First time venturing over here to the airbrush forum, so I think I’m in the right place.
I’m working on a Bf-109E and I’m painting it with Gunze Aqueous paints. My two questions are these:
I tried using the Mr. Color thinner, but even when I mixed it at a ration of 3:1 paint to thinner, it still seemed too thin and runny when I applied it to the model. Are the Gunze paints already pre-thinned enough to shoot through the airbrush? Or should I try mixing them with either water or the Gunze clear?
Also, I am spraying at around 8 to 10 psi with a Badger 360 airbrush. Is there any reason why that would be too much PSI as the paint spiders like crazy whenever I try it.
Thanks in advance for any thoughts and suggestions.
Jason I use Gunze acrylics almost exclusively, with a 50/50 paint to thinner ratio, spraying at around 15-20 PSI.
Best bet is to play around with your mixes, to find a ratio that works for you and your A/B. Some of the Gunze acrylics require extra thinning to spray properly, Rust being a good example, but I’ve never had a issue with any of the Luftwaffe colours that you’ll be using on your 109.
There is really no such thing as “Pre Thinned” paint. What starts out as “Pre thinned” is likely to be “Not Thinned” after a couple of months.
The ONLY reason to thin paint for airbrushing is to get it to flow at a desired pressure. If it will spray right from the bottle at the pressure you want then it doesn’t need to be thinned. If it won’t spray at a particular pressure then it does need to be thinned. Any time you thin the paint you are reducing its ability to provide coverage, so if it doesn’t need to be thinned don’t thin it.
I spray a lot in the 8-10 psi range and the paint does have to be somewhat thin to spray properly at that low pressure.
Dont use Mr Color Thinner to thin Gunze acqueous hobby colors. This thinner is made for the other line of Gunze paints (I dont remember the name, I think it is lacquer). You can use as thinner:
ethyl alcohol, isopropyl alcohol, a mix of those with water or
(which I find the best), Tamiya acrylic thinner.
This one works very well for me for standard jobs. I use a ratio
of 50-50 paint to thinner. For weathering, I thin with isopropyl alcohol to a ratio of around 80% thinner.
Where on the site do you find the Gunze Sangyo paint? I looked all over and couldn’t find it and when I used the search function they said Sorry! no items match your criteria. Narrow down your request and try again.
I like G/S paints. I use about 20/25lbs psi. I’ve been using a mix from the magazine about a year back 50/50 Rubbing alcohol and denatured alcohol(shelac thinner). Thats mixed around 50/50 or 60/40, seems to work great good smooth flow and smooth surface. I also primer with Floquil, so that slightly etches into the plastic. Makes a good bond and an even surface to paint on. I had peeling problems before. even after cleaning the surface. I have found, KEEP the brush clean! For me Acylics like to bond to metel and hind in dark places. The thinner mix I use is also great for cleaning. Yes the denatured alcohol defeats the green friendly nature of acylics, as in chemistry and life water and alcohol do not mix. My two cents on your delema. Lots of good advise from others here. Try them all. Try the ones you can. Let us see the results. Where to get them try also on the web Brookhurst hobbies, I know the store carries them. If you know what you want. drop an e-mail to them, ask them and they should give to and idea or even a quote. With a shot.
Go to the search option. From the drop-down menu where it says ‘type’, select ‘paints/thinners’, then from the ‘manufacturers’ drop-down menu, select the option ‘gunze-sangyo from Japan’.