner. You can experiment and find the best for your paint. Purchasing commercial thinners is expensive.
 
There is another factor that I think needs to be considered, and that's the air pressure being used. I've seen where I can have different manufactures paints blended to the 2% milk look and they require different pressures to get a nice flow. The advice to try it on a scrap first should be adhered to.
 
CPORoss said:
There is another factor that I think needs to be considered, and that's the air pressure being used. I've seen where I can have different manufactures paints blended to the 2% milk look and they require different pressures to get a nice flow. The advice to try it on a scrap first should be adhered to.
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even within the same manufaturer you will see this variation. I have experienced it first hand.
 
I've used manufacturer brand and DIY thinner. I prefer DIY. Just search "How to make acrylic paint thinner", there's plenty of Youtube and plastic modeling sites that have recommendations. Just distilled water doesn't work very well, you need to add a retarder and flow additive. Check the Liquitex website, sold at Walmart and Craft stores.

Airbrushing with acrylics can be "challenging".
 
Quint said:
Airbrushing with acrylics can be "challenging".
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Could you expand on this please? I'm once again in the midst of a 'challenging' airbrushing session using Vallejo Model Air and two reasonably decent brand name airbrushes. Why do I use two? Because I get so fed up with having to strip down the airbrush midway through a 5 minute paint job, when it blocks up, so switch to brush number two and hope to get finished before that also blocks up. Just to add, I find it more or less impossible to spray at anything under 25 - 30psi, less than that makes early blockage a dead cert. I shake the bottles using one of those little vortex mixers (and boy could I rant about the stupid design!!!!) before every session, put mixing balls in each bottle, have tried adding flow improver, retarder and thinner. These can reduce the likelihood but I then find it takes tons of coats to get opacity: more costs = more risk of blockage, plus I lose the detail.

Do other paints (non-acrylics) spray better? I like that acrylics are water-based but dread airbrushing these days.
 
walterkeith said:
Hello. I have been using a thinner I bought, but it goes pretty fast. What else can you use, can you use straight water?
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Hi Walter,

I know many knowledgable and experienced modellers thin their acrylics with water and/or other medium and are very successful with their airbrushing. I have tried different paints from different manufacturers with different types of thinner including DIY mixes, windex, water and so on. After much experimentation I settled on Vallejo for its quality and consistency between batches. I also settled on their thinners, flow improver and airbrush cleaner. My personal opinion is the manufacturer knows what works best for their product so why waste paint and stress over what works and what doesn’t. So saying that I have, when hand brush painting, sometimes used a little distilled water to thin Vallejo Model Colour paint.

Naturally as modellers we also tend to look at cost and budget. Using Vallejo as an example I can buy a 17ml bottle of Model Air for about $4 (Canadian). A 200ml bottle of Vallejo thinner is about $18. Since I use an approximate ratio of 10:1 (paint to thinner in the cup for Model Air) that means for every bottle of 17ml paint I use roughly 1.7ml of thinner. An $18 200ml bottle of thinner therefore does well over 100 bottles of paint, give or take. Where the cost of the thinner becomes an issue is if it is used as a cleaner too. For that reason I buy Vallejo cleaner and use it for cleaning my airbrush and cup.

As I said there are many experienced “painters” out there who use different medium with great success. I think the best advice is to try various types of paint and thinners, including water, take notes and see what works for you.
 
As I gained experience with using airbrush paint, I have come to the conclusion that using Vallejo model air paint with their thinner works well for me. It isn't all their colors, after all it is considered as airbrush paint, but I did find that black needed thinner. I have no idea why but it does. There may be other colors, but I don't know.
 
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