thinning paint

mike k

Double Actioner
hey guys, my name is mike from nj, i been around solvent paints basically my whole, but i only been airbrushing for around 6 months, i was curious on how you guys thin your paints. like i said im use to solvents, but acrylics are tricky little guys, i have some great paint, i have holbein aeroflash, schmincke aerocolor, etac private stock, etac fx, createx, etc etc, i mainly use etac fx for detail work and for coverage, I'm actually still experimenting to see which one i prefer, holbein or schmincke, i usually reduce my etac 4 parts reduce air to 1 parts paint, and i add some water to thin more if i need, i use a .15 evolution cr, or my .18mm procon boy for detailing, and i use my meiji, grex xgis, or toricon all have .3mm for coverage, and if i need more coverage ill use my iwata kustom th, im just curious on how you guys do things, so maybe i can the different or better than what im doing now, i guess my problem is, i feel that i have to reduce my paint according to the nozzle size ofcourse, but then that means im working in transparents, and i feel that it just takes a long time to reach 100 percent, is there something different i can do, or a differwnt reduction, so i can reach black quicker even through my .15mm? or in the grand scheme of things i just have to learn to take my time, and just build it up, ive heard that trident paint ia very good and hard to make transparent, you can thin it down quite abit and still get solid black if you wanted to
 
Working in transparents with reduction for a 0.15, yes indeed, suck it up and have a coffee between coats... ok that might be a lot of coffee... It might be a good place to use opaques for building up intense depth of things like black, or a larger needle set with less reduction.
 
Etac efx 'Carbon black' shoots through a .2 Iwata HP-B+ without reduction (or minimal, depending on the weather) I've only ever used water to reduce and there is never an issue with coverage. two maybe three passes for good coverage.
I cant comment on the other paints as I don't use them.

One thing I will suggest is that for now you pick ONE brand of paint and learn it. EG: pick the Etac and see how it performs in each of your brushes. See how it performs on the substrate you are using with each brush, you will probably find that one brush behaves better with that paint. After a couple of months try a different brand paint and go through the same process, play around with pressures and reduction to find the sweet spot for each brush with the paint you are using.
EG: I have the H&S infinity and it really likes the Etac EFX with the .2 needle, but its not happy with Createx without a lot of tweaking of the paint, so I use the H&S with the Etac not the createx.

As time goes on you'll learn the characteristics of each brush and what reduction and pressure it likes for your chosen paint for the day.
Getting this all 'dialled in' can be one of the most frustrating parts of learning to airbrush and its when a lot of people throw their hands up and give the hobby up.
At the moment I think you have to many variables and its making your learning harder than it needs to be.
 
As you are discovering, each paint has it's own characteristics, so needs different handling. I don't use solvents much, but from your experience I'm sure you will know that different sized nozzles, and working conditions also affect reduction. It's the same with waterbased, only probably more so as the nozzles are much finer. So what works with one brand on one day, will not necessarily work with another brand, and will, maybe need tweaking from day to day if conditions change.

I agree with Jackie, pick the paint you seem most comfortable with for now, or the one who's properties are going to suit you the most, and focus on learning it inside and out. Find the balance that will work best for how you want to work. Through tiny nozzles layering, and low pressure for ultimate control is my preference, but you can play around - more pressure for slightly thicker paint etc for more dense colour. I believe guys like Dru Blair use little to no reduction at all with some paint. I find some transparents work very well without reduction, other heavier pigmented colours may need some. By picking one paint you can experiment and find what suits how you want to work, or adapt your thinking to suit the paint and make it work for you. It can take a lot of time and testing, but it is time well spent, as you will get the best performance out of it, and will be able to focus on painting technique rather than flow issues, which will ultimately improve the quality of your work. Then when you are comfortable, you can try another brand if you want to compare, and with the experience you gained will probably find it easier to make any adjustments needed.
 
thank you guys, you are all right, im concentrating with etac fx, the flow is fantastic, and atomization is almost flawless i feel
 
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