Thinning paint?

Modeling Subjects Armor
1

Hi guys, I have some hobby color paint and need to know if I need to thin it out for airbrushing.

Thanks, Anthony

2

I tried it without any thinner once and I didn’t particularly like it. I thinned it with some Tamiya thinner and it worked better.

3

what ratio did you add the thiner?

4

Ah…Anthony! What do you mean by ‘hobby color paint’? What kind of paint? Which brand?

Glenn

5

Gunze Sangyo Hobby Color

6

Oh boy, good question. I’d say around 40% thinner to 60% paint. Have you tried asking in the painting forum? Lots of very knowledgeable people there.

7

I usually do a 50/50 ratio for a base coat. For camo I use a 40/60 pait/thinner

8

Antony i think you should try the ratios as mentioned above and then test spray for the results you want. Air pressure can make a big difference also.

9

I use a 50 / 50 mixture with my Humbrol paints , ( it works well , for most enamels ) , and it works great , but I always do a " test shot " before painting the model .
Frank
" PERSEVERANCE "

10

If you’re using Tamiya, then you can shoot straight out of the bottle. Never used Gunze, but they look very similar. However, thinning is still better. I tend to thin the paint in a 2:1 paint to thinner ratio.

11

I tried airbrushing Tamiya straight out of the bottle, and a little blob of paint accumulated on the tip, and caused splatters. It was well mixed, so I know that wasn’t the problem. I went back to thinning.

12

Listen Anthony,

It seems as if you’re just get into the idea of airbrushing model paints and now after all this information…your head might be spinning…trying to figure out what everyone is talking about.

The bottom line is that almost every model paint be it enamel or acrylic needs to be thinned before airbrushing it.

The key is what do you thin it with and how much thinner do you use?

To start you can use the thinner recommended by the company…acrylic thinner for acrylic paints and enamel thinner for enamels.

Add thinner a bit at a time and see your results…Too much and your paint drips…and too little and the paint gets clogged in the brush…You’re mix should look like milk when it’s thinned well.

Try using a dropper at first until you get the hang of it…If you put 10 drop fulls of paint then you might thin it with 3 or 4 drops of thinner…the 40-60% ratio mentioned above…Once you put too much…you’re into possibly wasting paint

So take your time…practice on something…and experiment until you get the right mix…It takes a little time…

Take care,
Tank