Paint Reduction

[BassAboveThe49th]

Hey guys, so when I start airbrushing I'm going to have to learn how to reduce my paint (I have already bought createx paint which is what I'm going to be using), so what can/should I use to thin my paint?

[RayburnGuy]

It can be thinned with water, but I like the Createx reducer for thinning my paint and it works well for me.

 

Ben

[gone2long]

Many options plain old distilled water would be the first but people use Future floor shine or actual additives for such purpose. for example I use 5601 transparent base often when using opaques to well make them more transparent. I use a home brew I found on the net it has ammonia free glass cleaner, water, alcohol and glycerin and it works well.

 

12oz distilled water

4oz denatured alcohol

4oz ammonia free glass cleaner

10 drops of glycerin

[BassAboveThe49th]

Thanks guys very helpful!

[BassAboveThe49th]

Thanks guys very helpful!

[muskiestalker51]

So I have been working on this thinking process I have it very close to the milk condensing,maybe even a little to thin. When I spray it seems too thin do I need to spray several light coats or thicken it I'm using opaque base coat

[Richard Prager]

What kind of brush are you using and what size nozzle does it have? I use an Iwata Eclipse (gravity feed) and don't have to thin anything except Createx white and white pearl. i do not buy these any longer but use Polytranspar Super Hide for white and also their white pearl which do not need thinning. You can also use Auto Air white metallic for white pearl. I have a .035 tip....just what works for me and I've tried all the thinners.

[gone2long]

Rich I too have the Eclipse and I also have 2 other brushes the NEO with a .35 tip/needle and a Talon with a .38 tip/needle and can tell you that there is something very different in the eclipse because your right I can spray almost all my different paints without reducing in the Eclipse but have fits if it's not reduced just right with the other two so there must be something in the design of the Eclipse because they go out of their way to explain that it sprays heavier paint without reducing.

 

And Muskie yes several coats heat set between each is recommended, a good test to see if you broke the paint is to spray on a test panel and see if you are getting "spidering" I suggest you do a youtube search on the subject there is one out there that gives a very good in-depth discussion on the subject.

Edited November 29, 2013 by Gon2long

[BobP]

Like Richard, I seldom thin the paint I shoot through my .3mm or .2mm Iwata brushes.  There's enough uncertainty in thinning that I'd just as soon avoid doing it.  IMO, airbrush paint isn't so expensive that I want to thin it just save paint.  I thin only if and when needed - to shoot a color at very low pressure for a fine detail and the paint just won't shoot properly unless thinned.  If you thin, you should probably thin only the paint you intend to use during that session because some thinners can cause paint pigment to fall out of suspension from its acrylic carrier during storage, forming a hard sludge in the bottom of a jar and ruining it.  It's hard to predict how a specific paint will react to storage after thinning and I use a variety of brands and colors.

[mark poulson]

Auto Air makes a reducer #4011 that works really well.

[gone2long]

Like Richard, I seldom thin the paint I shoot through my .3mm or .2mm Iwata brushes.  There's enough uncertainty in thinning that I'd just as soon avoid doing it.  IMO, airbrush paint isn't so expensive that I want to thin it just save paint.  I thin only if and when needed - to shoot a color at very low pressure for a fine detail and the paint just won't shoot properly unless thinned.  If you thin, you should probably thin only the paint you intend to use during that session because some thinners can cause paint pigment to fall out of suspension from its acrylic carrier during storage, forming a hard sludge in the bottom of a jar and ruining it.  It's hard to predict how a specific paint will react to storage after thinning and I use a variety of brands and colors.

I agree but my two other brushes won't shoot properly without reduction only the eclipse, again some paints are AB ready but I can tell you that the standard Createx line does not always shoot from the bottle except in my eclipse.

[tekoutdoors.co]

I started to mix my Createx paint with water and pledge future shine and it worked great for me.  The mix was 50% paint, 30% water and 20% pledge future shine. 

[muskiestalker51]

Well I messed with the reducing I ended up just pouring paint in the ab cup then a few drops of water then stirred it and practice spraying. I only do one paint at a time. 

[gone2long]

Well I messed with the reducing I ended up just pouring paint in the ab cup then a few drops of water then stirred it and practice spraying. I only do one paint at a time. 

What model brush do you have? can you back-flush into the cup that helps a lot when your mixing right into the cup.

[muskiestalker51]

I have a passche vl, I've been putting into a tub of water an clean the bowl with a artist brush seems to work great found a tutorial here love this site

[BobP]

I liked the Pledge floor finish formula and was the one who first posted it on TU a couple of years ago, from a You Tube source.  The Pledge is basically a clear acrylic with additives and the home brew reducer works well through an airbrush.  But I had two problems.  First, you need to clean the barrel of your airbrush really well after shooting it because the Pledge dries harder than airbrush paint and can glue the airbrush needle into the barrel's packing nut.  I had to use pliers to get my needle back out of the barrel of my Iwata brushes after it dried.  The second problem I had was that it would sometimes cause paint pigment to separate and fall to the bottom of the paint container and form a hard sludge that made the paint useless.  Yes, separation happens naturally to most paint brands but in this case, the sludge is too hard to mix back into solution.  This happened with just some colors of some paint brands (I use a variety) and it's unpredictable.  That's why I recommended using this formula only on the paint you plan to use during one painting session, instead of on a whole bottle of paint.  Createx is the most consistent paint brand and is more resistant to separation than most, so it may still work to do a whole bottle.  I don't know, but throwing away a few bottles of paint taught me to be cautious.

 

I have some Createx 4011 reducer that I occasionally use.  Works OK but who wants to pay bucks for reducer + shipping if you don't have to?  I like the idea of the water/glycerine/alcohol/Windex reducer that Gon2Long posted above.  Don't see anything in that formula that should cause the problems I had with the Pledge.

Edited December 2, 2013 by BobP

[rhersh]

I have not been able to find the windex, or any other glass cleaner without ammonia in it. The closest thing I could find was windex multi sufrace cleaner, but it did have vinegar in it. Would this work for the thinner formula?

Edited December 6, 2013 by rhersh

[gone2long]

Like ammonia I would stay away from vinegar as its an acid, if you buy a gallon of automotive windshield wash you'll have it covered many are ammonia free, I really want to try the Rain-Ex stuff but don't want to be the guinea pig  my thinking is its got a really good surfactant quality once on your windshield water just beads right off I was thinking this would be good plus it might help with tip dry if the paint can't stick to the needle it can't build up thus no tip dry, right

[rhersh]

Thank's Gon2long, I never thought to try auto-windshield wash. I have the rain-ex in the garage but I am not sure how it would work.

[Jmarsh]

Instead of using the the rain-ex to thin the paint as it more than likely is a hydrophobic substance (key for water beading) and createx is water based. Wouldn't it be better to run through your gun and allow to dry to help with tip dry? I could be very wrong in all of this, just a thought.

[gone2long]

No your absolutely right I got lost in the thread and was thinking of cleaning.