Spraying craft paints with an airbrush

[DoctorLarry]

In working on a new project, i thought about using acrylic paints for the interior, because they matched pretty well (green). I know some folks use these on a more regular basis so my question is how do you get these to a sprayable consistency, or it that a lost cause?  Thanks!

[hedotwo]

I often use craft acrylics for interiors because like you said you can get them to match pretty close by mixing colors easily.  I use windshield washer fluid to thin and try to just get the mix to drip easily off a toothpick.  Be prepared to put lots of thin coats on and I use a hair dryer on low to get the coats to dry quickly.  The way I do it takes a while to get to the coverage I need.  Afterwards I spray a semi gloss clear or just leave as is depending on the build.  I spray at around 15-20psi and just make sure you either mix REALLY well or use a filter to strain the paint before spraying because depending on your nozzle the tip can clog easily if not mixed well.

 

[DoctorLarry]

I had a note I made from somewhere: 3 parts distilled water, one part isopropyl alcohol and 4-5 drops of glycerin to thin acrylics.  I used that and as you said it was very watery and did not seem to have much pigment in it.  I have heard of using washer fluid as well so I'll try that tonight.  I thought of I could get it to cover I would hit it with matte clear or Dullcote. Would those work?  Thanks!

[Belugawrx]

I've had good luck with the CraftSmart paints from Micheals. Mix it 1:4 paint to water (tap is fine) and add a couple drops of Liquitex Flow aid (also Micheals) let it dry a couple days before clearing..here I used Future

 

[Belugawrx]

Let the acrylics dry for some days, and any clear Dullcoat or otherwise should be fine.

[hedotwo]

16 minutes ago, DoctorLarry said:

I had a note I made from somewhere: 3 parts distilled water, one part isopropyl alcohol and 4-5 drops of glycerin to thin acrylics.  I used that and as you said it was very watery and did not seem to have much pigment in it.  I have heard of using washer fluid as well so I'll try that tonight.  I thought of I could get it to cover I would hit it with matte clear or Dullcote. Would those work?  Thanks!

Any clear will work fine and it really depends on the sheen (or lack of) you're looking for.  Mixing this paint isn't rocket science IMO.  I've used washer fluid for a long time and never really had any issues with the way it lays, other than the way I do it takes a while to get suffiecient coverage and using a hair dryer eliminates long waits between coats.  I've found craft paints to dry really quickly and if you want you can toss it into a dehydrator if you want to make sure before clearing.  I usually clear after an hour or so and have never had a problem.  But others may have had different experiences with drying.  Not saying mine is the correct one just that it works for me. This stuff lays thin and it's delicate afterwards so clearing is important.  I just keep adding a bit more fluid til I get it to the consistency of maybe 1% milk and my airbrush does fine.  Easy to just dip a toothpick into the paint mix til it drips easily.  Anything thicker and I've found I have trouble with clogging, although I haven't tried using a retarder of any kind.  Last, I tend to like Folk Art paints best.  A bit more expensive (still really cheap though) but I've found their pigments mix easier.  Good luck.

Edited April 9 by hedotwo

[johnyrotten]

I found a diy thinner on YouTube,  barbatos rex channel. Basically distilled water, isopropyl alcohol and  flow aid. On a whim I added some createx 4030 intercoat clear, read that here on the forum in a post. I've had great results and it's durable. I've got the the ratio written down somewhere. As for consistency, I go by the "skim milk" rule. Dab some paint on the side of the container,  it should run down and just coat, but not be opaque. Semi translucent. Hope this helps.

Edited April 9 by johnyrotten
Spelling

[Dave G.]

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.

[johnyrotten]

2 minutes ago, Dave G. said:

But lately have been adding 15% or so of Createx 4030, which cross links the paints to be poly acrylic.

I believe it was one of your post I found,  it was almost the exact wording. 

[Dave G.]

23 hours ago, johnyrotten said:

I found a diy thinner on YouTube,  barbatos rex channel. Basically distilled water, isopropyl alcohol and  flow aid. On a whim I added some createx 4030 intercoat clear, read that here on the forum in a post. I've had great results and it's durable. I've got the the ratio written down somewhere. As for consistency, I go by the "skim milk" rule. Dab some paint on the side of the container,  it should run down and just coat, but not be opaque. Semi translucent. Hope this helps.

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.

Edited April 10 by Dave G.

[johnyrotten]

14 minutes ago, Dave G. said:

Ya, his recipe is a little varied from one of my own

I've tweeked it myself, all a learning curve for me. The createx I'll say IS the biggest improvement. Thank you for posting that piece of knowledge. 

[Dave G.]

6 minutes ago, johnyrotten said:

I believe it was one of your post I found,  it was almost the exact wording. 

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.

 

[Mike 1017]

I have used Golden Products for a while now. This thinner works great for all Acrylics. Their Airbrush ready paints are awesome

Good Luck

Mike

Golden Open Acrylic Thinner | BLICK Art Materials

[Dave G.]

3 minutes ago, johnyrotten said:

I've tweeked it myself, all a learning curve for me. The createx I'll say IS the biggest improvement. Thank you for posting that piece of knowledge. 

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.

[johnyrotten]

I've found it works very well with all acrylic paints I've used. It's become a bit of a "secret weapon" for me. The rust weathering on my 34 is adhered with it. Just mixed a bit thicker.

[DoctorLarry]

2 hours ago, Dave G. said:

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.

 

So you use 20-30% 4030 and reducer both?

[Dave G.]

1 hour ago, Mike 1017 said:

I have used Golden Products for a while now. This thinner works great for all Acrylics. Their Airbrush ready paints are awesome

Good Luck

Mike

Golden Open Acrylic Thinner | BLICK Art Materials

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.

[Dave G.]

1 hour ago, DoctorLarry said:

So you use 20-30% 4030 and reducer both?

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.

 

[FoMoCo66]

I weather model train cars and something I've found for a smooth even consistency is using 99% isopropyl alcohol. You want to mix it till it's the consistency of whole milk. Aply in thin coats to get your finish super smooth. I used to use water and it would just bubble up. I also suggest you don't use the alcohol with Createx paints, even though there acrylics they turn into a slop.

Pictures of my weathered freight cars using craft paints from Hobby Hobby.

Elliot

[Dave G.]

34 minutes ago, FoMoCo66 said:

I weather model train cars and something I've found for a smooth even consistency is using 99% isopropyl alcohol. You want to mix it till it's the consistency of whole milk. Aply in thin coats to get your finish super smooth. I used to use water and it would just bubble up. I also suggest you don't use the alcohol with Createx paints, even though there acrylics they turn into a slop.

Pictures of my weathered freight cars using craft paints from Hobby Hobby.

Elliot

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 !

[johnyrotten]

Great work on those train cars, and good tip on the alcohol and createx. I just picked up a few colors, I'll be sure to stick to the directions with them to avoid issues. I like to know how to avoid the problem before causing it. 

[Dave G.]

22 minutes ago, johnyrotten said:

Great work on those train cars, and good tip on the alcohol and createx. I just picked up a few colors, I'll be sure to stick to the directions with them to avoid issues. I like to know how to avoid the problem before causing it. 

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

Edited April 9 by Dave G.

[DoctorLarry]

Beautiful train cars and thanks for the info. However, there's no graffiti on them! (Just kidding). We have a train track a block away from the house and one right next to the university I work at. I see trains all the time and it irks me to see them covered in graffiti.

[FoMoCo66]

5 minutes ago, DoctorLarry said:

Beautiful train cars and thanks for the info. However, there's no graffiti on them! (Just kidding). We have a train track a block away from the house and one right next to the university I work at. I see trains all the time and it irks me to see them covered in graffiti.

Thank you very much. I don't do graffiti because if you look at most of the railroads shown were defunct roughly around 1980 (besides the Burlington Northern). I model the 1970s, graffiti wasn't really popular like it is now.

[DoctorLarry]

5 minutes ago, FoMoCo66 said:

Thank you very much. I don't do graffiti because if you look at most of the railroads shown were defunct roughly around 1980 (besides the Burlington Northern). I model the 1970s, graffiti wasn't really popular like it is now.

I was kidding about the graffiti. Just wrecks the looks of train cars but I see it everywhere. Yor detail is really sharp.