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Best Paint for Air Brush

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J

jbwilcox

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Discussion starter · #1 ·
I finally broke out my Badger 150 airbrush which I have had for at least 20 years and never used.

I saw Micromark had a sale on paints: 1 oz bottle for about 4 dollars! I almost choked when I saw that. Do you realize what that would be for a gallon of paint? Maybe these paints go a long way when used with an airbrush.

Anyway, I also have some cheaper paint that I got at Wal Mart for 1.16 for a 2 0r 4 ounce bottle. Can that paint be used with an airbrush?

I tride diluting some of it just by eyeballing the dilution. It did not seem to work very well.

What is the recommendation for the best paints for an air brush and secondly, how much should they be diluted before using?

John
 
#2 ·
The acrylic craft paints can be used with an airbrush, but you need a fair amount of pressure (c. 40 psi), and you need to thin them a good bit. How much, exactly, is something of a black art. I remember someone mentioning a specific thinner for them in one post, but darned if I can remember what it was now. Thin it too much, and it doesn't cover well, or the pigments do strange things and you get blotchy coverage. Don't thin it enough, and your airbrush clogs every 30 seconds. I keep a big bowl of water nearby when I airbrush that paint just to keep things clean.

I've been really impressed with Badger's Accuflex line of paints. They come pre-mixed for the airbrush, so there's no thinning required. And while they're pre-thinned, they also brush paint VERY well. I find myself using them as often straight out of the jar, in fact, when I painted TRR #10, I just brush-painted everything. The paint is incredibly smooth. You literally just screw the bottle onto the airbrush and you're off and running. No clogging, great coverage, and you just run water through the brush when you're done painting to clean it out. Yeah, it's $4/ounce, but it's worth every penny compared to the utter frustration of mixing and thinning the $0.50/ounce acrylics I used to use.

The green boiler jacket was brush painted with the Accuflex paint :
Image


Later,

K
 
#3 ·
John, I would stay away from acrylics for your cherished models. Although they are good, why not go with proven paints like Floquil and Scale Coat. Yes you will pay more for them, but you get what you pay for. I recommend either brand. I have not tried any of the other brands mentioned in other posts here. I guess you could say I am a die hard where some proven things are concerned. Good luck.
 
#6 ·
I had very good success using thinned automotive acrylic enamel when painting my M-190 "Ultimate Doodlebug."

Image


I brushed the red topcoat on creases, and other areas that might be difficult to get coverage without the danger of causing a run, then sprayed the topcoat.

Image


I took my USAT Santa Fe F3 to the paint shop and had them match the colors. I used laquer thinner for cleaning the airbrush.

JimC.
 
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#7 ·
Model Railroader had a great article all about airbrushing back in their November 1998 issue. I scanned an image of their recommendations chart for thinning all of the major model paints for airbrushing. Hope it is helpful:

Airbrush Paint Thinning Chart


My paint preferences for airbrushing include:


Scalecoat

Floquil

and to a lesser extent Polly Scale and Badger Modelflex.


I much prefer to use enamel based paints as they are easier to clean out of the airbrush when done painting. They do take much longer to dry though.


In my experience, acrylic based paints dry much too quickly for large scale painting. Meaning by the time you are done painting the paint has already started to dry in the airbrush. These are great for the smaller scales. But with so much surface area to paint in G gauge, I stay away from them unless the color is only available in acrylics (like Polly Scale D&RGW Building Brown and Cream).
 
#8 ·
K,

I can find Badger ModelFlex but nothing online about Badger's Accuflex line of paints. Where are you purchasing them? I just got a Passache H and thought I'd try your recommendation.

Best,
TJ
 
#9 ·
I would like throw my hat in the ring on this subject.
Having been working with an airbrush for over 15 years and having used all forms and formulas of paints- Scalecoat, Floquil, Accupaint, Accuflex, Modelflex, Polly-S, Pollyscale, artists acrylics and a host of others, I believe the best paints are those that are formulated for airbrush use. Paints that require no mixing other than some thinner to get them to pass through the brush. I believe that the Modelflex and Pollyscale paints are the best for airbrush work in regards to trains. They thin with water (water with a drop of dishwashing detergent or windshield washing fluid) and use pigment particles ground to less than 1/2 a smoke particle in diameter, so they go onto a surface very, very thin, cover well and stay thin enough to not hide detail, even on N scale models. Craft acrylics will work for weathering if thinned properly, but stay relatively soft throughout their life. If you don't like the way the acrylic paint is turning out, while it is still green, wipe it off, use alcohol to remove any leftovers and shoot it again. The ability to mix the colors inside a manufacturers paint range is much better with the acrylic model paints than it ever was with solvent based paints.

Time for me to get off the soapbox,

Don
 
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