Which airbrush paint do you use?

Which airbrush paint do you use?


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I have been introduced to PPG WB about a year ago. Mixing colors is basic, cutting to reduce or stretch without losing quality or getting spidery with water is a no brainer. It is such a great product, but mostly geared towards the auto collision industry. Finding dealers who will mix up pints of basic colors is hard. They work off of the auto code color numbers system to match car paints. I tried several times contacting PPG to inquire about a way to get the paint for the art industry with no replies. I'm hoping that sometime or sooner they will make artists a part of their business . I will be finding out more about this in about a month. I have a meeting set up with a friend who is diehard user of the product. I wish a PPG rep would contact me I know I could et so many artists to check this product out with pleasant results. The solvent product is widely used and remarkable for many solvent based uses and businesses , but I want to use Enviro Water Based.
for jet black the code is 668, ppg you can get from a place colours, they are everywhere, my name is mike and im from new jersey, colours is everywhere, if you need codes you can ask me, i work at a bodyshop and can get them, hope this helps
 
for jet black the code is 668, ppg you can get from a place colours, they are everywhere, my name is mike and im from new jersey, colours is everywhere, if you need codes you can ask me, i work at a bodyshop and can get them, hope this helps
You can get the envirobase basic on ebay and in various sizes!


Enviado desde mi iPad utilizando Tapatalk
 
Hello my name is Dawid im new on this forum and i give you my go to paints... Its new Holbein line and its call Holbain Acrylic Ink. they spray like Holbain Aeroflash they are pack full of single pigment whit some exeptions and they are ligfast. Please remember that natural pigments dont spray as good as organic. And no i dont work for them just love the product!

Cheers to everyone!!!
 
Where might I look for info on all the things you all talk about that are Greek to me?
Like microns, holy water, mixing paints, etc?
 
Well what would you like to know? Google and Youtube are good sources of information. Not to mention the very helpful people on this forum! Feel free to ask any question you might have- someone will know the answer.
 
Well what would you like to know? Google and Youtube are good sources of information. Not to mention the very helpful people on this forum! Feel free to ask any question you might have- someone will know the answer.

What is meant by "holy water" in paint context? Also how does one know how much to dilute / mix paint or is it a trial and error thing?
 
What is meant by "holy water" in paint context? Also how does one know how much to dilute / mix paint or is it a trial and error thing?
Depends on what paint brand you are using. Most paints today give you a spray gun reduction starting point and an airbrush one.
For Createx Wicked line it is 1 drop paint to 3 drops reducer @35 PSI but depending on what you are trying to do with it will depend on how much more you will have to reduce and drop the psi down.
Climate where you are will also effect how you will have to mix your paint.
 
What is meant by "holy water" in paint context? Also how does one know how much to dilute / mix paint or is it a trial and error thing?

Def a trial and error thing I'm afraid. There is no one size fits all magic formula. There are so many variables to take into account. As Herb says find out what the recommended manufacturer ratios are, and use that as a jumping off point. Some say they shoot right out of the bottle, but that generally means with a brush set up with a .5 nozzle. What, and how you are going to paint also factors. For large thick coverage you may want a larger nozzle, no reduction, and blast the paint out. For super fine, less than hair width detail, you may want to spray at baby's breath airpressure reduced 15 or 20 : 1. Then add in that different colours have heavier pigments than others even within the same brand, and they will need adjusting, plus weather/humidity, different brands of paint and brush, nozzle sizes, weather and humidity ......and you can see how it's hard to pin mixing down into definite ratios for everyone.

My advice is to pick a paint brand that will best suit the type of painting you want to do (start a new thread if you want advice and opinions), and spend some time getting to know it really well. (If there a couple you want to try then send of for samples of each and play with them to see if you find one easier, or more durable, heavier pigmented for better colour etc) It's not as difficult as it sounds, and is something you quickly get used to and develop a feel for. But it's best not to get confused with different brands at first (IMO). Get good flow - no spidering, or grainyness, but smooth coverage/unbroken clean lines at around 20 -25 psi by experimenting drop by drop reducer to paint, then this will become your base mixture, which you can adjust as needed depending on conditions, or how you need to paint. Rule of thumb more reducer = less pressure. You may see the term reduce to semi skimmed milk consistancy in your reasearch- but again this is just a starting point. During this time before you find the sweet spot you will likely get some nozzle blockage, and also between paint sessions paint will likely dry inside the nozzle. This is probably 90% plus, of newbie issues and can be very frustrating. Your mantra should be, when you think the nozzle is clean, clean again, and if necessary again - but gently you don't want to damage or flare it. We've all been there, and you will be amazed at what can hide in such a small space.

It is well worth the time to get your paint flow right, it will make it much easier to concentrate on learning the different strokes and techniques and speed the whole thing up.
 
Just took the plunge and bought the wicked primary set(thanks for the hobby lobby coupon tip!), from the little time I've used them I would say there's has not been not much difference from spaying the Goldens, clean up was a different storyo_O

Some great advise I picked up from cleaning was to quit cleaning your ab so much, spray some water then leave it in the brush overnight, this worked good for me with the goldens, I did a search here and found some good threads on cleaning wicked, once a good cleaning I think I'll still try to keep water in the brush overnight.

Looking forward to trying my hand at spraying the wicked on textiles and maybe steel/aluminum. Found a bunch of brand new white shirts in the garbage, now to get the time:alien:
 
Detail work, illustrations, fine lines etac all the way
Honestly createx wicked/auto are horrible to work with unless you’re 0.35mm or bigger then it’s a lot less of an issue. Plus it’s so easy to get I have 10x more than etac purely due to etac being hard to get in Canada

Com art sprays great but weak weak coverage
 
Just took the plunge and bought the wicked primary set(thanks for the hobby lobby coupon tip!), from the little time I've used them I would say there's has not been not much difference from spaying the Goldens, clean up was a different storyo_O

Some great advise I picked up from cleaning was to quit cleaning your ab so much, spray some water then leave it in the brush overnight, this worked good for me with the goldens, I did a search here and found some good threads on cleaning wicked, once a good cleaning I think I'll still try to keep water in the brush overnight.

Looking forward to trying my hand at spraying the wicked on textiles and maybe steel/aluminum. Found a bunch of brand new white shirts in the garbage, now to get the time:alien:
Quick question, distilled water right? tap water will leave enzymes that will break up the solidity of the paint if its left on the interior of the AB? Sorry don't know all the terms yet, describing as best as I can with the limited knowledge I have....
 
Quick question, distilled water right? tap water will leave enzymes that will break up the solidity of the paint if its left on the interior of the AB? Sorry don't know all the terms yet, describing as best as I can with the limited knowledge I have....

I use distilled water but our water is pretty good so you do not have to worry. But distilled water is cheap so why not. To wash out I use tap water.
 
Quick question, distilled water right? tap water will leave enzymes that will break up the solidity of the paint if its left on the interior of the AB? Sorry don't know all the terms yet, describing as best as I can with the limited knowledge I have....
Start with distilled for sure.

Side note
I did the ultrasonic cleaner and windex cleaning that so so many people recommended.... my Grex AB is pitted and the chrome plating gone, twice this happened so I’d avoid any ammonia and ultrasonic cleaning without the basket which really doesn’t do jack squat vs a brush and floss pick brush
 
Detail work, illustrations, fine lines etac all the way
Honestly createx wicked/auto are horrible to work with unless you’re 0.35mm or bigger then it’s a lot less of an issue. Plus it’s so easy to get I have 10x more than etac purely due to etac being hard to get in Canada

Com art sprays great but weak weak coverage
I run wicked thru my .15 all day long at 1:1 reduction without any issue at all- and I can get down to 5 to 10 psi with it as well. What exactly do you mean by "horrible"?
 
... ... ....
Side note
I did the ultrasonic cleaner and windex cleaning that so so many people recommended.... my Grex AB is pitted and the chrome plating gone, twice this happened so I’d avoid any ammonia and ultrasonic cleaning without the basket which really doesn’t do jack squat vs a brush and floss pick brush

Whenever you see mention of windex it will normally contain the addition words ‘non Ammonia” ammonia should never be used for soaking your airbrush.
 
I run wicked thru my .15 all day long at 1:1 reduction without any issue at all- and I can get down to 5 to 10 psi with iit as well. What exactly do you mean by "horrible"?
Horrible as in inconsistent spray characteristics and needing to full open spray non stop so I can do 1 decent line, lots of tip dry and repeated filtering paint required.
1:1 with wicked in a 0.15 seems impossible to myself I need to reduce it more than that for my Eclipse, detail with coverage not using illustration or comart = need some PB cause I’m really jelly
 
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