Today I learned that mixing your paint, thinner, and retarder before you put it in your airbrush makes the paint behave way better than if you try to mix it all in your airbrush cup.
Please share something you learned today.
Our ten year old grandson was really excited to use an airbrush for the first time today, and he took to it very well, learning to hold it correctly, use the double action to (sort-of) control the paint flow and to put it down upright in the holder. What I learned again today is what a joy it is to teach a child a new skill.
I hear ya. The day I stop learning is the day I die.
I keep hearing this over the years and so far have been too lazy to try it. I bought some little miniature mixing cups last fall on somebody’s recommendation. They are so small I need to buy a microscope to try to use them.
Thanks for the feedback, though. Might be the comment that actually makes me give it a try. Who knows.
I use the little paper cups that are water cooler sized, about 2 oz. The downside is that paint gets wasted, but it really does help with consistency.
A good tip I picked up here from former poster DoogsATX is to use tattoo ink cups. They come in three sizes, the largest of which (5 ml.?) is perfect for my typical airbrush sessions. They also come in handy for hand brushing small amounts of paint for details, touch-ups, etc. I drilled a series of holes in a scrap of wood to keep them stable on the bench. Bought them super cheap in bulk on eBay.
Amen, brother! I’ve been saying that for a lot of years.
Mixing in the AB cup seems it would be faster and more convenient, but I never tried it because I was worried that it could lead to contamination of the mixture, from the object doing the stirring and may lead to incomplete blending.
I saved some of my emptied Testors glass bottles for mixing, my Badger electric mixer fits well in the bottles, I feel assured that gives me a thorough blending of all of the ingredients. I’m not as confident that mixing in the AB cup will have the same degree of blending.
I use pipettes for the transfer of mixed paint to the AB cup, much neater and controllable. The glass bottles clean up very quickly when finished.
I tend to use highly thinned acrylic paint for spraying, so I don’t see much in the way of wasted paint, as there is nothing much left in the mixing bottles, just a film.
Patrick
I’ve tried pre-mixing a couple of times but I just can’t stand to see the wasted paint I always end up with so I still mix in the brush. I’ve never had an issue with paint not being properly mixed I just make sure I spray a bit on a paper towel first until I have a good even flow.
I’m gonna have to give those a go. I’m currently using a repurposed stainless sauce cup like what they serve extra ranch dressing in at restaurants, it’s way too large and wastes so much paint
If I need something to mix paint it I go to the hobby store and hit up the photo development register and just ask for some film containers. The people using film bring in their exposed film and the containers get thrown into a bag for later disposal. They are happy to get rid of them and usually will give you as many as you want, lids and all. Last year I ended up with a grocery paper bag full. I took what I wanted and took the rest to Modelpalooza and gave them to anybody any builders who wanted some. They were gone before lunch.
Hi Tick, a question. Do you use a suction feed AB with the external cup, like a Paasche H or VL? If so, then when mixing in the cup you would be assured of a thorough blending. I use only gravity feed AB’s, the needle prevents my stirring in the cup, if I used an AB with the external cup I would mix as you do.
Patrick
I’m the same way… I put thinner first then paint and add the retarder if needed. Then give it a stir with one of those cheap testors brushes, spray out what was in the needle and I’m good to go.