Folk Art Craft Paint Question

[Kris]

Question for those who use Folk Art craft paint ...  what do you use to thin it with and percentages?  I've read on other sites where some use windex, floor wax or water.  I'm assuming the windex needs to ammonia free.  Want to try spraying some of Folk Art Color Shift paints.  I'm using a Iwata HP-CS AB.

[BobP]

With a .5 mm tip you may have problems shooting a craft paint that is not formulated for airbrushes.  A .35 mm tip will surely have problems.  Craft paint pigments usually don’t shoot reliably because they aren’t ground small enough and they have no flow enhancers, so they tend to clog your tip.  That said, sometimes you luck out and your batch happened to be ground small enough.  It’s a crap shoot.  But most of us eventually learn to go with only airbrush paint to avoid the aggravation.  Just about anything can be used to thin acrylic paint.  A mix of water, alcohol, and a few drops of glycerin is one that works.  Ammonia will eventually eat the chrome off your airbrush. Yes, Pledge clear acrylic floor polish also works but it dries to a very hard coating that is hard to remove from an airbrush if you let it dry and accumulate anywhere inside.  I tried some and had to extract the needle from the packing nut with pliers after it dried.  So I can’t recommend it.

[Mayberry_Customs]

It's been years since I have even posted but I figured I would chime in and give you my experiences...I always painted with solvent based HOK brand paint, but I recently have had to temporarily use water based because of smell and the location at which I am currently able to paint...I have been using folk art some, just because it's so cheap and they do have a lot of cool colors...I personally recommend the pledge floor care as a thinner, yes it is a bit hard to clean...but it helps it flow out of the airbrush so much better...I just guess when I mix, but it's something like 20% pledge 10% water...hope that helps a little 

[Chuck Young]

I would recommend buying a thinner for a brand name airbrush acrylic. I use Createx 4012 reducer with folk art paint with good success. It is made for acrylic paint and has some flow enhancers in it.  But I agree that pigment size is a big issue. It will not perform like a paint made for an airbrush. Try to get the consistency of skim milk - more or less. 

[denb]

When I use the Folk art I thin with the usual alcohol water glycerin thinner but I also pour thinned paint through cheese cloth to remove lumps. A little extra effort may save frustration later. 

[Chuck Young]

If it's lumpy .... dumpy. The smallest of clots will mess up your brush. It is not worth the trouble. Get rid of it .

[Hoosierdaddy]

Wow, I remember when I used to try and spray that crap. I will say I learned a hell of a lot about how to clean an airbrush. 90 percent of your time will be spent assembling and disassembling your brush.

[21xdc]

I use a small screen under the paint lid to avoid any lumps or clumps.   I have been only using future/pledge as a thinner about 50/50 with paint.  I recommend it.