StrykerLures Posted March 28, 2011 Report Share Posted March 28, 2011 (edited) Hello everyone. I have a Specific Question I didn't see in any other of these topics. What do you use to Thin out Createx Airbrush paint and What is the Ratio? My Airbrush is not working very well for paints and is getting clogged a lot . The only Liquids that go through it are Airbrush Cleaner and Water. I know thinning the paint is what I need to do (Besides changing out the tips and needle) but I can't find the Right ratio. I heard Acetone or Denatured Alcohol will work. But I need the Mix Ratio for those. I also wanted to know if there was anything else out there I could mix it with? Any help will be appreciated. Please send some E-mails to me. Click Here to E-mail me (Yahoo.com) - Bryan Edited March 28, 2011 by StrykerLures Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Moreau Posted March 28, 2011 Report Share Posted March 28, 2011 First of all it sounds like you need to clean your AB really good. You should be able to shoot createx without reducing. Createx is made to be used from the bottle although it is thick and I reduce a little. The only ones I cant spray from the bottle are the irredescents. As far as how much to reduce....well all paints and colors are different... as a rule of thumb you want it like 2% milk. So transparent colors I bareley reduce if any maybe 10-20% reducer... Opaque can be from 10-40% reducer... Pearls are same as opaque but usually take a bit more. Irredescents I have gone over 50% to get them to spray. Its all about what tip you have and what pressure you are running. so start out with a little and keep adding and trying till you get a ratio that works. I reduce my createx with with a special homebrew formula I found on an airbrushing website. I have posted it on TU before but there are a bunch of ways to reduce your paint. Do a search on reduce or reducer and you will have pages to read if you want more than what I tell you. For water based paints like createx you can use plain ole water from the tap. Some people use glass cleaner like windex ( I suggest you use one without amonia found in auto department of stores). Some use a a mixture of Pledge Future Floor polish and water. You can always buy ruducer from the company that sells your paint like createx. I personally use a mixture of denatured alcohol, water and glycerin. For air pressure I run from 25-35 PSI but have gone as low as 15. Some people like to thin and run really low. I have heard as low as like 7 or 8 I think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blazt* Posted March 28, 2011 Report Share Posted March 28, 2011 Hello everyone. I have a Specific Question I didn't see in any other of these topics. What do you use to Thin out Createx Airbrush paint and What is the Ratio? My Airbrush is not working very well for paints and is getting clogged a lot . Click Here to E-mail me (Yahoo.com) - Bryan Give your airbrush a good cleaning then thin with Createx 4011 Reducer. 5 bucks a bottle. It's what I use and I don't get clogs. Go 30% or more. Less for base coats, more for to detail up to 1:1 but that depends on the color. Just start @ 30%, then start doing test panels, thinning as you go. Spray close to the panel to see if you can get the paint to "break" at low psi if doing detail. Are you shooting metallics or something? If you're just getting spits try shooting dry air for 3 seconds every couple of passes as you go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Moreau Posted March 28, 2011 Report Share Posted March 28, 2011 I forgot to add window cleaner in my reducer above. here is the breakdown if you want it... 12oz Distilled water 4oz Denatured Alcohol 4oz Amonia free window cleaner 10 drops Glycerine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassfan586 Posted March 28, 2011 Report Share Posted March 28, 2011 I use t he same reducer formula as matt. Also i tend to thin more as I like using lower air pressure. About 15 psi. A little more for pearls. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StrykerLures Posted April 1, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 1, 2011 Thanks for all the Tips guys. I'll be trying all them out tomorrow If anyone has any other tips, I would be really glad to hear them. I am very willing to try every technique all of you give me. Thanks for all the Help guys. Another thing is it mostly gets clogged on my Opaque White. Also Any tips on some home made cleaners would be appreciated also. Thanks a lot everyone Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ddl Posted September 17, 2017 Report Share Posted September 17, 2017 so from what i see reducer can be also used as a cleaner?strange no? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gone2long Posted September 17, 2017 Report Share Posted September 17, 2017 3 hours ago, ddl said: so from what i see reducer can be also used as a cleaner?strange no? The stuff ain't cheap I think I would find an alternative I use a mix of simple green distilled water and it works fine for cleaning I use a medical bottle with the bottom fed straw you just squeeze the bottle to fill the cup Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ravenlures Posted September 17, 2017 Report Share Posted September 17, 2017 One method that I use is ..............I use a very thin screen material I get from Wal-Mart Its in the fabric section its really fine. Then I use water from the bottle not the tap, I mix till it flows thru the screen ,that's all I do. But if I were you I would get some AB restorer first and clean the AB good let it soak in the restorer over night. Wayne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobP Posted September 17, 2017 Report Share Posted September 17, 2017 Ddl, airbrush cleaner is not reducer. It contains chemicals to soften hard paint deposits in an airbrush that accumulate over time and I haven't heard of a home brew or reducer that works like a soak in actual cleaner. Good daily cleaning with water and acetone help keep my airbrush working but after a few months I have to soak mine in airbrush cleaner overnight to get it really clean and working like new. A popular home brew reducer contains Pledge floor polish, which itself contains an acrylic polymer to enhance the wear quality of the product. It works great as a reducer BUT the acrylic polymer it contains is really strong and in my airbrush it tends to get into the needle packing. Drying overnight, it welds the needle in the packing so hard that I had to use pliers to break the needle loose. Also, you need to use the home brew when you spray the paint, not as an additive to a bottle of paint because paint stored with that reducer tends to precipate its color particles into a very hard sludge that no mixing will ever get back into suspension. So I stopped using it. I'm not an airbrush "artiste", more of a spray and pray painter that uses paint templates for detail. I rarely reduce paint and I use lots of taxidermy acrylic paints which generally come prethinned to shoot right out of the bottle. For Createx paint, I turn up the air pressure versus reaching for a reducer. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SW Lures Posted September 17, 2017 Report Share Posted September 17, 2017 (edited) As Bob has stated these are not the same. Reducer is to thin down paint and give it a different shade or with another color under, a different look. Cleaner; I use a very little amount of dish detergent (it has glycerin in it) in a small tub of water for back flushing and spray out during cleaning. I also use a small needle nose bottle with the same in it to run through as a clean mixture. In another bottle I have cleanser in it. At the end of a session I pour some cleaner in and spray a little, then let it set. After a few I pull the needle, clean it and let it set. Spray out the bowl and wipe the AB down. I dip the needle in glycerin and wip it lightly down. In the triger mechcanism I put a very small amount of machine oil there, some times I'll break this down and do a detail cleaning. You probably notice I mentioned glycerin several times. I was told about it here. It leaves a film over the part and lubes it. I also heard about it from Ken Schoutfeld (spelling, sorry Ken?) President of Badger AB's. My AB never seize up and works well on the go once I run some cleaner thru it when I start up. I use very little cleaner. I haven't totally cleaned my AB in a very long time and it still works great. I have several different brands and noo problems. Another thing always make sure your internal components are dry before leaving. Dale Edited September 17, 2017 by SW Lures Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gone2long Posted September 17, 2017 Report Share Posted September 17, 2017 Glycerin in a homebrew is acting as a "wetting or flow agent" or surfactant which aids in paint flow in your AB artists sometimes use it as an extender for acrylic paint, as stated I also use it as a lube, I have 1 bottle that I left the seal on I pushed my needle through it and after spraying and cleaning I insert the needle into it and reassemble works like a charm and it is pre applied for the next session. And yes I treat my AB's like fine instruments as they are. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobP Posted September 19, 2017 Report Share Posted September 19, 2017 Yes, airbrushes are very simple machines with few parts but they are precision parts so you need to take care not to damage them, especially the needle and the cone or nozzle that the needle fits into. The better airbrushes including most of the Iwatas are tuned by factory techs to spray a nice consistent pattern. If you drop and bend the tip of the needle (which is made of somewhat soft stainless steel) or split the nozzle/cone by forcing the needle into the tip too hard, you have a problem airbrush. You can order a new part of course but can you tune it so the new part will perform as well as as the original? Probably not. And those tiny precision nozzles on some of the Iwatas are quite pricey. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gone2long Posted September 19, 2017 Report Share Posted September 19, 2017 19 hours ago, BobP said: Yes, airbrushes are very simple machines with few parts but they are precision parts so you need to take care not to damage them, especially the needle and the cone or nozzle that the needle fits into. The better airbrushes including most of the Iwatas are tuned by factory techs to spray a nice consistent pattern. If you drop and bend the tip of the needle (which is made of somewhat soft stainless steel) or split the nozzle/cone by forcing the needle into the tip too hard, you have a problem airbrush. You can order a new part of course but can you tune it so the new part will perform as well as as the original? Probably not. And those tiny precision nozzles on some of the Iwatas are quite pricey. Yep and on some brushes they are a matched set adding to the cost Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ddl Posted September 19, 2017 Report Share Posted September 19, 2017 why the new needle or nozzle would not perform like the original ? if it would came from china ok but i would not be afraid at all if it would be a japanese or german pieces.these guys can cut hair in 4 if needed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobP Posted September 22, 2017 Report Share Posted September 22, 2017 I don't know what an Iwata tech does to tune an airbrush, but it starts with factory new needle and nozzle and ends with a perfectly executed test shot to confirm these parts are fitted precisely to each other. I dropped a needle and bent it, had to order a replacement from Iwata. It did not perform as well as the original because I have no idea of how to tune an airbrush. The needles are made from ductile stainless steel. You can easily bend a tip If dropped on a concrete garage floor, it can bend 90 degrees. I assume tuning may include hand bending the needle shank and maybe using a fine abrasive to contour and polish the tip as necessary. But like I said, I don't know. A replacement needle or nozzle may work great out of the box but it's not guaranteed. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ddl Posted September 22, 2017 Report Share Posted September 22, 2017 (edited) i know but this is a well known recipe used as a cleaner 12oz Distilled water 4oz Denatured Alcohol 4oz Amonia free window cleaner 10 drops Glycerine matt is using it as a thinner ,so it must be good Edited September 22, 2017 by ddl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SLT785 Posted October 5, 2017 Report Share Posted October 5, 2017 I posted about this in a different topic, if you have bent needles this straightens them, has good reviews. https://1033e661-0007-11e6-8e92-14feb5d39fb2.onlinestore.godaddy.com/products/sharpenair-needle-sharpener 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
