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Hey guys. I just bought an airbrush and a compressor, but I know next to nothing on the subject. I mostly got it for quick basecoating without having to get aerosol (or lacquered aerosol) paints. But I've run into the issue of trying to dillute the paint well enough for the application... I was goofing around the first night I got it and it was at first too thick for the vaccum to spray, and then it was so thin when applied it went on like a wash. What's a good dilution ratio for GW or Vallejo paints in an airbrush? And is it better to use water or denatured alcohol? Any other newbworthy tips for me would be awesome as well.

I mix paint and windex to a 50/50 ratio.

Windex? Wouldn't that deteriorate the quality of the paint, or the dye in the windex affect the color?

EDIT: And what's your beef with BattleFoam? I bought one case from them and I have mixed feelings. I guess more good than bad, but it's definitely not a foolproof case.

Yeah you can use Windex apparently, many folks use it here on the forums. I use an alcohol/water mix or proper Airbrush Medium. AB medium is the best because it doesn't dehydrate as fast as windex or alcohol.

As for thinning, you really almost can't thin it too much. Some paints won't hold well to extreme thinning, but your AB can handle those that can. There are a lot of factors to consider, thus requiring lots of practice.

What pressure are you spraying at? ...how far are you from the model? How much paint are you allowing to flow? ...I assume you have dual-action brush right?

Woah. Woah... Uh... I dunno?

Heh ok, well what AB and what compressor do you have for starters?

1.) You should know what PSI you are spraying at, because you will need to adjust it. There should be a adjuster thing on your compressor with a valve. If not, you can get one - I got one from harborfreight for like $8 that included a moisture trap. You want around 25psi normally, and might want to tone it down to as low as 10-15 for some things - your airbrush manual will have more accurate numbers for your specific rig.

2.) You should be around 6-8 inches when baseboating at full pressure.

3.) single action airbrushes have a trigger that allows for less or more paint and only moves back and forth. Dual action allow for the previous, as well as for adjusting the airflow: the trigger goes back and forth as well as slightly up and down. You can press down slightly and pull back all the way for a gentle but wide spray, or press down all the way and pull back only a little for a strong thin spray. Dual actions take more practice.

It's a Central Pneumatic Professional airbrish with compressor. The instruction manual's specs do not say how much out-flow PSI is, just that is regulates the compressor's tank between 42 and 55 PSI. It does press down and back, for air release and then atomization. there is a needle for additional adjustment... tough the degree is incredibly fine, apparently.

Well for one thing 42-55 psi is going to be too high.

Does your compressor have a moisture trap with air bleeder? ...or some other method of adjusting the psi level?

If yes, bring it down to the 15-20 psi range.

It does have a moisture trap, yes. I am not sure how to adjust the pressure though

The moisture trap should have a nob on it that allows you do open the valve and let the moisture out.

If your airbrush is dual-action, which I'm guessing it is... you press the button down for air, and pull it back for paint right?

Turn on your compressor, depress only the air on your airbrush, now while holding the air, open the bleeder valve on your moisture trap slowly until the gauge needle comes to about 15-20psi. It might do a lot of hissing and pissing but you will have a good pressure to start airbrushing at.

I'll give it a shot. Thank you.