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Quick Question!

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  • Member since
    November 2005
Quick Question!
Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, October 11, 2005 12:13 AM
Okay, I have been reading these boards and doing searches and I cant quite figure out the answer to my question.

I am using Model Master Acrylics NOT the Enamels.

I bought the thinner for the Acrylics. On the side of the bottle it says this:
"Most model Master Acryl colors will airbrush without thinner. The exception is the Figure colors which have been formulated with a higher vicossity. A thinning ratio of 4 parts paint to 1 part thinner is suggested for figure colors"

1 of my questions is what is a figure color? I'm using like ghost gray, gunship gray... and ect... are they figure colors?

2nd question is... what is a good thinning ratio for Model Master Acrylic colors? would it be 4 to 1?

I'm just a bit confused here, very new to airbrushing... and i'm a bit confused on the ratio i need to use. cause i tried just pouring that paint right to the airbrush.. and it didnt work... for any of the colors im using.... so please answer my questions! ahh!

Thanks,
John


edit: OOPS and what is the difference bettween thinner and cleaner? I bought some airbrush cleaner for my aztek for acrylics... can that be used as thinner?... it smells the same as the thinner... smells like windex, lol..
  • Member since
    November 2005
Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, October 11, 2005 12:30 AM
QUOTE: I'm just a bit confused here, very new to airbrushing... and i'm a bit confused on the ratio i need to use. cause i tried just pouring that paint right to the airbrush.. and it didnt work... for any of the colors im using.... so please answer my questions! ahh!


Just look for the "milk" consistency for the paint when adding thinner to paint. i do it 2:1 or 3:1.
not sure about the MM acrylics thoughSleepy [|)] Good Luck and Happy modeling!
  • Member since
    January 2004
  • From: USA
Posted by MusicCity on Tuesday, October 11, 2005 5:34 AM
QUOTE: smells like windex, lol..

It probably IS Windex. Windex is a very good cleaner for acrylics.

The bottle is correct, most MM acrylics will spray just fine straight from the bottle. The ONLY reason for thinning paint is to get it to spray at a desired pressure. If it sprays straight from the bottle, well and good. If you have to thin it 1:1, so be it. It doesn't really matter as long as it sprays at the pressure you want to use and gives the coverage you want.

I start at 3:1 for everything. If it's to thick to spray at the pressure I want to use I thin it a little more or bump the pressure a pound or two. If 3:1 is too thin I add a little more paint. There is no magic number.
Scott Craig -- Nashville, TN -- My Website -- My Models Page
  • Member since
    November 2005
Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, October 11, 2005 10:38 AM
What is a typically pressure setting? I have heard 25 psi is about max for modeling.... and thats what I have been using.
  • Member since
    January 2004
  • From: USA
Posted by MusicCity on Tuesday, October 11, 2005 10:53 AM
I never spray that high. Too much overspray for my tastes. I usually spray around 12-15 psi, and increase to around 40-50 to clean my airbrush.
Scott Craig -- Nashville, TN -- My Website -- My Models Page
  • Member since
    July 2005
  • From: Vancouver,Canada
Posted by clairnet_person on Thursday, October 13, 2005 12:10 AM
ok the figure colours are for painting figures as in men clothing etc thats what they are.
Current builds: Monogram P-40B Revell F-15E
  • Member since
    April 2003
  • From: Hayward, CA
Posted by MikeV on Thursday, October 13, 2005 12:20 AM
QUOTE: Originally posted by MusicCity

I never spray that high. Too much overspray for my tastes. I usually spray around 12-15 psi, and increase to around 40-50 to clean my airbrush.


I agree with Scott but it also depends on the airbrush.
If you are using a siphon-feed airbrush then it may not spray well at 12-15 psi and may need 20 or so. It all depends on the mixture of paint, etc.

Mike

Wisdom is the right use of knowledge. To know is not to be wise. Many men know a great deal, and are all the greater fools for it. There is no fool so great a fool as a knowing fool. But to know how to use knowledge is to have wisdom. " Charles Spurgeon
  • Member since
    November 2005
Posted by Anonymous on Thursday, October 13, 2005 2:50 AM
Here's a trick for thinner/cleaner. Don't waste yer hard earned duckets on those tiny 4oz. bottles!
Get a gallon jug put in about 8 to 10oz. of ispropyl alchohol(99%) and a drop of dishsoap and fill the rest of the way with distilled water and shake(close lid before shaking) Ta Da! a whole gallon for about a buck.
Just remember that acrylics are just water with pigment and a binder(like soap) and the alcohol is a dispersal agent.
As for thinning for airbrush I usually just play it by feel. Just figure out what pressure and spray dispersal you wish to use and thin accordingly. This way you can thicken it up as you need to between coats. For example if you're spraying a flat smooth surface a little thicker viscosity is better, whereas you'd want the paint a little thinner for the first coat on a "detailed" surface and then thicker again for the hilight sweep.
  • Member since
    January 2004
  • From: USA
Posted by MusicCity on Thursday, October 13, 2005 5:32 AM
QUOTE: If you are using a siphon-feed airbrush then it may not spray well at 12-15 psi and may need 20 or so. It all depends on the mixture of paint, etc.

My Omni 3000 will spray that low, but then it's an Omni to Tongue [:P] I only see about 2 psi difference between my 3000 and 4000. With properly thinned paint I can get down to around 10 psi with the 3000.

Mike is absolutely right though. It does vary with the airbrush and I should have mentioned that.
Scott Craig -- Nashville, TN -- My Website -- My Models Page
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