Why is my airbrush spitting out cobwebs?!
That was crazy! Kinda cool actually but it's going to clog up my air filter at this rate. Hope I
didn't ruin my brush! I just got it! This was with "Mr. Color #90 - Shine Silver" Acrylic paint. Maybe I thinned it with the wrong stuff? I have lacquer and enamel thinners but no acrylic so I used the lacquer. Bad call?
Ugh. Now the trails and tribulations of a rookie airbrusher begin.
didn't ruin my brush! I just got it! This was with "Mr. Color #90 - Shine Silver" Acrylic paint. Maybe I thinned it with the wrong stuff? I have lacquer and enamel thinners but no acrylic so I used the lacquer. Bad call?
Ugh. Now the trails and tribulations of a rookie airbrusher begin.
Anyway here's the current pose for my EE. I'm working on making this pose the 'standard' one. The Sinanju would make a great toy! There's so much you can do with it! Too bad I'm always concerned about the paint job and stability. Otherwise I could have even more fun with it than I do now!
wow, neat effect, but I'm going to say that using a thinner that's for a different paint type pr obably didn't help?
ReplyDeletewow.. didnt know that acrylic paint mixed with lacquer thinner produced cobwebs D:... hope that it didnt ruin ur airbrush..
ReplyDeleteYeah using a thinner for different type of paint might a bad idea, I didnt use Acrylic paints yet so I dont have Acrylic Thinner.. only use Gaianotes Lacquer paint and Tamiya Enamel paints... Lacquer I used My Hobby Leveling Thinner or Mr Color Leveling thinner.. and Enamel I just use generic lighter fuel (Zippo)..
might try Tamiya Acrylic Thinner (Tamiya X-20A thinner)
Acrylic paint thinned with certain Lacquer thinner is okay (but some lacquer thinner lacks the specific composition to thin acrylic properly), but is always best to use acrylic thinner.
ReplyDeleteIf the result of your mixture is the spidey effect, then I would suggest you to try thinning your paint a bit more (seems your paint is a bit thick). Whats your paint ratio right now? I believe using more thinner in your case would do the trick. But clean your airbrush thorougly first, flush out the brush with lacquer thinner should be good enough.
Adding some retarder might help. It's producing cobwebs cause it's drying the instant it comes out the airbrush
ReplyDeleteSpider webs means the paint is drying before it hits the surface of the surface you are painting. Since you've already indicated you were using the wrong thinning agent, you've already found the source of your problem.
ReplyDeleteEnamels thin with enamel thinner, lighter fluid
Acrylics thin with water/alcohol/windex
Lacquers thin with lacquer thinner
You must always use the right type of thinner with the the type of paint.
thanks for the comments everyone. i admit that i didnt do things properly when i did this. but kinda glad i did at the same time just to see what happens.
ReplyDeletei'm going to trying thinning the acrylics with water and mixing it up properly in the paint vial before spraying.
i dont know what retarder is but i think im going to try and go for the cheapest solution. i've already bought so many things already!
G.G. i dont really have a specific ratio! i just eyeball it really. i try to get it 'watery' haha. but yeah... getting the proper thinner would be probably be best... and how expensive could it be? i already have the other two... might as well finish off the set.
thanks for the assist everyone
Milky is the term I read used often for ideal consistency. Bb retarder is generally for lacquers. Stop mixing lacquer products with acrylics and you will be fine.
ReplyDeleteRecommended reading:
http://www.hobbyfanatics.com/index.php?/topic/16132-can-retarder-be-pre-mixed-with-acrylics/
Also, I recommend you find a good tutorial on taking apart, soaking, and cleaning your AB quick smart. Fichtenfoo had one I believe. Gamera probably has one too. Just be careful not to soak the o-ring in solvent.
You should probably take the time to search out and read a couple of basic ABing tutorials as well. I've had my AB for nearly a year, never used it, and could have told you what spidering was and not to mix lacquer, acrylic, and enamel products. ;)
I'm pretty sure I've posted a good AB tutorial in a comment here one time...?
The Mr. Hobby line of paints don't act well with most thinners. The only one I have used with any success was Mr. Color Leveling thinner, and it produced flawless results. I usually spray at 8-15psi and thin to the consistency of skim milk.
ReplyDeletetonzo - thanks for that and im sure you have posted a link on that before. i think it might be a good idea for me to start to archive links that people are suggesting just to have it as a resource for later. i didnt know that you had an airbrush? you have it but dont use it? whats going on there?! just cant be bothered?
ReplyDeletedubrog - mr color leveling thinner was good with mr color acrylics? ok i'll try and keep that in mind. thanks for the advice.
seems like milky is the term of choice for this. alright i'll keep that in mind guys. thanks.
Sorry, the leveling thinner is for the Mr. Hobby line, Gunze also makes the "Aqueous" line of paint, and for that I use the "Aqueous" thinner. I haven't used the aqueous line enough to experiment with anything else as they are expensive. If it truly is acrylic, 71% isopropyl should work well, just keep the pressure low so you don't get tip dry. I hate tip dry.
ReplyDeleteI got this recipie for home made acrylic thinner from a guy at my local hobby shop who used to build models professionally. Try 8 oz water, 8oz isopropyl alcohol and just a dash of dish soap (like Dawn or Palmolive). Mix it up with the acrylic paint to a milky consitancy. It works just fine with Tamiya acrylic and it costs less if you make it in big batches than buying their X-20A thinner (though I keep some handy). Spray at around 13 psi and you should be good. If you keep getting cobwebs, you might want to add another drop or two of dish soap as that keeps the paint from drying when it hits the air.
ReplyDeletewhoo lots of options! thanks! kinda makes me wonder if i should even bother using this paint if its such a pain in the butt
ReplyDelete