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Airbrush Questions!


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The createx wicked colors are a breeze to use, easy to thin, and cover really good. Use their reducer to thin,they don't have an offensive odor.lots of colors to choose from. Flake,translucent, opaque.

I have to agree. Just purchased a few of their colours, sealer & reducer, for a current project. So far so good. As stated above... Very easy to use, smooth lay-down & no really toxic type fumes ???
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I have to agree. Just purchased a few of their colours, sealer & reducer, for a current project. So far so good. As stated above... Very easy to use, smooth lay-down & no really toxic type fumes ???

I'm pretty sure hobby lobby carries those. I have one fairly close to my house so I can try those out. Do you is the Tamiya x20a to thin them? Or lacquer thinner?

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If you use the createx paint their airbrush cleaner makes a good thinner from them. They are made for airbrushing so they usually don't need thinning( at least when they're fresh). Lacquer thinner is still very fumey. Their cleaner has very little odor and works well.

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If you use the createx paint their airbrush cleaner makes a good thinner from them. They are made for airbrushing so they usually don't need thinning( at least when they're fresh). Lacquer thinner is still very fumey. Their cleaner has very little odor and works well.

Great, thanks!

I will definitely be giving them a try once I get the chance. Just a compressor today, waiting for a bottle of Tamiya x20a and Tamiya flat black acrylic to come in the mail. I have some plastic pieces I'm going to practice with once I have everything.

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Great, thanks!

I will definitely be giving them a try once I get the chance. Just a compressor today, waiting for a bottle of Tamiya x20a and Tamiya flat black acrylic to come in the mail. I have some plastic pieces I'm going to practice with once I have everything.

I agree with b-body... If u use Createx paints... Use their thinner/cleaner... It's always good to use the same manufacturers products, thus lowering chances of stuff-ups with different brands ???

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I agree with b-body... If u use Createx paints... Use their thinner/cleaner... It's always good to use the same manufacturers products, thus lowering chances of stuff-ups with different brands ???

Sweet, I will definitely be giving them a try. Have heard alotnof good things about them. Which primers do you recommend to use through your airbrush?

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For primer use rattle can, I use duplicolor brand or Martin Senour, found at automotive parts store. It's just easier, than having to deal with the cleanup, there are acrylic primers if you feel you have to have them. However I am not familiar with them.

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For primer use rattle can, I use duplicolor brand or Martin Senour, found at automotive parts store. It's just easier, than having to deal with the cleanup, there are acrylic primers if you feel you have to have them. However I am not familiar with them.

I simply love the cheap house brand gray primer from Walmart. Cheap, goes on smooth, covers well, dries fast, stands up to almost everything--what's not to like? One of the last Great Bargains left in the world!

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So today I was able to get my hands on some Tamiya thinner, some Tamiya gloss black paint and some pipettes (glass). I got my booth set up and started spraying for the very first time. I was shooting at around 25 psi with a 2:1 mix ratio and the flow felt pretty good. I tried it out on some old parts and was pretty happy with the results being it was my first time. I grabbed some small parts off a build I currently have going and was able to shoot some color on them. I found out fast a base coat is most definitely needed.

When I went to clean the brush after using it I ran some of the thinner through the cup and sprayed wide open until only air was coming out. I then rinsed the cup after with soap and water using an old shirt to clean up any mess. I took the needle off and dabbed the shirt with the thinner and used that to clean the needle off as well as the spray tip. Is there anything else I should be cleaning or anything else I should be using?

Thank you for all your help everyone!

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Hi Steve, I've been using water based acrylics in my airbrush for a few years now. I use both Tamiya acrylics and Testors Model Master Acryl acrylics. I use the recommended thinner each one calls for. Yes Tamiya x20 thinner is basically alcohol but there may be some other ingredients in it that make it work better with their paint.

For the Testors I use their univeral thinner which is recommended. Testors acrylic is not an alcohol based paint and I'm not sure what their thinner is made from.

The one thing I noticed is that Tamiya acrylic paint can be wiped off the model with Windex, even after a long time has passed. Testors acrylic paint is not affected by Windex at all once it has cured. It seems to have a tougher finish. When I'm done painting with either Tamiya acrylic or Testors acrylic I always apply a clear coat. I use Testors Create FX acrylic clear which is very tough and won't budge if hit with Windex.

I use Windex to clean my airbrush. It's cheaper than using Tamiya x20 thinner and cleans everything thoroughly. Make sure it's Windex brand. I've found that the no-name 'Windex' products aren't nearly as good as actual Windex.

However, I only use water based acrylics on non-car models. As far as I know the best way to paint a car body is with a solvent based paint such as lacquer urathane or enamel.

Edited by crowe-t
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Windex is a great cleaner for acrylic paint. Just make sure you flush out the system with plain water afterwards. Windex will pit the finish of the AB if not flushed all the way out.

G

I forgot to mention flushing with water. I do that right after I use the Windex.

Thanks,

Mike.

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. I have a portable booth I made using a bilge blower and while it works great for over spray, fumes from the spray cans stunk up the room even with the window open.

If it's not taking the fumes out, it's not enough fan to do the job. I might add that not all bilge blowers are safe for paint booths using flammable paints. If it has the squirrel cage type fan you are good.

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If it's not taking the fumes out, it's not enough fan to do the job. I might add that not all bilge blowers are safe for paint booths using flammable paints. If it has the squirrel cage type fan you are good.

A bilge blower is supposed to remove the "bad air" from the bilge area of a ship. Can't imagine why it wouldn't be "safe"...

Edited by fseva
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What is a "bilge blower"? Doesn't that kind of connote the opposite use? Maybe blowing and sucking are too different, and that perhaps blowing is easier than sucking and hence requires less power, which means that perhaps it won't do a good job sucking fumes?

I got one off eBay for less than $15. Works great!

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A bilge blower is supposed to remove the "bad air" from the bilge area of a ship. Can't imagine why it wouldn't be "safe"...

Many of the bilge blowers only blow fresh air to the bottom of the boat forcing the gas fumes out an open vent. They do not have gas fumes going through the fan.

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If you want to use auto colors, use Scale Finishes paint, its pre mixed and ready to go , you cant go wrong with that paint. Once you figure it out, mixing paint is easy, just keep in mind that you want the paint to be close the consistency of 2% milk for most paints, and check YouTube, you will find more how to videos on airbrushing and mixing paint than you will know what to do with.

My current air compressor is from Harbor Freight, have had it for probably three years now, if not longer, works like it did the day I got it, including the airbrush that came with, it actually works better than my Paasche VL Double Action brush , I am ready to replace it though.

Edited by martinfan5
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