I have spent some time with the search engine trying to find discussions on this subject and have not found anything.
Do you mix your paint/thinner in your AB cup or do you mix it outside in a container of your choice? I have been thinking about buying disposable 1oz graduated plastic cups. My new Patriot 105 has a 1/3 oz cup. I know some weathering formulas call for 1:8 paint/thinner and some RLM colors are made from mixing various ratios of Tamiya paints and thinner. What measuring devices do you use, either inside or outside your AB cup? Eyedroppers, spoons, SWAG (scientific wild a$$ guess) method or other???
Also… I just finished reading Osprey’s Painting and Finishing Techniques by Gary Edmunson. He promotes the idea of covering the bottom side of a light painted fuselage with clear coat or Future prior to beginning the top side of the top coat on the fuselage. He then sprays the top with Future, then covers the whole shebang with dull coat. Is this standard practice?
I just got an Iwata Gravity AB a few months ago,and one of the things I really enjoy is mixing right in the cup,much easier cleanup for me.I currently use a plastic eye dropper,but plan on grabbing the disposable ones.The Vallejo and Mig stuff I use comes in the eye-dropper bottle which is great.
Your question about weathering formulas,I don’t shoot them,I would apply with a brush.RLM Colors are available pre-mixed from Modelmaster and Vallejo.
That’s just me,i’m sure others will chime in with their thoughts
I mix everything in the airbrush. Thinner first and then add paint a little at a time until it sprays well. You will always get the right thinner/paint ratio this way. If you are mixing for color you may want to do that outside the airbrush if it’s going to require more than one cup of paint, and then do as above.
If its a stock color I mix in the airbrush. A custom color I mix out of the airbrush in a large container. I don’t trust myself being able to get an exact color again. To many variables that might cause a slight color difference.
I too mix my paint in the cup (Iwata gravity feed) and put a few drops of thinner in first followed by a few drops of the color and then stir with a toothpick. I keep all of my thinners in eye-dropper bottles so transfer is easy. For Tamiya paint and similar non-dropper bottles I utilize a glass eye-dropper and immediately clean it out with tap water. For Vallejo and AK bottles the eye-dropper feature of the bottle makes transfer a bit easier/cleaner.
If I am modulating (lighter or darker shades of the original color) than I still mix in the cup – just add a drop of black or white depending on the direction I’m going. If I am mixing to a particular shade or a totally new color I will mix outside the cup in a painting pallet and then mix in the cup per my technique above: thinner first then transfer the mixed color to the cup with an eye-dropper and a final stir with a toothpick.
I bought a Patriot back in the summer. I do about the same as Mistdude. Straight colors go in the brush, mixes are done outside. That way if I mess up I can dump out the mix and not have to clean gunk out of the brush. If I mix it outside I use a thimble for small batches or a new, empty glass bottle for large batches that I will use on later painting sessions.
Always thin / mix into an empty Tamiya jar or the likes, transferring into it with an oral syringe or pipette & then pouring into the cup.
I find that I’m not particularly good at judging by eye, especially when it comes to the awkward colours that typically require some tweaking from the regular ratio, 60/40, 70/30 or whatever are easier done with 6ml of this & 4 ml of that. I wouldn’t be able to discriminate between 50/50 & 60/40 in the cup…
I find that when I try mixing it in the brush, a clump of pigment always seem to find a nook or cranny to nestle in which I can’t reach to fully integrate it with the thinner. Through trial and error, I’ve learned to always mix outside.
For mixing colors, one help is to pick up a book on beginning oil or acrylic painting (artist-like). Many of these books have good chapters on mixing colors, and use of a color wheel.