Aeromaster Acrylic Paint

Thanks for the tips everybody. I've got some Aircraft Colors
and I'll be trying them out soon. I do have one question . Recently I
read that using Windex to thin paints or clean up an airbrush would
cause damage to the internal parts of an airbrush. Has anyone had
any damage to their airbrush from using Windex ?
Fuzzy

QUOTE: Originally posted by stinger I clean the gun by first filling the cup with Windex, shaking it up and wiping the inside of the cup with a paper towel. I then fill the cup with lacquer thinner, shake it up again, and spray that solution through the gun at a higher pressure (30lb. or so). Sometimes I will repeat the lacquer thinner process and jab the needle feed area with a small brush to loosen up some residue. Spraying one more cup full of lacquer thinner will complete it. Sounds like a lot of work, but it goes quite quickly.

If you are using acrylics it is not necessary to spray lacquer thinner through the airbrush. A mixture of 2 parts distilled water, 1 part Windex and 1 part Simple Green will clean acrylics very well.

Mike

The old Aeromaster paints were manufactured by Floquil / Polly S and came in both an enamel and acrylic line. These formulations are still available as Floquil railroad colors and Polly Scale but not in the same colors that Aeromaster had. If you really want the old Aeromaster formulation then just try to look for paints that match the colors in those lines. Some military colors can be matched with the railroad paints, and Polly Scale is a line of military paints.

The new Aeromaster paints are produced by Vallejo of Spain and only comes in a water based acrylic formulation. This formulation has no relations to the old Aeromaster paints; however I would not be suprised if they bring out the same colors as available in the old line. They had a real good line of colors for Japanese WWII aircrafts. Vallejo acrylics are the premier acrylic paints used by figure painters in the hobby. I got them last year for figure painting, and they are just wonderful. I have not used them for airbrushing yet. The standard Vallejo model color acrylic paints are a little thicker than the airbrush line of Vallejo paints which would be the same formulation as the new Aeromaster paints. One last thing is to remember to shake the bottle up real well before using the paint. They come in an eye dropper bottle so if you don't shake it up well, then the paint you get from the bottle will be a little too thin.

The old Aeromaster paints were manufactured by Floquil / Polly S and came in both an enamel and acrylic line. These formulations are still available as Floquil railroad colors and Polly Scale but not in the same colors that Aeromaster had. If you really want the old Aeromaster formulation then just try to look for paints that match the colors in those lines. Some military colors can be matched with the railroad paints, and Polly Scale is a line of military paints.

The new Aeromaster paints are produced by Vallejo of Spain and only comes in a water based acrylic formulation. This formulation has no relations to the old Aeromaster paints; however I would not be suprised if they bring out the same colors as available in the old line. They had a real good line of colors for Japanese WWII aircrafts. Vallejo acrylics are the premier acrylic paints used by figure painters in the hobby. I got them last year for figure painting, and they are just wonderful. I have not used them for airbrushing yet. The standard Vallejo model color acrylic paints are a little thicker than the airbrush line of Vallejo paints which would be the same formulation as the new Aeromaster paints. One last thing is to remember to shake the bottle up real well before using the paint. They come in an eye dropper bottle so if you don't shake it up well, then the paint you get from the bottle will be a little too thin.

Stinger,
Thanks for answering my questions. I received a Squadron
flyer with the Aircraft Colors listed . Now that I have good information to
go on I'm going to order some and try them.
Fuzzy

Fuzzy - The 'Aircraft Colors' brand that I have been using of late are very good and easy to use. At least the camo colors, that is. I use them straight from the bottle in a gravity feed airbrush. Just yesterday I used the same brand to paint the yellow (RLM 04) banding on a German Dornier. Yellow as a rule does not cover well over darker colors, and so, neither did mine. After laying down a base coat of PollyScale white, and then painting the yellow, it came out very nicely, albeit a bit thick compared to the other colors. What I really like about the 'Aircraft Colors' brand is the eyedropper bottle that they come in. I can usually measure out just what I need into my airbrush with minimal waste.
To answer your specific questions, tip drying seems to be no different than any other water based (acrylic) paint. If I'm not spraying continuously, there will be some occasional clogging (tip drying), but I anticipate this, and I make sure to clear the gun before making my next passing spray. I spray at about 15 - 20 psi, but my gauge is really not that accurate, so I have developed a kind of 'feel' for the pressure by spraying air alone against the skin on my forearm. I don't know quite how to describe what feels 'right', so I also test the actual paint spray on a piece of paper or cardboard first.
I clean the gun by first filling the cup with Windex, shaking it up and wiping the inside of the cup with a paper towel. I then fill the cup with lacquer thinner, shake it up again, and spray that solution through the gun at a higher pressure (30lb. or so). Sometimes I will repeat the lacquer thinner process and jab the needle feed area with a small brush to loosen up some residue. Spraying one more cup full of lacquer thinner will complete it. Sounds like a lot of work, but it goes quite quickly.
I buy my lacquer thinner from Home Depot or Lowes. Costs about 9$ a gallon, and that gallon goes a long way compared to the 'airbrush thinners' from the hobby shops, but I use the cheap stuff for cleanup only.
Hope this helps.
Read through the forum, or do a forum search to find more info and techniques that others use.
Email me if you need more info.

Stinger

seems that a company called vallejo has bought the formula of aeromaster acrylics.
I really miss them though.....

Stinger,
Thanks for the help. I'm using Pollyscale so I'm used
to cleaning the tip. Does the paint seem to dry on the tip faster or slower
than other acrylics? What did you use to clean up your airbrush? Did
you strain the paint ? Since the paints have cured how do you like the
colors? How much air pressure ?
I know that's a lot of questions to ask you but your expirence
and opinion will be a big help.
Fuzzy

Fuzzy - I posted a similar question but no one seems to know. Here is what I've discovered within the last week.
First, I ordered paint from Squadron.com, and specifically asked for Aeromaster. What they sent me instead was "Aircraft Colors" toned down for scale. Produced by a company called EagleSquadron or something like that. Will look more closely at the bottles tomorrow and let you know.
Having never used Aeromaster, and no patience to wait, I sprayed a coat of RLM65 on my aircraft. I thinned it down with a bit of water and although it worked, I wasn't happy with the results.
Today, however, I sprayed the remaining camo colors (RLM 70, 71) with NO thinning, straight from the bottle, and they laid down very nicely, and very controllable.
I was quite impressed. Due to the nature of acrylics' quick drying time, my airbrush did hang up a few times, but if you are aware of this, a quick clearing of the nozzle gets you back to very contolled results.
Coverage was excellent, even light colors over dark (to correct some overspray mistakes).
I don't know if this brand is the "re-release" of Aeromaster, but I will definitely continue to use this substitute.

Hope this helps.

Stinger