Greetings from N.J.

Gary Santaniello

Young Tutorling
Newbi here,
I started 3D printing about two and a half years ago, started painting them with standard brushes about a year ago, about 18 mons ago I purchased a PointZero “starter” set, Createx paints, Iwata cleaner, cleaning pot and small spray booth from Amazon, but only started to use it with the time allotted due to Covid-19 quarantine three weeks ago.
I’ve been watching all the the beginner videos I can find on thinning and mixing and cleaning, but I am not getting very good flow from either of my gravity feed 2 or 3mm brushes.

I’ve purchased Vallejo flow improver, Testor acrylic thinner and paint last week for a plastic model my son purchased for me for my B-day last month as I figured the enamel would be harder to work with.

What is the best way to address my issues or show folks what’s happening when I paint?

Thanks in advance for any help, I would really like to paint up this model and gift it back to my son.

Santa
 
Newbi here,
I started 3D printing about two and a half years ago, started painting them with standard brushes about a year ago, about 18 mons ago I purchased a PointZero “starter” set, Createx paints, Iwata cleaner, cleaning pot and small spray booth from Amazon, but only started to use it with the time allotted due to Covid-19 quarantine three weeks ago.
I’ve been watching all the the beginner videos I can find on thinning and mixing and cleaning, but I am not getting very good flow from either of my gravity feed 2 or 3mm brushes.

I’ve purchased Vallejo flow improver, Testor acrylic thinner and paint last week for a plastic model my son purchased for me for my B-day last month as I figured the enamel would be harder to work with.

What is the best way to address my issues or show folks what’s happening when I paint?

Thanks in advance for any help, I would really like to paint up this model and gift it back to my son.

Santa
Welcome Santa. The good news is you’re not on your own Sir, getting the paint to flow well had to be the most common issue folks starting up have. At least I know it was for me. A few tips to try:
1. Stick within one brand, so if you have Createx Paint, use the recommended thinner / reducer in this case Createx 4011. Some paint will react differently if using just water or another brands thinner.
2. Set yourself a base line working pressure, let’s say 20psi. Add one drop of paint and one drop of reducer and see how it sprays. Chances are in this case it will be very grainy with an broken spotty line. Clear out the mix and add 2 drops of reducer to one drop of paint. Continue this until you don’t have the grainy look, but a nice smooth texture.
3. Don’t worry if the bottle says “Ready to spray” or if the directions say “Reduce 10%”. Ignore that to a degree and see what works for you. I often end up with 1 drop of paint to 3 or 4 drops of reducer. That works for me, but may not work for others, it’s a very personal thing.
4. Don’t sweat it, just play on a surface that doesn’t matter. Learning to reduce paint is a big part of learning to spray it, so any time spent here is worth it in the long run.
 
Thanks for the reply,
My Createx paints are 16 months old, but just open and I do not have Createx reducer, but I do have new Testor acrylic and thinner, so I will try your way assuming acrylic is ok to use?
 
Si has you covered for most of your concerns. As far as reducing the Createx paint... if you bought a kit off Amazon I’m betting its the ‘Createx Airbrush Colors’. ?? The bad news is that they are designed for textiles, not for hard surfaces.

the testers I’ve had no experience with it. I’m sure their website will have further info... I’ll go check
 
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:) they have a happy place of around 50-60psi, so anything around 30 unreduced, or very little and you will get clogs and splutters and hair pulling.
I’ll just go check the recommended reduction ...
 
This will give you the current (fairly generic) infohttps://creatextech.com/pdf/tds/Createx-Airbrush-Colors-TDS.pdf
And it looks like they have changed some recommendations - they now suggest 35-45 psi with a .5 needle- not sure what yours has.. @DaveG can probably advise what size if you’re not certain.. just let us know the model number of the brush :)
@huskystafford paints T-shirts, so probably uses /has used the Createx airbrush Colors so can hopefully advise what he uses for reduction ratio and psi for the size airbrush he has :)


Don’t stress, we’ll get you painting, but you might have to endure a few more questions from our members first so we have all the relevant info :)

im off to bed (22:45 down here) and I have a 05:00 alarm !

B6DE9E0B-D0B3-43C8-87BE-80C1A9B06423.jpeg
 
JackEb,
Yes, Createx Colors 5801-00 Airbrush Paint Set.
That explains some of my results, but not my flow issue which I assume now is due to thinning
That will explain some of the flow issue. Thicker / Heavier paint will need a higher pressure to atomise it and have nice flow. Adding thinner to the paint slows you to lower the required pressure, which in turn lowers over spray and allows you to get closer to the surface and achieve thinner lines. But at this point don’t worry about thin or thick lines, you just want lines. Give the other paint a try and see how you get on with the suggestion I made.
 
This will give you the current (fairly generic) infohttps://creatextech.com/pdf/tds/Createx-Airbrush-Colors-TDS.pdf
And it looks like they have changed some recommendations - they now suggest 35-45 psi with a .5 needle- not sure what yours has.. @DaveG can probably advise what size if you’re not certain.. just let us know the model number of the brush :)
@huskystafford paints T-shirts, so probably uses /has used the Createx airbrush Colors so can hopefully advise what he uses for reduction ratio and psi for the size airbrush he has :)


Don’t stress, we’ll get you painting, but you might have to endure a few more questions from our members first so we have all the relevant info :)

im off to bed (22:45 down here) and I have a 05:00 alarm !

View attachment 62269
I have two gravity feed brushes .2 & .3 the paints state the address ready for .5 and need to be reduced for smaller, I was attempting to use the acrylic thinner @ 20 psi.
I'll give the Testors a go and see if it gets better.
I did order an Iwata Revolution CR-3, assuming it's fulfilled I hope to have better results.
Until then I'll work with what I have.
Peace!
 
:) they have a happy place of around 50-60psi, so anything around 30 unreduced, or very little and you will get clogs and splutters and hair pulling.
I’ll just go check the recommended reduction ...
I hate them... But they are easier to clean then wicked.
 
ok, now I have little more time to elaborate about my issues with createx classics. Bare in mind, that what ever I write in this post it's just my opinion.

I wouldn't recommend them to the beginner. When I started I also bought createx classics cause I seen in every video people are using them for t-shirts. It was so cool to see them spraying those colors straight out of the bottle. Yea sure, I tried that, but guess what happened. :D
Paint is so this that even with 60 psi I didn't get good results, but most important part was I didn't enjoy airbrushing. The funny part is that in all of those videos not one mentioned that they put reducer in to createx bottle so noob is assuming they don't reduce. But they talk about reducing when they put color in to gravity feed. Seems legit right? :D I am sure they put reducer straight in to bottle when they use bottom feed airbrush, cause I tried 60 psi unreduced and it doesn't play nice. Maybe it's lack of my experience, but I doubt it.

And then you buy wicked and it is a game changer. You start enjoying, you start learning cause you don't roll with your eyes like with createx classic.

I would try 30psi 10 drops of paint and 20 drops of reducer. And I wouldn't worry about what createx says. Bare in mind white or red are pain in the behind to spray.

Also when heat setting paint I had very bad results with iron and I needed a lot of testing with heat press. Whatever was written on createx site didn't work for me. But I was trying to find a way my t-shirts are washable with more heat then cold wash. In europe people don't use cold wash so often.
 
A lot of model folks use Vallejo Air it think they’re called. They have a big mixture of colours including machinery and earth tones. At this point it’s not the end of the world what paint you use, it’s more important to start learning to get it to come out of the brush. Paper practice sheets are great as they get you aiming dots and painting lines, so you get the chance to see how the paint and air interact to get the result you want.
 
thanks again, i've had better luck today with theTesters paint and thinner, just have to find the right mix of thinner and pressure, but it's better than yesterday!
Y'all are great!
Feel free to post up pictures even if it’s just lines and dots. You’ll be surprised how much help can be gained from us seeing what’s going on. Glad you’ve seen some improvement though! That’s awesome.
 
I’m a little confused which Testors paint you’re using so I’ll offer info I found on both.

Model Master Testors Enamel Paint
Gloss; 3 parts paint to 2 parts thinner
Flat; 3 parts paint to 1 part thinner,
Air pressure setting should be around 20-25 PSI
Enamels require 48 hours for a full cure
Thinner: - all enamel solvents

Model Master Testors Acrylic
Most Model Master and Testors "Acrylic" paints are pre-thinned for airbrushing. Thin paint by adding thinner drop by drop, until your consistency has been achieved.
Air pressure should be approximately 18-20 PSI
Acrylics will dry to the touch in minutes; they require 24 hours for a full cure
Thinner: - all acrylic thinners

They were found on the testors website and it seems they use the Aztec airbrushes so again, I don’t know the needle size for those particular brushes.

A general rule is that in order for paint to flow through an airbrush it needs to be the consistency of light milk (or less)
As a general FYI:
- don’t add thinner to your paint bottle. Always mix in a seperate container or in the airbush cup itself. Adding it to the paint bottle will reduce the shelf life of your paint leading to costly replacements.
- reduce to manufacturer specs, use recommended PSI and reduce further if needed.
- don’t spray from a great distance, your paint will dry before it hits your substrate (your model in this case) and probably leave a gritty looking appearance
- ALWAYS test spray on something other than your project... an old glass photo frame is great if you are going to be painting on hard surfaces, you’ll soon find out if your paint is to thin or your psi is to high by the spidering that happens if either of those two are out of the airbrushes happy place.

I realise we can seem a little vague at times but unfortunately there is no set recipe for airbrushing. What works for me here in Australia will likely not work for you up in the northern hemisphere. Humidity plays a part in this too :(
 
Welcome to the forum, I cant suggest much for what your painting with as I haven't any experience of that paint or painting models but your in good hands here. Enjoy your stay, I hope we get you sorted and you have great success..

Lee
 
I’d add that you test spray your 3D printed objects too.. maybe you had one that didn’t work out as planned ! Is it possible that it won’t take airbrushed paint without some sort of prep
 
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