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Airbrushing fluorescent paints

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  • Member since
    December 2015
  • From: Seoul
Airbrushing fluorescent paints
Posted by N96HBK on Friday, March 13, 2020 2:39 AM

I started airbrushing acrylic paints with limited resources a few days ago, so obviously my experience is near zero!!

I have managed to neatly paint an old Revell Ferrari California body withe Vallejo airbrush paints, but I faced difficulties trying to paint my Tamiya Mclaren Ford MP4/8. I tried using Vallejo Air Fluorescent red for spall parts of the rear bodywork (at the bottleneck), but I can barely get the paint out of the nozzle. I can't get that "liberating" flow like I painted Vallejo Ferrari red. Can't get any coverage at all... I tried thinning the mixture down, but it seems like the pigments are struggling to get past the nozzle. 

I have another bottle of the same paint, but the condition is horrible, the paint is in small clusters and won't break down with the other liquids in the mix.

Can anyone help me with these issues? Any tips on airbrushing will be awesome as well!!

  • Member since
    November 2018
Posted by oldermodelguy on Friday, March 13, 2020 5:41 PM

When airbrushing it's important to know and also mention when asking questions, which version of Vallejo paint you're using. Model Air is quite user friendly but Model Color while great for brushing is very fussy on proper thinning to airbrush it. And both need complete mixing...

So look at your products and let us know which version you are using and also what thinner you are using.

  • Member since
    May 2009
  • From: Poland
Posted by Pawel on Friday, March 13, 2020 7:25 PM

Hello!

Even if your fluorescent paint was 100% all right, a colour like red is one of the hardest to make it cover well, so your best bet is to paint the part white - Tamiya white primer could be a good tip here - and then put the fluorescent paint on top of that. Silver undercoat could work, too, but in case of fluorescent I'd say white.

Good luck and have a nice day

Paweł

All comments and critique welcomed. Thanks for your honest opinions!

www.vietnam.net.pl

  • Member since
    December 2015
  • From: Seoul
Posted by N96HBK on Friday, March 13, 2020 11:18 PM

Thanks for the tips!! 

Like the fluorescent paint I mentioned, all paints are Vallejo Air, and I used Vallejo Airbrush thinner and a few drops of Vallejo flow improver. 

The problem may have been caused by the faulty bottle of paint I attempted  to use.. could've wrecked the nozzle completely..... The paint doesn't even show any signs of trying to get mixed with the other bonding liquids. I tried all sorts of things, I tried thinning the paint with Vallejo AND Tamiya acrylic thinners, but the results are the same as before; tiny little pigments just floating on the clear liquid.... These small bottles are quite valuable here, is there any way I can actually get it into use...?

  • Member since
    August 2005
  • From: Sydney, Australia
Posted by Phil_H on Friday, March 13, 2020 11:43 PM

Your best bet would be to first strip down your airbrush and give it a thorough cleaning. It sounds as if it's pretty well clogged.


I tried thinning the paint with Vallejo AND Tamiya acrylic thinners, but the results are the same as before; tiny little pigments just floating on the clear liquid..


No, don't do this. Tamiya thinner + Vallejo paint = sticky ball of goo.

 

  • Member since
    December 2015
  • From: Seoul
Posted by N96HBK on Saturday, March 14, 2020 4:51 AM

Phil_H

Your best bet would be to first strip down your airbrush and give it a thorough cleaning. It sounds as if it's pretty well clogged.

 

 
I tried thinning the paint with Vallejo AND Tamiya acrylic thinners, but the results are the same as before; tiny little pigments just floating on the clear liquid..


No, don't do this. Tamiya thinner + Vallejo paint = sticky ball of goo.

 

 

Thanks for the advice. I've got the paint spraying well now, but the other bottle was unusable before I took some radical measures anyway.... It was like that when I first opened it, and I thought mixing it well would do the trick.... It didn't.

  • Member since
    November 2018
Posted by oldermodelguy on Saturday, March 14, 2020 9:09 AM

Just for future reference, Vallejo products don't mix with Tamiya acrylic thinner. I've never tried it but we have many confirmed reports here in the forum of that being the case.

When I get a clogged nozzle my typical response is 12-24 hours of soaking in lacquer thinner ( hardware store variety and not the new green friendly stuff). The next day you can usually see right through it but in worst cases it might take a little probing . Just sayin

Glad it's working now !!

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