build and it is all because of the Airbrushing. I am trying to use the acrylic paint that came with the kit (Revell). My question is does anyone use Revell acrylic for airbrushing?, I am open to trying other paints however have not been able to match the colour well enough at this point. Photo attached, I think I am nearly there with the consistency however I am either too thick clogging up my airbrush or too thin to get a good coat. Any advice or suggestions are welcome.
Can’t say I have much experience with the Revell paints but they appear to be water-based. Although this implies thinning with water, Revell do have a proprietary thinner called MIX, on which their bottle describes the ratios as follows:
You may find their thinner provides better results than thinning with water, otherwise as a general rule for airbrushing you’re aiming to load your airbrush with a product that has the consistency of milk.
A couple of other things I find help:
A pipette or plastic syringe is a great way to ensure your ratios are consistent, so you can trial-and-error your way to the optimal mix ratio and then lock in on what works.
If you’ve been mixing directly inside your airbrush paint cup, add thinner to the cup before the paint so that the thicker product doesn’t block things from the outset. Run the airbrush with your finger over the nozzle, which will force air back into the cup and mix your paint and thinner
If you’ve had a few attempts and failures getting your airbrush to run, it probably needs a disassembly and clean. The cleaning brushes that come with an airbrush usually won’t help with the nozzle, so you might need a proper nozzle spike to get in and clear it out
Hi @pr154, really appreciate the feedback, I have been trying the Vallejo thinner, I will try and get my hands on some of the Revell Mix. I am getting mixed results with blockages in the Sparmax 3, I will pull it apart and have another go. I only had the small tubs of Revell paint that came with the kit so very little information on them. Once again really appreciate the time you took to reply. Happy Modelling.
I started out with Revell too and… well it almost made me give up. I switched to Tamiya, instead.
Looking back, the thing with Revell Aqua paints is that they are incredibly thick indeed. You have to stir the pot thoroughly before thinning the desired amount a lot. The 4:1 in pr154’s attached picture doesn’t sound outlandish as a base ratio! Tapwater can work, distilled would be better, Mix is good because it comes with retarder in it, helping a lot with clogging due to drying in the nozzle and cup.
I’d also say that “too thin” is far less of an issue than too thick. We are, after all, supposed to build a coat in layers, too thin just means you need a bit more layers. On the other hand, too thick can fill up the details, clog everything, make the paint run, etc.
Sadly I’m not confident enough myself to recommend PSI or paint flow volume… I still can’t quite grasp the subtlety!
But to be honest, I think Revell paints tend to be best used brushed instead of sprayed.
@DrKoin, thanks for the feedback… frustrating to say the least… I won’t be giving up however it has slowed my progress and puts doubt in my mind! Well back to the paint bench and try some stuff
