Airbrushing Life Color Paints

[Greif]

I use several different brands of paints; however, Life Color paints are the ones I use most.  It took a bit of practice to learn how to airbrush them correctly.  Following is a short tutorial on how to get the best results out of this paint while airbrushing.

The paint works better stirred rather then shaken.  I have found that shaking the paint tends to leave a lot of tiny air bubbles which can effect how it sprays.  I normally stir the paint in it's bottle with a coffee stir stick.  I am a bit anal retentive about ratios so I use throw away droppers, bought in bulk from medical supply websites, to measure both paint and thinner.  By the way for thinners, I have labeled a dropper for each type of thinner I use, which cuts down on wastage of droppers.  The ratio of paint to thinner should be between 60:40 to 65:35 for best results.  Thinner then that and the paint tends to run; thicker then the prior ratios leads to a bit of a grainy finish.  Finally, I always add 2-4 drops of retarder to the mix which really cuts down on nozzle clogging when the psi is correct (see below).   

I have found that the best thinner for Life Color paints is their own brand, though Tamiya's acrylic thinners works also.  Though the paint can be thinned with distilled water, I have found that the surface tension is a bit high leading to beading and spidering problems.  Also, this paint goes down and adhears best to a primed surface.  I have never had lifting problems provided the surface has been properly cleaned before priming, primed - I use Tamiya's light grey primer - and the paint has been allowed to cure 24-48 hours before masking.  You can mask before that time and will most likely not have any problems, but I like to be certain the paint is well cured to avoid nasty surprises.  By the way, all acrylic model paints have a curing requirement, it is limited to Life Color paints.

This paint likes to be sprayed at between 15-20 psi.  Keeping that pressure allows you to control the coverage and the paint lays down very nicely.  Also I don't get much nozzle clogging at that pressure.  I get the best results by building up light layers of paint in successive coats.  Depending on the color of paint being sprayed and the surface color it takes 3-6 coats to get good coverage. 

Thats about it.  As with all things airbrush related, practice makes perfect.

Ernest       

[Mr. Bill]

Hello Ernest,

Have you always used acrylics or did you switch from enamels?  If you switched, what do you like about acrylics?  I am considering acrylics, but am hesitant to make a change.

Cheers,

Bill

[Greif]

Hi Bill, I used to use enamels but changed to acyrlics several years ago.  There are two main reasons I like acrylics; first, they dry much faster then enamels.  Second, they smell better and clean up of both my airbrushes and my normal brushes is much easier and faster.  Acrylics do take some practice to use well, especially when airbrushing.  However, if you follow the tips I posted; and they work with any acrylic paints, and you will be up to speed in no time.

Ernest

[Rokket]

Thank you!

I am a terrible acrylic man (my wife is awesome). I usually like paint that kills me with toxins and smells, at least i know it "bites in". BUT, I am anxious to try a new airbrush with acrylics, on my Graf Zeppelin. My airbrush is a Runway 13 (how could I go past the great reviews and sooooooper cheap price?). It's the pistol style, which i think will be VERY easy to use and VERY difficult to clean! But with acrylics...

The Tamiya primer is awesome!  Especially the rattlecan stuff. I doubted you could get a could thin coat from a  can, but it is amazing! I use the proper thinner for acylics, but have also used alcohol (or methylated spirits depending on where you hail from). I get mighty upset when I have to pay Euro 20 for a fist sized jug of essentially rubbing alcohol (that I can by 1 liter for about Euro 5). I think the proper thinner has some other additive, like a tiny drop of detergent or something. Also, moisture trap in air line is critical!

[GlennCauley]

Thank you for the tips, Greif!     I will be switching to LifeColor paints to paint my U-boats in future, since the WEM ColourCoats line is now gone.

[Rokket]

Probably Life Color is the way to go, but if you do like enamel, I did some mix tests with Humbrol paints years ago, they worked very well: (about 1/3 way down "Model Paints" - obviously the info on WEM is old
http://www.rokket.biz/modelsweb/rokket/u557/paint.shtml

I also found some standard equivalents from other brands, but have not tested those.

[Greif]

You are welcome Glenn, I used the DKM Lifecolor paints on my last two uboot builds and was very pleased with them.
Ernest

[OldNoob]

Anyone had experience with Createx?   Ive been using delta craft paint thinned with Golden airbrush medium but it doesn't bond very well to smooth surfaces. Createx is the only water based airbrush paint i have found locally.