I realize this was in a recent issue of FSM, but does anyone know of any other ways to airbrush acrylic craft paint? I can’t seem to find the right things at my local Michael’s to do it the way the article tells me to. Could I just thin the paint with water and/or alcohol?
I think I know what article you’re talking about, adding in a hardner and a flow control agent to make it ‘hobby paint’. Adding in water may help I wouldn’t use alcohol because it’ll make it dry out faster and it can clog your airbrush.
I bought some cheap paint like that and used it to paint a scenic base, it went through my airbrush alright with a little clogging but it took a really long time to dry like 1hr+ compared to the 10 min drying time of most hobby paints. If you have an airbrush with a large nozzle it should go through with just a little water but I wouldn’t put it through a detailing airbrush.
You can thin it with a water/alcohol mixture, but retardant is a useful additive. Acrylics dry VERY rapidly and can lead to clogging of airbrush, which is very hard to clean up. When I had that problem folks said I should use the retardant, though I have not picked up any yet.
I’ve been ABing craft acrylics quite a lot recently. In my experience, while you can thin with water, using only water or water/alcohol as a thinner greatly reduces the adhesive properties of the paint - craft acrylics seem to need quite a bit of thinning. I prefer Airbrush Medium with couple drops of GAC200 added to the mix and it works well for me. If you can’t find either the ABmedium or GAC200 in your local Michaels (it’s hit or miss in my nearest Michaels) then thin it with Future. I’ve had good luck with this and it adheres well. ‘Future’ or ‘Pledge with Future shine’ or whatever it’s called now should be available nearby. I clean the nozzle cap with Windex.