Dave G.

4021 improves flow and leveling, reduced tip dry. Those droplets are caused by surface tension, where the paint didn't flow out evenly. 4021 addresses that. And also addresses compatibility with 4030 additive. Flash time will be increased slightly.

Well, Mike. I mostly use my Paasche H for Createx. Sometimes the VL. But in either case it's larger tips, like .7 or more. You can thin to 50% if need be. I use 15% 4030, unless it's Candy 2o of course. Also if it doesn't spray right, it's usually a matter of a bit more thinner or more air. Sometimes both. I've had good results even using my own thinner formulas ( I have two or three of those). Additionally again, the first should be a mist coat and fully flashed off before trying to get more on.. I've put the first coat so misted you can barely see color, but it's enough of a tack layer that the rest of the coats can build on it. I've seen it go on seeming like droplets but when it flashes it all levels off. I don't recall what thinner that was with, but it worked out. 4021 doesn't act like that at all, it's a nice reducer with any waterborne acrylic I've tried it with actually. And it was developed to work in 4030, 4050 as well. When you get your hands on some I think you will like it.

Createx can take heat from a hair dryer, especially the opaque formula ( the original Createx line). It was made originally to be heat set in a heat press on garments. I've done it, the press temp is still used and is pretty high. Well known in the T Shirt industry for the art work. 4030 is a urethane balancing clear, made to convert Createx from a flex type acrylic to a converted poly acrylic. This gives greater bond to hard surfaces like plastic models. It helps flow in the airbrush and produces a harder shell finish. But it doesn't play well with 4012 reducer fwiw. So 4011 was introduced, then 4021. You only need 10-15% 4030 in your mix for it to do it's thing. I never paint a model without it. 4050 will do the same but it's thicker product, I use that for clear coat, thinned a little with 4021.

Mike, if you're liking Createx and craft paints, you might do best just to keep honing your skills on them. I've even tinted Createx with craft paints to make pastels. Also added 4030 to craft paints, then clear coated with 4050 or 4053. It's quite a diverse pair of products. And who wouldn't like a well done Candy 2o paint job ? Ya know, at one time I'd have pointed right to Tamiya's acrylic line ( X and XF paints) but it's not my direct go to these days. It sounds like you have 4012 thinner if it's thickening. Or else the thinner that has acetone in it , I forget the product number of that one. But I recoat in about 2-3 minutes anyway, as I heat flash each coat with a hair dryer, or if using double action, just blow air. You want 4011 and add some retarder to it ( you have the Liquitex retarder I've suggested before). Or better yet, get the new 4021 reducer. This one addresses everything, tip dry, thickening, compatable with 4030, and leveling. Also I believe that my thinner blend works without thickening and no tip dry. It's been a while since I've used that in Createx though, so not 100% sure. I've been using 4021 in both Createx and in craft paints probably for a year now. Hope this helps, if not let me know and we can work it out.

The key to cleaning the airbrush after acrylic waterborne painting is to get it flushed, back flushed etc, immediately. I find Iwata Medea airbrush cleaner to clean Createx and Craft Paints very well. I first flush and back flush in good hot water, then move to the Iwata. I don't find hardware store lacquer thinner to clean up waterborne acrylics any better. In fact I've noticed later iterations of hardware lacquer thinner to be milder than I remember, even in clean up of enamels. EPA standards are creeping in. Anyway, my final rinse is just cold water. By the way, in talking with one of the owners of Createx, he stated that they make the Iwata Medea product and that its a great cleaner for Createx paints.. And in my experience it's not particularly expensive at Hobby Lobby. I had bought it on a whim, not expecting much, but turns out I was very surprised at how well it works. However, you don't want to be breathing it's atomized vapors any more than lacquer thinner. It gives a throat cutting caustic like effect when vaporized or atomized. So back flush or spray it into a closed container and all is well. I use an old tissue box lined with paper towel. Works great for that or LT

I have an LVLP 2 gun kit. The smaller gun is a touch up gun. But what's nice about LVLP ( low volume low pressure) is the air settings and cfm requirements are much lower. The touch up gun in particular can be used from mid 20psi to about 40 psi, depending on the paint mix. Same as in the video above, which that one must be hvlp that it requires 50 psi, but the control features are the same, and mine is top feed. It's made by Spray-It, all nice shiny aluminum, not anodized. Plastic top feed cups. There is a screen where the cup screws in, but if you pre strain your paints you can pluck that out of there, as it's a bit fine.

Paasche H #5 tip with enamel or Createx for me too, with large scale. Depends what the model is and just how big your Large Scale means.. On some old vintage cars in 1/16th, the body parts have no more surface area than 1/24th in a more solid body form. They're all chopped up area coverage. I've used a Badger with .25 tip on some of those. Thinner ratio and pressure are key, get those right ( if your compressor can keep up with an opened up H #5 at 26-30 psi) and you can back up to where you get 2-3" swaths on each pass. And it will level right out. Really it becomes a no brainer once dialed in ( thinking enamel here), you can't put it on wrong. Createx you need to flash off each coat, start with mist coat and progressively heavier coats. Otherwise same thing. Createx also needs clear coated and a buffing. That Candy 2o comes out looking gorgeous ( just my opinion) ! And the enamels give a very classic era look ( again IMO).

For model lacquers in general I like Mr Surfacer 1000 primer. It looks smooth as a babies butt, but being 1000 it has a little tooth for the paint to grip. However, that said, I don't use TS paints, but rather the LP thinned with Mr Leveling thinner. Or X series acrylic, also thinned with Mr Leveling thinner. I'm assuming the MLT plays well with Mr Surfacer and help the paints get a bite. The latter method has passed my pull tests using full strength blue painters tape, fwiw. I'm not gentle in my testing, I just rip the tape off. That's the nature of the testing, push the limit. Same for Createx over Stynylrez primers. Course it helps that my Createx colors all get 4030 poly intercoat mixed in, which is designed to give better bond and harder shell to Createx paints. However, the tape I use on the models is a low tack Fine Line tape. Just if it can pass the blue painters tape test, surely the low tack won't pull the color coat. Or de tacking the blue tape won't either. Sometimes I do a layout, where I cut stencils with a razor in blue tape, and just de tack that on the back of my hand. Anyway, 0 paint lifts. And really no concerns since I've already tested the methods on kit plastic.

I don't use gloves. . I wipe my fingers with alcohol soaked tissues. I don't get carried away with it, just a quick wipe . I do use nitrile or latex gloves when airbrushing a body, for the sake of easy clean up of my hands lol..

We have had other reports on this issue using Tamiya tape. But on all different paints. I don't use Tamiya tape personally but I know from 1/1 painting two tones, not to leave the tape on for any longer than needed to get your second color on and tacked up. That's regardless of brand. Then get it off of there. Pretty much as Trevor mentioned above. On another note, I thin Tamiya acrylics with lacquer thinner, which according to Tamiya, leaves a harder shell finish. I dehydrate for X paints 30 minutes, then let it air dry at least 3 days before moving on. I've also had a new finish sit from one month to years lol !! Not because it was deliberate mind you.

Regarding the Createx white paint, Wicked or otherwise. You shouldn't need to thin that much. It will spray fine mixed thicker, especially with about 10-15% 4030 added. Thin that combo with 4011 or better yet 4021 reducer, up to 50% of the volume. So you're no where near skim milk. Up your pressure to mid 20's using the .5 tip ( I actually use bigger than that but .5 should do fine).. I use the white a lot, either as white or as the base to mix pastels ( I also use the pearlized white to good effect). I shoot over white Stynylrez primer, even if you thinned 1-1, you still get coverage over the white Stynylrez). Each coat needs to flash off, or flash dry, then add the next coat and so on till you get the build you want. Don't go by the leveling when first shot on and wet, but see how smooth it flashed off to. It should level right out. 4030 is your best friend when shooting models or other hard surfaces with Createx paints, for several reasons I've covered before in the forums.. And 4021 is their latest and greatest reducer.

Mission Models has acrylic red oxide. I would think you could vary the shade by the color primer you put on first. I've never used it, fwiw.

If what you have works for you, that's great. You should know that the ones I mentioned need polishing to reach full gloss. But it is a lacquer look alike once done. But I've never used 5604, so can't comment beyond it's description. So I asked if 5604 can be converted, here is what I got : "Yes, Createx 4030 Balancing Clear can be used with Createx 5604 Gloss Top Coat. In fact, it's often recommended as an additive to improve flow and adhesion when airbrushing, and it's also used as a carrier for candy2o dyes, according to Createx Tech. When used with the 5604 Gloss Top Coat, it can help create a smoother, more durable finish, according to Airbrush Paint Direct"

With Createx and airbrushing you can up the recommended thinning ratio, as it's only about 10%. But that's for spray guns..

Looking great ! I just want to say though, for the sake of the thread participants here. Not all acrylics can handle straight alcohol, nor all acrylic craft paint. Usually a blend is needed and of the mix 30% or so is or can be alcohol. In the case of Createx, they have a reducer with alcohol, it's a blend of two types and ionized water. They also have a reducer with acetone in it, I don't know the blend nor which paint line Createx uses that in.. It just came out in a discussion with one of the owners that I had. 4011 and 4021 have no alcohol that I know of, nor acetone. Too, glycol type alcohols can be part of acrylic thinners. IPA alone is gotten to be a kind of generic generic blanket in home brews. But no argument, those train cars came out awesome !

I rarely go over 20% 4030, but also reducer, yes. 4030 won't reduce the paint by itself. Or not much anyway. If you try this out you will see what I mean pretty quickly.

My wife has brush painted that Open series paint. I never tried airbrushing it, it's her stash in her art work. But I have bought their High Flow paints, made to be airbrushed and they work well. Cost a lot more than craft paints though. But they are super pigmented. At one time I used Liquitex acrylic airbrush thinner. It works fine but really I like some of my own blends better, and definitely 4021 better. I have not tried the Open Thinner. But imagine it works well too. The thing about artist grade acrylics is the bond compared to craft paints. But in craft paints, Createx ends that difference enough to not matter to me. And to me it's a no brainer because I use Createx products anyway.

I've been tweaking craft paint reducers now for the better part of 10 years. I could say that now with the new Createx 4021 reducer, that those days should be over. But probably are not, knowing me ! Think about it, 4021 was produced to specifically work together with 4030 and or 4050 intercoats in acrylic paint... A lot of science went into that after 4012 had hickups in those products. 4011 came out and now 4021 to aid flow.

I have posted it here before and I'm not aware of anyone else that has till today lol !! Anywhere from 10-20% is enough to kick the paint over to poly acrylic. Leaning more to the 20 or 30% side, you can usually thin less too and still have flow through the airbrush. It's great stuff. Better leveling with a heat gun too. I use 4030 now in all waterborne acrylic paints that I use, not just Createx.

Ya, his recipe is a little varied from one of my own. About the same ratio water to alcohol but then I add about 10% denatured alcohol, and use Liquitex retarder. The denatured alcohol itself adds flow but the retarder stops tip dry. I have several different mixes actually, some have no alcohol. There are a couple of paints in the DecoArt lineup that don't like alcohol, fwiw. But 4021 and 4030 have changed my whole craft paint game. Especially the 4030.

I've found craft paints to be as tough as any other if put down over well cured primer. I have a couple of different good working recipes for thinners that I've shared with others here. But lately have been adding 15% or so of Createx 4030, which cross links the paints to be poly acrylic. Then thinning that combo with Createx 4021 reducer, which has a little retarder in it. This makes for a whole new and acrylic strengthening process. And it goes on more solvent like in nature. I still use a hair dryer between coats, just as I do with Createx paints. Another reducer that works well with craft paints is US Art Supply airbrush reducer. This is made with acrylic resins in the reducer so it won't break your paint down structurally, regardless how much you thin it. However, flat colors will become more semigloss. So I mix that reducer for flats, if I want it flat, in a separate bottle about 50/50 with water.. I thin by viscosity not by ratio.

If I'm going to shoot Tamiya lacquer, though airbrushed, I use Mr Surfacer primer. Mr Surfacer primer is similar in nature to Tamiya primer. I then wait a couple of days, or even because life goes on, a month before I get back to color coating.. That lets the finish gas out before boxing up. I feel you had uncured paint on the model, be it primer when the color was sprayed or even the color, then boxed it up un vented. I do often use a dehydrator though, about 30 minutes for Tamiya lacquers. 4 hours with enamels, and about 30 miinutes for acrylic.. Then a couple days of room air before boxing. And your primer really needs to be cured good before color coating. Or it's going to try and gas out through the color, it may shrink more as well, thus wrinkling etc. Tamiya lacquer gloss colors take very well to about 30 minutes @ 108f in the dehydrator. You can get plastic containers at Dollar Tree stores. And you can either make vent holes in the sides, or flip them over, placing over the model ( obviously no lid), slightly raised off the bench surface, so air can circulate around inside. A couple of guys over in the FSM forums, even utilized a light bulb and computer fan to create drying boxes from larger containers. The main thing though is air, so the cure rate isn't hindered.

I've gotten my 1/16 scale kits from Ebay, except the AMT T Bird, that was from HL. But I build those stock. Model A, The T Bird, Vintage classics. So far nothing over $60. The only rod that would interest me is the Big Deuce, as I built one back in 1965. Wouldn't mind that again. Prices get crazy in 1/8 scale it seems.

Not sure you want to squirt a car body with Rustoleum 2X, then stick it in a closed up box to dry for a year, either. Seems to me that might be a bit futile. Just a thought.

Was it Tamiya primer in spray cans that you used ? And how long did you wait between priming then color coating ? Yes, I've used Rustoleum 2x on models, in fact one of my chassis black enamels is their semi gloss black 2X. But I decant it, ad a slight bit more thinner and airbrush it. To spray from the can is a total bomb job, IMO. But some of the folks here have reported liking Krylon Short Cuts. There is always Testor's enamels.