Airbrushing Lifecolor...

Thanks for posting this question.  I just recently tried airbrushing Lifecolor dark green and had the same experience as you.  Pretty much everything you said about airbrushing the paint happened to me.  My main questions concern what thinner to use with this paint, what thinner to paint ratio to use, and what type of air pressure from my compressor should I be using.

It seemed like everytime I airbrushed, no matter what the thinner/to paint ratio, it all came out as a watery mess.  I like the color for what I am painting so I hope I can find out how to spray this paint.

Brian

Hey Brian - I tried adding some acrylic retarder to the mix and it certainly helped the paint spray a bit smoother. Less clogging on the tip side, at least. But it still came out all thin and watery.

I'm starting to suspect that just may be a quality of this paint, and that it'll have to be applied in multiple, thin coats at low psi. I mean, the cockpit walls and floor of my Dauntless do look pretty solid and uniform...

On the flip side, the stuff brush paints like a dream. Better than Vallejo, IMO.

Glad I saw this, I almost purchased the UA001 for a Russian tank. Instead, I will work with Vallejo, Tamiya or Mr. Color.

Funny you mention UA001 for painting Russian tanks.  This is the paint that I have been trying to airbrush.  For me it looks like it is dead on for Russian WWII armor.  I am not going to give up on trying to airbrush it yet.

Brian

Brian D.

Funny you mention UA001 for painting Russian tanks.  This is the paint that I have been trying to airbrush.  For me it looks like it is dead on for Russian WWII armor.  I am not going to give up on trying to airbrush it yet.

Brian

Yeah Brian, I agree about the color and Russian tanks. I saw one at a show and asked what color he had used. It was the Lifecolor and it looked dead on...at least from what I remembered and pics I have seen (on a color corrected monitor used for photoshop). Good luck with it and let us know if there are any secrets for ab use. 

I love airbrushing Lifecolor, although I must admit that I prefer very thin, transparent layers which allows me total control over how much and where. I use their thinner and pretty much fly by the seat of my pants with mix ratios. I also paint over primer, enamel flat black at that.

I always pour my paint through a mesh screen into the color cup or jar, (depending on which AB I'm using) you never know if a chunk of dried paint fell off the threads and into the jar when you opened it, or the last time you closed it. The bubbling effect sounds odd, I can't understand why paint would boil, unless the airbrush was a little dirty/clogged and the air was coming back through the cup.

I spray at low pressure, maybe 12 pounds, and make a ton of passes. It would probably be easier to watch it rather than read about it, so if you want to see what I am referring to, feel free to check this out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-mmtvMsEXQ

After,

Yes, it definitely is a great color for Russian Armor.

I've been experimenting with using a 50/50 mix of Tamiya Thinner to Lifecolor.  I found that you have to spray thin coats of the stuff to cover the plastic well.  Also, you have to  have the intestinal fortitude to spray the paint on as it still splatters on the plastic.  I have to think that this is just the nature of the paint.  It doesn't look bad when dry although a little rough.

I have to say my first love is Gunze Sangyo Aqueous paint.  The stuff shoots on plastic as smooth as silk when properly thinned.  It's hard to find these days though.

Brian

camokid

The bubbling effect sounds odd, I can't understand why paint would boil, unless the airbrush was a little dirty/clogged and the air was coming back through the cup.

I spray at low pressure, maybe 12 pounds, and make a ton of passes. It would probably be easier to watch it rather than read about it, so if you want to see what I am referring to, feel free to check this out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-mmtvMsEXQ

Thanks for posting the video - I look forward to checking it out.

As for the bubbling, at least for me the paint bubbles when I shake the bottle. I've never not had the mouth of the jar covered by a paint bubble when I open it. I also get some bubbling when transferring paint to a mixing jar using a dropper, and a TON after thinning it down with Windex. But the last I'm certain is more Windex than Lifecolor.

Shaken, not stirred, is great for Bond's Martini, but terrible for paint. Introducing bubbles to paint is not recommended, as well it allows paint to splash against the lid and neck of the bottle, where it can dry and leave particles of paint to further contaminate your paint. Stirring is best, though it can be tedious.

Bgrigg

Shaken, not stirred, is great for Bond's Martini, but terrible for paint. Introducing bubbles to paint is not recommended, as well it allows paint to splash against the lid and neck of the bottle, where it can dry and leave particles of paint to further contaminate your paint. Stirring is best, though it can be tedious.

And here I've almost always shaken paint...

Learn something new every day! Thanks!

Brian D.

After,

Yes, it definitely is a great color for Russian Armor.

I've been experimenting with using a 50/50 mix of Tamiya Thinner to Lifecolor.  I found that you have to spray thin coats of the stuff to cover the plastic well.  Also, you have to  have the intestinal fortitude to spray the paint on as it still splatters on the plastic.  I have to think that this is just the nature of the paint.  It doesn't look bad when dry although a little rough.

I have to say my first love is Gunze Sangyo Aqueous paint.  The stuff shoots on plastic as smooth as silk when properly thinned.  It's hard to find these days though.

Brian

"intestinal fortitude", to funny    Makes you wonder if the paint is the boss sometimes  

I'm with Brian on the Gunze stuff. THat being said, Aeroscale website has afew review on LifeColor. The consensus is do NOT use another brand of thinner...use only LiefColor thinner or, simpy enough, water.

http://aeroscale.kitmaker.net/modules.php?op=modload&name=Reviews&file=index&req=showcontent&id=2955

mucker

I'm with Brian on the Gunze stuff. THat being said, Aeroscale website has afew review on LifeColor. The consensus is do NOT use another brand of thinner...use only LiefColor thinner or, simpy enough, water.

http://aeroscale.kitmaker.net/modules.php?op=modload&name=Reviews&file=index&req=showcontent&id=2955

I haven't tried Gunze acrylics because I don't want to get addicted to paint I can't get. Heck, I'm even hesitant on Lifecolor because I'll have to rely on 100% mail order. I can easily see a future where I bounce around from Vallejo to Lifecolor to Tamiya, depending on the kit and what I'm trying to do.

I actually had a heck of a breakthrough with Vallejo last night, using a mix of 70% airbrush medium and 30% diluted water as a thinning solution. Both Vallejo and Lifecolor have been spraying extremely thin and watery for me, but the airbrush medium gave it a fantastic creaminess. I think I'm going to have to try the same solution with Lifecolor and see how it goes.

After spending the better part of this week experimenting with paints versus actually building my Dauntless, I think I'm about ready to write Lifecolor off in favor of Vallejo.

So far I've managed to get Vallejo to spray very well using either Future or a 70:30 airbrush medium/water mix as a thinning solution. 

Last night I tried the same solutions with Lifecolor, and it still shot thin and watery. Adding more paint to thicken things up a bit just introduced crazy tip dry issues. I finally got it to do what I wanted, and I'll need to bust out the Lifecolor Interior Green one more time to spray the canopy frames, but it's much more of a hassle to deal with than the Vallejo. 

If the Lifecolor non-spec blue grey had been a dead ringer for the color I'm after, it might be a different story, but it shot way too light. The equivalent Vallejo (same FS#...) shot way too dark, but Vallejo's dropper bottles make it much easier to mix and match to get the appropriate color.

I'm glad to hear Vallejo is working for you. I have a few bottles of both their brush and Air lines and am fond of them.

Great start on the bird so far.

mucker

I'm glad to hear Vallejo is working for you. I have a few bottles of both their brush and Air lines and am fond of them.

Great start on the bird so far.

I wish it was the actual bird! This is a shoddy Revell Dauntless that I slapped together to use as a paint testbed. Given the lack of a pilot's seat or even vaguely accurate panel detail, I've christened it the Fail Dauntless.

The real one is still in the early build phases. Accurate Miniatures' Rube Goldberg-esque cockpit design has me going at the speed of baby steps. 

The AM kit is a gem. Going slow is the right thing to do...you'll definately be happy with the final outcome that way. If I recall correctly the gun turret was a little tricky, but if my fat fingers can pull it off, anyone can.

I'll be watching for progress pics!

I love Lifecolor for brush painting. Will give the airbrush a try soon. But what i really wanted to say: thank you for that awesome link !