Hello everyone…new to the forum but researched all the notes enough to figure out that the Iwata HP-C was the airbrush to get for good all-around painting, and pretty good for 1/48 scale Luftwaffe planes. I also splurged and got the Iwata Powerjet compressor with air tank…my question is…
With the paint reservoir mounted on the top of the airbrush (I’m upgrading from a bottom-feed Badger Cresendo), what is the best way to mix paint and thinner? Should I mix it in another container and pour it into the reservoir???
Powerjet was $399 at Dixieart, and I love it…such a great upgrade from the Paasche D500- the old one that didn’t have the on/off switch, regulator, or moisture trap. Took awhile saving up for it, but well worth it.
As far as paint mixing, do you mix the paint in a jar and then pour it into the reservoir with a funnel? Or mix it directly in the reservoir?
I recently bought a Iwata HP-C and a CS. Both are new to me in the sense that they are double action gravity feeds. I was use to a single action Binks Wren gun. At first I thought the cup on top would be a problem but I don’t even think about it anymore. As far as mixing goes, with the exception of color mixing, I just eyeball my paint and mix in thinner until it seems about right. I sure love my Iwata’s.
i mix my paints in the little plastic containers shown below. you can barely see the pippet lying on top of the plasic containers which i purchased at the LHS. the plastic containers can be purchased at walmart in the crafts sections for under 2 bucks. i take my sprue cutters and cut them off the tree as i need them. if you dont live near a hobby shop, raid your medicine cabinet and see if you have any eye droppers or infant medicine usually comes with a dropper. thats what i used for the longest time until i ran across the pippets at the LHS. they are very cheap as well. but always mix your paints and thinners in a separate container and transfering them to your airbrush is done easiest by an eye dropper or pippet. later.
What would work great, and I am going to buy some soon, is to buy the small 1 oz. mixing cups that Flex Coat sells for mixing epoxies for fishing rod builders.
These cups are flexible too so after you mix the paint you can squeeze the top of the cup before pouring the paint out which gives it a nice pouring spout to pour it into the airbrush color cup.
The Flex Coat mixing cups sell for around $3 or so for 100 of them which is real cheap. They look like this:
I never keep any enamel paint that I have thinned and only mix enough to cover the job I am doing. If there is a small amount left over then I just throw it out.
thats it man, im calling the EPA right now!!![:D][:D] man i save every drop i can brother. call me a cheap scape if you want. i use acrylics anyway. later.
My local drugstore actually carries the little mixing cups in the large quantities for around $3. People without a decent LHS might check there. I often times mix paint in them, but don’t plan on having any extra to have to save. If I end up having any extra, I take a piece of platic wrap and adhere it to the top with a rubber band.
Quite often when my little nephews come around to visit I buy them those little “Kinder Surprise” chocolate eggs with the toy inside. They get to keep the toy and eat the chocolate but I hang onto the plastic egg that held the toy and use the two halves for mixing in thinner before spraying. Can’t store paint in them though. they also have a smooth rounded inside surface which is easy to clean and reuse. We also call em “Yowies” here in Oz.
Saltydog, 1337, Mike V, Cbreeze, SFProps, Snowy, Tweety1, thanks to all you fellas for your responses…sounds like I have lots of ways to go, but definitely mix paint outside the resevoir, then pour it in.
Mike V, which retail stores sell those mixing cups?
If there’s not one close by, I just might go the film canister route, since those seem “bendable” to pour into the small paint reservoir on the HP-C
for the stores that sell those mixing cups, try medicine supply houses… (no du-hast jokes here) if you eat lots of tylonol or your son does, take those li’l cups. Also, a great choice is contact lens containers. i personally wear glasses, but that doesnt stop me from getting those contact stuff… Another source is old tamiya/testors/modelmaster acrylic/enamal/lacquor paint bottles. i use my tamiya ones lots for mixing… before i sold them along with my aztek a220 to a friend
yo saltydog, where do you get the full-sized tamiya paints? my LHS only has the “tamiya paint mini’s”
I don’t think any well-known store sells them, at least that brand.
You would either have to buy them online or find a tackle store that carries rod building supplies.
I have also seen them on Ebay many times before.
Some hobby shops may carry them from another company but I am not sure.
What I do is go to my local 1-hour photo shop and ask for their empty film canisters. They throw out thousands of these daily in my area, and most places are willing to give them away for FREE! I take a large tupperware container to the shop and fill it up, it’s enough to last me for years! The last time I had to re-fill my container was in 2000, and I didn’t spend a penny!
