airbrush with acrylics

There is no "one" way to thin paints. Depending on the manufacturer you may not have to thin at all.

Model Master Acryl claims they come thin enough to airbrush. Tamiya need to be thinned. What you should look for is a 2% milk like consistency. There are far to many different kinds of acrylic to give a comprehensive answer. Search through the airbrush forums, there is a ton of information in there!

CrypticModel wrote:

P.S. I am pretty sloppy at pouring the paint into a film canister then pouring thinner into the same container, I never know how much to add and before I know it, the paint is too thin and doesn't stick to the model.  Greatly Appreciated

I use a 1ml steel kitchen measuring spoon (not super-accurate, but it does the job). Some people use eye droppers, some use disposable plastic squeeze-bulb pipettes like this one.

BTW: I have thinned Tamiya acrylics up to 4:1 (that's 4 parts denatured alcohol to 1 part :paint) and had no problems with adhesion to the model.

Congrats on the new airbrush!!  I had a 155 and it did a good job.  For thinning the other guys gave you some good points.

If you plan on using acrylics MM Acryl is good to start with used with Tamiya Acrylic thinner.  Basically twice as much paint as thinner is a good place to start with no matter how you measure it.  You can adjust your ratio from there till you feel comfortable with it. 

Also when you spray acrylics it's good to put a nice thin coat down first, let it dry about 5 min then shoot your other coats on top.. and make sure you clean your model with soap and water or wipe it down with alcohol before you paint, acrylics aren't tolerant of oils. 

If you decide to stay with acrylics there's more you'll learn along the way.  They're not near as difficult to use as some say, but if you always do a few things when spraying you'll get a great finish with little hassle...

 

Thanks for the advice.  The paint that I have looks thin enough.  I am just worried that the acrylic paint will dry in my airbrush really fast and will therefore be harder to clean, I don't know I may just be paranoid.  I guess I forgot to mention that I am using Tamiya Acrylic paint, I am in JP and that seems to be the biggest brand here.

ahh ok, Tamiya acrylic paint is the choice of many here..if you use the Tamiya thinner you should have no problems... and it won't dry in the cup unless you leave it for a long time (more than 30min I would think)

one thing that helps with cleanup and with "tip dry" (paint drying on the tip of the needle and obstructing air/paint flow, is needle lube.  You probably will find it easier to look for Medea Super Lube, you should be able to find it where they sell Iwata brushes for sure.

Good luck!!