mix with airbrush

Benoit,

It depends on your paint, your airbrush, your air pressure, how fine a line you want to make and you.  Something like skim milk is a good starting point.  Practice on some junk plastic until you find what works for you.

Don

Thank Don for your help

Don Wheeler

Benoit,

It depends on your paint, your airbrush, your air pressure, how fine a line you want to make and you.  Something like skim milk is a good starting point.  Practice on some junk plastic until you find what works for you.

Don

waffen ss

Thank Don for your help

Don can give you more specific paint/thinner ratio as a starting point if you answer the questions on "your paint, your airbrush, your air pressure".

keilau

 

 

Don can give you more specific paint/thinner ratio as a starting point if you answer the questions on "your paint, your airbrush, your air pressure".

I'm afraid all I know is what works for me with enamels and my equipment.  The milk example is the standard answer and a good start, but there's no substitute for experience.  If you want to learn to airbrush well, the price of admission is practice.  You need to see for yourself what effect air pressure, paint thinning, and brush handling have on your work.  I'm still a long way from having it all figured out.

Don

Don Wheeler

If you want to learn to airbrush well, the price of admission is practice.  You need to see for yourself what effect air pressure, paint thinning, and brush handling have on your work.

Quoted for TRUTH!

And I bet you aren't "that" far away, Don!

There is no correct answer, and humidity, temperature and the vagaries of the paint gods all have their factor in what is correct at that time. It's why I use the 2% milk rule as a guideline, and proffer ranges of air pressure like 12-15 psi. 12 may have worked yesterday, and it may work again tomorrow, but there is no guarantee that it will work today. Today might require 13 psi, or 15 psi, and 2% may cause tip dry, and skim would be better than 2%, and this color may need to be regular milk. Practicing teaches you how to adjust on the fly.

That's certainly true.  I ran a modelmaster 3:2 ration paint to thinner for a gloss (testor's recommendations) one day at 20 psi and it looked great!

Last night, did it again and it was garbage.  Had to adjust on the fly.  (OK, the truth is I picked up an aerosol can and ...)

My starting point with Testors enamels is 1:1 paint:thinner. If the paint is brand new, I use a bit less thinner.  As the bottle becomes well used, I have to add more thinner.  But that is usually the point I start at.  You can add more paint or thinner to the bottle or cup if you need to adjust.