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Made in ca
Bounding Assault Marine





Vancouver, BC, Canada

I've seen some airbrushing videos where thay talk about using airbrush flow improver, sometimes en lieu of thinner. It's my understanding that the kinds of flo-aids that you get from the art store for use with acrylics can comprimise the bond and result in the paint not sticking as well. These types tend to be "soapy" tho I've found, and there's no way I can see that that would work in an airbrush.

Does airbrush flow improver cause the paint not to stick as well? If not, does it work well as a flow-aid when brushing paints on?

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2016/08/29 01:58:43


   
Made in us
Three Color Minimum





Denver, CO

I have used Flo-Aid (the standard Liquitex stuff that's found in art stores) since the first day I started painting minis. It's kept in a dropper bottle and diluted 1 part Flo-Aid to 10 parts water. Because of the dilution ratio, I've only ever bought one bottle and that was six or seven years ago. It works very well with a brush and just as well with an airbrush. In fact, it's the first thing I add to all paints to thin them (the second being generic acrylic airbrush thinner for when the paint starts to break apart and the third being slo-dri medium but that's only for cranky paints in specific circumstances). I've never noticed any problems with adhesion and it's been used on every single model I've ever painted.

The proper term for Flo-Aid is a surfactant, meaning it reduces surface tension. It makes water wetter, if that makes sense. For airbrushing purposes it makes the paint flow easier, smoother, and at lower PSI. It also reduces tip-dry. It will have zero impact upon adhesion.

Use it. It works very well and its cheap. Win-win.



“I do not know anything about Art with a capital A. What I do know about is my art. Because it concerns me. I do not speak for others. So I do not speak for things which profess to speak for others. My art, however, speaks for me. It lights my way.”
— Mark Z. Danielewski
 
   
Made in cn
Longtime Dakkanaut




Indiana

Awesome!! I have been havi problems with my airbrush paints coming out clean, this will be most helpful

People who stopped buying GW but wont stop bitching about it are the vegans of warhammer

My Deathwatch army project thread  
   
Made in au
Grizzled Space Wolves Great Wolf





Vallejo's Flow Improver actually adds some bite to the paint, as in, it's somewhat of a solvent that gently dissolves some of the underlying paint. So no, it doesn't reduce adhesion, if anything it improves it vs. using water.

I still use Vallejo Airbrush Thinner as my primary thinner for airbrushing, but if a paint is being troublesome and not spraying smoothly, I might also add a drop of the Flow Improver.

This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 2016/08/29 04:35:02


 
   
Made in ca
Bounding Assault Marine





Vancouver, BC, Canada

AllSeeingSkink wrote:
Vallejo's Flow Improver actually adds some bite to the paint, as in, it's somewhat of a solvent that gently dissolves some of the underlying paint. So no, it doesn't reduce adhesion, if anything it improves it vs. using water.

I still use Vallejo Airbrush Thinner as my primary thinner for airbrushing, but if a paint is being troublesome and not spraying smoothly, I might also add a drop of the Flow Improver.



Does this mean it's ill advised to use it with a brush? will the bite of the flow improver combined with the friction of the brush lift the paint below?



Automatically Appended Next Post:
 Nodri wrote:
I have used Flo-Aid (the standard Liquitex stuff that's found in art stores) since the first day I started painting minis. It's kept in a dropper bottle and diluted 1 part Flo-Aid to 10 parts water. Because of the dilution ratio, I've only ever bought one bottle and that was six or seven years ago. It works very well with a brush and just as well with an airbrush. In fact, it's the first thing I add to all paints to thin them (the second being generic acrylic airbrush thinner for when the paint starts to break apart and the third being slo-dri medium but that's only for cranky paints in specific circumstances). I've never noticed any problems with adhesion and it's been used on every single model I've ever painted.

The proper term for Flo-Aid is a surfactant, meaning it reduces surface tension. It makes water wetter, if that makes sense. For airbrushing purposes it makes the paint flow easier, smoother, and at lower PSI. It also reduces tip-dry. It will have zero impact upon adhesion.

Use it. It works very well and its cheap. Win-win.




That's interesting, I have some liquitex I've mixed at 10;1 and it gets really bubbly when I shake it up. I would have thought it'd get all sudsy coming out of an airbrush.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2016/08/29 07:43:24


   
Made in au
Grizzled Space Wolves Great Wolf





 Weboflies wrote:
AllSeeingSkink wrote:
Vallejo's Flow Improver actually adds some bite to the paint, as in, it's somewhat of a solvent that gently dissolves some of the underlying paint. So no, it doesn't reduce adhesion, if anything it improves it vs. using water.

I still use Vallejo Airbrush Thinner as my primary thinner for airbrushing, but if a paint is being troublesome and not spraying smoothly, I might also add a drop of the Flow Improver.



Does this mean it's ill advised to use it with a brush? will the bite of the flow improver combined with the friction of the brush lift the paint below?
Nah it's not that bad, you can safely hairy brush paint with it. But if you're like me and don't often clean old paint off your palette you might find the flow improver will start lifting the old dried paint off you palette


Automatically Appended Next Post:
 Weboflies wrote:
That's interesting, I have some liquitex I've mixed at 10;1 and it gets really bubbly when I shake it up. I would have thought it'd get all sudsy coming out of an airbrush.
The bubbles usually burst before they reach your nozzle, even if they didn't I don't really imagine it'd be much of a problem as the airbrush will break down any froth when it atomises the paint.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2016/08/29 07:53:30


 
   
Made in us
Pestilent Plague Marine with Blight Grenade





Chicago

I use Vallejo Flow Improver and I love the stuff!

 
   
Made in us
Librarian with Freaky Familiar






I personally use Vallejo airbrush thinner for all my painting not just air brush. its very good for thinning down paints as it thins it but most importantly, it keeps the paint sticking to the model. If you thin down the same paint to roughly the same viscosity, one with water, one with thinner, you will notice the water thinned ones tends to pull and not stick to the model.

That said, no matter what you are using if you thin to much it will do this. I do a one to one mix and it works great, need to go over a few times in order to get every thing i need to cover though.

To many unpainted models to count. 
   
Made in us
Krazed Killa Kan





Denver, Colorado

I also use the flow improver, and haven't had any issues with paint sticking but it does seem to help a ton with keeping the paint flowing through the airbrush. highly recommend!

"Hope is the first step on the road to disappointment." Words to live by. 
   
 
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