Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

I have recently appropriated a double action air brush for my birthday and i was wondering if i could use any of the citidal paints in it (i could use tamia at a push).
Its a gravity fed airbrush operated by a compressor with a onboard airtank, and it has a micro filter attachment to remove any dust or grit from the air (apparently)
So, to put it simply, it has all the bells and whistles, but i cant use the blasted thing.
If i can use the citidal paints, is it ok to thin them with water, or do i need a specialist thinner?

Yes. You can use GW paints, and they can be thinned by water.

I don't suggest it though, Tamiya's thinner would work better(it allows for a MUCH easier way to thin out the heavy content of the GW paints)

Tip #1: Break down and clean your gun after every use (or before an extended break) RELIGIOUSLY and thoroughly. Even a wee bit of dried paint inside and problems can rapidly develop and snowball.

Tip #2: Be OVER-protective and irrationally careful about your needles. Even the slightest, teeniest, tiniest bend at the tip and it's ruined. No joke. You will have your fine paint spray turn into spatter in a heartbeat.

Tip #3: Never handle your needles by the pointy end and never, ever, ever drop them or set them down tip-first. (see #2)



Ghidorah

^ What he said. There's also an amazing tutorial in the Tutorial section. I can't remember who did it. But look for it, and heed the author's words. For he is a God of Airbrushing.

You can definitely use GW paints - but you are better off thinning with actual thinner - or pharmacy brand Isopropyl Alcohol (91-99%) and water. I've been using a 7:1 water:alcohol mix that I have premade in a spagetti sauce jar. I use a medicine dropper to add it to my airbrush mixture.

Congrats on the new AB btw...

you can also use car windscreen washer fluid for thinning paints. Even if the stuff is blue it doesn't seem to affect the colour of the paint.
BTW the Tamiya acrylic thinner is good but not cheap.

That is true the tamiya stuff is expensive and I'm not even sure that it isn't just Isopropyl Alcohol anyway... that's why I use Isopropyl Alcohol hah.

Thanks for all the replys guys, does anyone know where i can get this tamia thinner?

Try the Tamiya website. If you are getting a lot of dryspray, you might try changeing the airpresure; it can be caused by not thinning your paints enough, but also by too high an airpresure. You can get finer lines by takeing the spatter cap off the end, but be careful, as it exposes the needle a bit more. A lady showed me several years ago, a good way to clean/flush your airbrush, and that is to take a large enough container, fill it with the appropriate cleansr, and submerge the brush in it with the air attached and the paint cup removed. You then depress the trigger and cycle the solvent through the brush for a minute or so. It's handy for cleaning between color changes and seems to work pretty well in general. As far as technique, try learning from different sources, t-shirt and automotive how-to articles are all over youtube and will show you some great practice excercises as well as some cool techniques that can be applied to modeling.

I get mine from www.squadron.com

http://www.squadron.com/ItemDetails.asp?item=TM81040

I bought two of those almost 3 years ago, and I'm not even halfway done with the first bottle yet. And I airbrush quite a lot! You do want to do a bit of trial/error of figuring out the consistency, and invest in some good empty jars and pipettes for mixing/storing your more commonly used airbrushing colors.

Also Id say contact MistressofMinis, she wrote a rather lengthy tutorial on airbrushes and how to use them. Im pretty sure she knows anything you have to ask about lol

*shamelessly weighs in anytime he notices an airbrush topic* ive been off painting non wargames stuff for a little change but have recently gotten back to upgrading my old bad battlesuit paintjobs.
Yeay another AB user!

Kanluwen wrote:Yes. You can use GW paints, and they can be thinned by water.

I don't suggest it though, Tamiya's thinner would work better(it allows for a MUCH easier way to thin out the heavy content of the GW paints)

You can use darned near any type of thinner alcohol, windex, wiper fluid, actual airbrush thinner/mediums to varying degrees of success.
One of the key problems is just binding agent and compatibility which you'll have to get recommendations on or just try.
alcohol seems to be the most popular but I like breathing Windex better. Ive tried both but feel alcohol causes me some minor problems. It may also be Ive had better success with windex not eroding the under coat the way alcohol has when a flow accident has occured.

Kanluwen wrote:^ What he said. There's also an amazing tutorial in the Tutorial section. I can't remember who did it. But look for it, and heed the author's words. For he is a God of Airbrushing.

*shamelessly points to my thread* which will someday become an article when I feel ive added enough to it to justify the transfer.
http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/251253.page

please give advise questions etc for topics for the final article. Originally I was going to be quiet about my techniques but realized if I share others might as well and the rate of good airbrush painting would improve dramatically for all. just look at the early GD awards vs modrn GD's there is a world of difference in maturity across the field. Airbrushing minis has a bit of catching up to do.
http://demonwinner.free.fr/