Paint dilution for standard brush VS airbrush

B

Baylock

New member
Hi there,

I eventually order an airbrush and a compressor.
I have some questions though regarding the paint dilution in general.

For what I know, a rule of thumb regarding the paint is to get a melted icecream consistency for the base coat and more like melted sorbet for shadows and highlights. Which means that the base coat should be as liquid as possible while keeping the color as opaque as possible and the shadows/highlights should be as liquid as it gets but less opaque (semi-transparent).
I don't say it's the perfect rule, just that it is acceptable.
Correct me if I'm wrong.

Now that I have to deal with an airbrush (with a 0.2 and a 0.4 nozzle size), I wonder if the dilutions as described before are exactly what should be used for airbrushing too or if it needs even more thinning.
Basically, my question is this one:

If I pre-dilute (base coat consistency) the colors once and for all and put them in specific containers, can I consider these as "ready to use" colors for both the standard brush and airbrush?
Can it be as easy as that or will it eventually clog with the 0.2 nozzle?

Thank you for your input.
 
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MAXXxxx

MAXXxxx

Well-known member
in general ab needs a bit more thinning.
with the .4 yu won't have a lot of problems, but the .2 will clog anyway after some time. even with proper dilution.
 
A

archreptile

New member
I've found that with airbrushing I need way more thinning than suggested. Most people suggest diluting paint 1:1 with thinner (whether water or specific to your brand of paint) but I've pretty much always found that results in splattering so I dilute around 7 parts thinner to 1 part paint. Dilution also depends heavily on pressure. A very dilute mix at high pressure splatters all over the show while a heavier mix on lower pressure clogs all the time. I remember actually crying with frustration trying to get the mix and PSI's right and I still don't have it but it does get better.
One other interesting thing - there are hundreds of thinner mixes or suggestions out there but I've found that tamiya X20A thins all paints (vallejo, GW, P3, havent tried scale 75 yet) very well and seems to give the paint an easier blend so I use that now.
Regarding your question of prediluting - it depends. Vallejo model colour out of the bottle is supposed to be easy to use via the airbrush but I find for the 0.2 it needs diluting as above. If you do that and try to brush with it, you can but it will take you a hundred years to get coverage whereas using it straight out of the bottle would be fine for painting and fine for the 0.4 but probably too thick for the 0.2 IMHO.
 
eyeayen

eyeayen

New member
I've not heard the ice cream term used before. You need it like Milk, imagine if you spilt milk on a coloured surface you could just see that colour through it, that's what you want to aim for. Paints vary, I've often found blue's and green's are thicker out the pot ??? You need to experiment with each one though, there is no set formula and you'll soon get used to how much you need to thin it and it will become second nature.

Build up gradual layers to achieve colour.

Pressure 18-30 psi should be fine with either nozzle. However I would suggest the 0.4 for thicker paint like this.
 
Webmonkey

Webmonkey

New member
Agreed,.. different colors have different base thicknesses, (even if they come from the same manufacturer) and as such, each color requires its own unique dilution ratio. Sadly,.. there is no "magic number" that going to work for all paints and/or paint brands. It's mostly trial and error per paint-line,.. per color,.. per use,...
 
B

Baylock

New member
Thank you all for your input.
"each color requires its own unique dilution ratio": That's why I didn't mention any fixed ratio, just a consistency.
I used the melted ice cream and sorbet comparison to tell the difference between an almost opaque but very fluid consistency for the base coat and an more translucent consistency for highlights and shadows. For me, melted ice cream and milk, it's almost the same thing. The point being that there should be almost no thickness. it should be as fluid and thin as possible while keeping its maximum color.
 
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