Acrylics, a question

Well as I write this my wife is on her way back from her parents in Seattle, and she has a air compressor with her courtesy of her dad who got a new one. I have projects that have been waiting 3 years for this day. Anyways I was just reading a article in the December MR about Acrylics and I was wondering if any of you use them, I have always used Lacquers when airbrushing but am thinking of acrylics. Any tips would be apreaciated and pics of things painted with acrylics.
Kevin

 

I use only acryics. Keep your nozzle clear and make sure the paint is neither too thick or too thin. Washup is a breeze.

 

I use them. I thin it with water to get it to the correctg consistancy to spray from the airbrush well. I like them because of ease of clean up. I have had good results.

 

Acrylics (water based) for me. The odor is not so pungent as petroleum based, but I still wear a mask and/or step outside when painting.

 

I go to a craft store to get my acrylics. It's normally around $.99 a bottle, and there are tons of colors.

 

Yup,acrylics are my choice.Less noxious fumes,no concerns about attacking plastics,ease of clean-up,colors easier to mix and thin.Thinner is as close as your faucet.

 

I bought these paints and I am having problems painting styrene.
Do I have to prime the styrene first?
TIA

 

Craft store (artists') acrylics are about one US$ a bottle; LHS model railroad acrylics are 3-4 US$ a bottle. In my opinion, the artists acrylics have a more coarse pigment. I airbrush my artist acrylics and they work fairly well, but the model railroad acrylics are a better "quality" of paint. I always seal my artist acrylics after painting as I feel they chip easily.

I guess what we need here is some molecular information about the paint.

I would say that washing the model in warm water before painting can't hurt. It might solve your adhesion problem.

Remember that John Allen, world's greatest model railroader, did not have an airbrush and used artist colors on his layout all the time. (Of course, he was an artist, so...)

 

Straining acrylics through a discarded nylon stocking doesn't hurt. Strains out any lumps or unfinely ground pigment. I use distilled water as thinner. Some (including me) have experienced problems with at least some batches of PollyS acrylic thinner.

Ben

 

All you wanted to know about acrylic painting (airbrushing)

http://www.trainboard.com/grapevine/showthread.php?t=77908

 

How thick or thin depending on how you look at it, should the paint be? I tried some of the acrylic from the craft store and it didn't work too well but I think I thinned it too much.

I thinned it down to about the consistency of 2% milk. The coverage was horrible (thus my assumption it was too thin). Pressure was about 20 psi. Brush was a Paasche VL. Didn't have time to mix another thicker batch to try again.

 

I would suggest mixing artists acrylics at least the thickness of cream or slightly thicker. For painting, I mix mine about 50-50 paint and windshield washer fluid. I mixed it too thin at first, too. It is easy to add paint to make it thicker.

Understand I am a neophyte at this. I have painted only two freight cars so far.

 

I have been using craft acrylic paints thinned with blue windshield washer fluid successfully for several years now. As a matter of fact all my painting is done with them. I have painted freight cars, locomotives, and structures.

Like Flash stated, I too have found that it very important to seal the craft paints. They are more likely to chip or scratch if don’t.

Another tip I have found is when I am airbrushing metal or a slick plastic I prime the item with grey automotive primer. This gives the craft paint a good surface to bite into.

When I airbrush something I generally apply two thin coats of a light gray as a base coat. Seal the item and then apply two or more thin coats of the final color. I have found that with the craft paints it is better to do several thin coats then to try to cover the item in one coat. Also since the craft paints dry quickly I can usually apply several coats in an hour.