All you airbrush users, What paint?

[DimmaDan]

Hiya,

Today i have purchased a Badger 200 air brush (Thanks Jozza) and i was wondering what paints poeple used on lexan bodies as i have 6 to paint over the next 2 months (Will be practicing hard before i paint the bodies)

I have also bought a small 2 Barg air compressor.

What are the best paints to use for a beginner?

[raemin]

Tamiya paint is really easy, pactra have nice sharp colours, but I would really advise you to use parma faskolors, even if I have not used these, as they are non toxic which makes a real difference in winter...

[jozza]

Pactra paints are really good. Faskolor I found to be frustrating, takes a while to work out how to paint it, but the Pactra paints are easy. Faskolor has the advantage of being less toxic, but you should still wear a good quality face mask whilst spraying, even Faskolor will get into your lungs.

If your compressor is capable of feeding a steady 40psi then Faskolor paints will work, but for a bottom feed brush you need to up the pressure to 50psi at least. Faskolor shouldn't be thinned too much, otherwise it's weak, so it needs high pressure. This makes it more difficult to put on. On the other hand, you can spray Pactra at really low pressures (15-20psi) and get a good coating, and I find it easier to work with paint which is coming out at a lower pressure.

Halfords and B&Q do a good quality painting mask, it will set you back £30 or so though, make sure you get one with a double filter cartridge suitable for paint use; the normal DIY masks are not suitable, but are better than nothing!

[terry.sc]

My personal favourite is Pactra, but it is cellulose based so you need good ventilation while using it. The Parma faskolor range is a great alternative, perfect for using indoors as it has very little smell.

[DimmaDan]

Where can i get these paints from?

[ChrisB]

I have to say I don'y think you can go far wrong with the Tamiya paints - the acrylics I have found very good thinned 50-50 with Tamiya thinner for hard bodies.

Not sure if the PC style paint is available for airbrushing though, or whether it just comes in the rattle cans - anyone know?

I get my Tamiya paint now from James at Fusion. He can get pretty much any color from their range and you get the TC discount if you are a TC member.

I meant to mention that machine mart had an offer on one of their Tiger compressors with a 25Ltr resevoir capable of about 6-7CFM which is plenty for airbrushing. I think it was about 85 quid incl. VAT, which is very cheap and they are quite good budget compressors in my experience. Machine Mart (starting to sound like an advert now!!!!) also do a good quality twin cartridge respirator than is a fairly compfortable fit and can use Organic vapour proof filters (they screw in). I think this is the level of protection you need to be safe with most paints. I think the mask is about a tenner with replacement cartridges at about 3-4 quid each.

Try and spray somewhere with decent ventilation (garage or shed if possible).

A large carboard box on its side makes a good spray booth and will stop overspray going everywhere. One of these days I will rig up a home made booth with an extractor, but I never seem to get round to it [:I]. probably happen about the same time I eventually get round to building that vacuforming setup - i.e. never []

Chris

[jozza]

Hehe, my "spray booth" is normally the bottom of the Tamiya box, propped up precariously on top of all the junk on my workbench [)]

That's a good price for a ventilator though, about half what B&Q/Halfords charge - I like Machine Mart, but I don't go there often as I end up spending loads of money that I don't have!

[DimmaDan]

Ive bought the Clarke Wiz air brush compressor from machine mart as its small and very quiet 55 dBa.

Im only spraying clear lexan bodies.

Where do you get your Pactra paints from?

[DimmaDan]

This portable, compact design mini air compressor provides clean, oil free air and is particularly suitable for air brush work.

Quiet operation oil free diaphragm compressor with aluminium body

Maintenance free

Built in carry handle, very light & easy to transport

1.58cfm air displacement

2.8 Bar maximum working pressure

Includes pressure gauge

99 Watt, 230v motor

£65

[terry.sc]

quote:Originally posted by DimmaDan

Where can i get these paints from?

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Pactra and Parma paints should be available from your LHS, but they are more likely to stock the paints in aerosols.

[DimmaDan]

Terry, both my local stores are really not upto much when it comes to paint. Lokking for a decent online shop that will do them cheap.

[DimmaDan]

Does Pactra need thinning?

Also, when thinning paint for airbrush use, is standard thinners ok?

The small bottles of thinners seem expensive.

[HunterZero]

As well as Tamiya acrylics, I like Gunze Sangyo Aqueous acrylic paints. Work perfectly with Tamiya acrylic thinner.

Yes, you should pretty much need to thin any acrylic paint that comes out of a brush pot. Thinning is usually 50% paint 50% thinner, or until the thinned paint has the consistency of milk.

I recommend the Tamiya acrylic thinner, it's worth it; buy it in the bigger plastic bottle with the X moulded onto the side.

- James

[DimmaDan]

Are these special thinners as they are 3 times the price of normal thinners?

[DJTheo]

A Tamiya distributor told me once that also clear glass cleaner works great as a thinner for acrylics, I also often used alcohol.

Cheers

[jozza]

The small bottles of thinner are expensive, but you only need a little thinner to a bottle of paint (I normally top a bottle of Pactra with thinners and it's about right). Better to get the tin of thinners, which cost about £6 but contain many times as much as a bottle. I find that a tin lasts me enough to do loads of bodyshells, about 7-10 shells worth.

[ChrisB]

Only thing to watch out for with the diaphragm compressors is you don't get "pulsing" of the air through the brush which can mess the paint delivery up.

I think you can compensate for this by using a very long airbrush to compressor hose.

The reason I went for the tanked compressor is that it was not much more than a diaphragm type one (no tank), and not actually massively bigger, plus the tank gets rid of any pulsing in the line. With the 25 Litre tank on mine I find after the initial pressurisation of the tank the compressor shuts down and doesn't restart for a while so nice and quiet [].

Chris

[DimmaDan]

Is there any particular brand of thinners to look for (in tin form)?

[jozza]

I only use Pactra thinners for Pactra paint. Some people use cellulose thinners, but this can cause damage to the rubber seals in some airbrushes. I asked a few pro's on their opinions, and most said to stick to the manufacturer thinners (pactra thinner for pactra, Tamiya thinner for Tamiya etc).

One thing I do is rather than flushing a whole jar of thinner through the brush to clean it, I use a product called Liquid Reamer, should be available from art shops, this is a couple of pounds a tin and is a very strong solvent which blasts all traces of paint from the airbrush.

[DimmaDan]

Can you re use it?

Models in motion do Pactra for £2.50 a jar, is this the normal price you pay?

[jozza]

Nope, once it's sprayed through the brush it's gone. I keep a few small jars with used thinner though, then I use the slightly mucky stuff first followed by new clean thinner for cleaning. Normal price is £2.50 for a jar, £5.99 for a tin, which contains about 8-10 jars worth..

[DimmaDan]

Kool cheers. Just need to find somewhere locally to get it from.