Airbrushing with Citadel/Reaper/etc... Paint Question...

[MPJ]

OK, so I'm on a short break from minis since I've become inspired to assemble and paint a 1/570 scale model of the Titanic I've had sitting around since 1976. Normally when I airbrush a model I don't prime first and this has always worked just fine with the Tamiya acrylic paints I mostly use and also with various enamels. However I had an excess of Chaos Black GW paint and needed some black for the display stand so I loaded it up into my airbrush and started spraying but what a mess it made. It came out of the airbrush just fine but was pretty much repelled by the plastic. After washing off the GW I loaded up the last of my Tamiya black and as expected it worked just fine. After I tried some Reaper paints through the brush, again it flowed fine but didn't adhere to the plastic (though not as bad as the GW paints).

So I guess my question is... What is the difference between these paint types that makes it so the 'mini' paints don't airbrush directly onto the plastic? Will priming solve this problem? I have a Reaper color that would be perfect for the antifouling (below the waterline bit of the hull), I'm having a heck of a time finding the right color in another paint and I'm trying to be as accurate as possible with my colors.

Side note: For those interested in historical color matching type stuff I found this website http://titanic-model.com/paint/ where I'm getting my color references and Reaper Master Series color Rust Brown seems about perfect for the antifouling mentioned above.

 

[RuneBrush]

GW paints aren't designed to be applied directly to a model. Although they may adhere to some surfaces, even the minutest trace of grease/release agent will prevent them sticking. I've not used a Tamiya paint for years, but imagine that base isn't water like GW ones are.

 

[StillLifeMiniatures]

Primer will help a little, but it sounds like your paint is coming from the airbrush too wet. It should come out like a mist. I've had this problem before. Try adjusting your airbrush so that it the paint comes out a bit "dryer". Also, if you're airbrushing too close, the paint will run. I thin my paints with either straight isopropyl alcohol or a mix of alcohol and golden airbrush additive. The alcohol will evaporate quicker than water. Just make sure you have proper ventilation or a mask. It takes a bit of tweaking and practice to get the correct settings and mix of paints to thinner appropriate for the airbrush. Good luck.

 

[Einion]

So I guess my question is... What is the difference between these paint types that makes it so the 'mini' paints don't airbrush directly onto the plastic?

The simplest answer here is that the Tamiya acrylics aren't like regular acrylics, they're formulated to work okay if applied to hard styrene plastic directly. And obviously the enamels are a completely different story.

Will priming solve this problem?

Yep. You'd obviously have to be spraying them correctly (not too wet or whatever), but paint that would normally adhere fine if applied by brush will adhere fine if sprayed.

FWIW the colour of the anti-fouling paint should be easily achievable using nearly any palette - it's basically just a "brick red". At the simplest you could mix it from any bright mid-red, with blue, yellow and a little white. Some mixtures of red + grey would match too.

Einion