thinning createx airbrush colors

[bkdent]

Hey folks, i'm kind of new here. my question is it ok to thin a whole 4oz bottle at once, or i'm i asking for trouble. I like to paint r/c car bodies. what should i use to thin createx. my dad gave me a bottle of autoair reducer/binder #4003.can i use this to thin the paint. any info will be much appreciated. Thanks in advance.

[Learning2AB]

I'm also rather new here, and don't know to much about that type of paint. But I have learned that in water based paints it is easier to add paint with an eye dropper to the water at times to get just the right consistancy.

I'm not sure if this is the same process in other paint types. But I would suggest try a little experimenting take some of the reducer and add paint by eye drop, drop by drop and "eyeball it" until you get the right consistency.

This is probably the cheapest way to experiment and get just the right consistency w/o wasting to much paint.

~ Tim

[Bahamut]

The problem I have with thining createx paints with water is that they take longer to dry and run a LOT easier. I use Windex without amonia to thin them. Then windex cuts the latex a bit better than water and it evaporates faster than water so it helps with the running problem. Without amonia is the key 'cause amonia will corrode your brush.

[Snuff]

I use mostly C-tex and It can be a real pain. The best stuff Iv'e found is Liquidtex Flow Aid. It mixes with water and is pleasant to use. For really crappy paint I foundthat about 5 drops of dish soap in 16oz. of water will thin the most stubborn paint.
It works by making the water "wetter", and by reducing the surface tension of the water. I havn't tried it on T's yet (you gotta get a good bond) but for bike tanks and helmets it is da bomb. It also gets rid of the graininess that pure water causes.
You do have to reduce your air pressure to avoid spiders.

[Kaiilla]

Snuff is right.
Soap works in general by breaking down the covalent bonds. (don't ask me what that means, I'm just quoting my Materials Engineer son) This allows the paint molecules to "slide" on each other easier. With water only it's just thinner and without a really good mixing you get microscopic "clumps"

[derkdaigler]

ok i just got registered here and im new to airbrushing but not art... any way i bought a paasche vL double action air brush and a testors piston style compressor ... i had been trying to thin my acrylic paints with mediums and water but i just cant get it to spray out of my brush. i even put the largest needle in , and the air brush is spotless. so i bought some createx ready to spray colors and it still wont shoot. am i not getting enough air pressure ?!!

[don johnson]

testors piston style compressor

that more than likely is a big part of your problem, that airbrush requires 40 to 60 psi to work correctly that compressor problay is not suppling it enough air

now if you get a gravity feed airbrush you'd problay have more luck with that compressor

use airbrush spec. paint to learn golden airbrush colors, DR PH martins, Comart

[fontgeek]

I think Don is partly correct, the compressor is probably a problem, and the gravity feed brush would take less pressure, but I have run my VL's at lower pressure than that, I've run them at 25 or so PSI.

Derk, what air pressure are you running on your compressor?
On your VL, are you using the cup, or the bottle to supply the paint?
How thick is the paint you are trying to spray? I don't mean what percentage of paint to water or reducer, but give me a comparison to catsup, skim milk, oatmeal, or something.
Have you tried spraying water through your brush?

If you plan on spraying heavier paints, or doing textile work (T-shirts, etc.), then you will need to get a bigger compressor, or a CO2 tank to spray from.

[derkdaigler]

font . i have mixed it like milk , skim milk , ketchup and i was able to shoot water through it. and it just sprays in burst . meaning that when you push the lever a burst of paint shoots out .it does not spray continuos all though air still comes out paint does not. i think that i do need more pressure. should i get a larger compressor with water trap and pressure adjustment valve and can i get set up for every thing for that in a hard ware store.?

[derkdaigler]

well folks i figured it out ... i went ahead and bought a larger compressor and fitted it with a water trap and the whole shabang now every thing works consistantly and havent seen any more problems getting the paint too shoot. Other than sometimes i have to unscrew the paint jar and hold the trigger down to get the paint to start spraying (not too sure bout that) but everythings good now..

[fontgeek]

If you have to remove the jar/bottle, it means that the vent hole on the lid of the jar is probably blocked. That hole needs to be kept open, if it gets blocked, air can't come into the bottle to displace the paint that is being sucked into the airbrush when you paint.

It's great that you got a new compressor, I'm glad that worked for you, but a couple pieces of advice.
Keep the compressor as far away from your spraying as you can. The paint contaminated air can do damage to your air compressor's intake filter, and if it gets into the compressor, it will do damage there too.
Put a 50' hose between your compressor and your work area, add a second water trap, air filter, and air regulator at the spraying end of your long hose. WIth those in line before your airbrush, they let you get the air that is getting to your airbrush nice and clean, very dry, and at a pressure you can control without having to run back and forth to the compressor itself. The long hose acts like a condensor, it lets the air that gets super heated in the compressor have a chance to cool down, and that in turn lets the steam vapors condence back to their liquid state, and that is what water traps are designed to capture. The extra filter lets you catch debris that the filter at your compressor may have missed, and it also lets you catch any flaking, peeling, etc, from the hoses themselves. That may sound odd, but as the hoses age, or get bent, folded, crushed, etc, the interior surfaces tend to crack and come apart. Keep the size of that nozzle opening in mind, all it takes is a tiny bit of gunk to block or ruin your brush or your painting, neither of which is good.
Put quick connects on all your fittings and hoses, this lets you setup or break down your rig as you need to, it also lets you reconfigure your setup without having to use wrenches. The airbrush and many other items, are made of brass, they may have chrome on them, but they are brass underneath, that brass stretches when you crank stuff on, or distorts and gets crushed when you crank stuff onto it, so putting the quick connects on your brush, your AB hoses, your big hoses, your compressor, your filter, regulator, water trap setup, lets you do the minimal amount of potential damage, and lets you do your thing without having to find the right size wrenches, pliers, plumbers tape, etc.

You can usually get all you need from that end of things at places like Home Depot, Lowes, etc., just think big. People tend to buy as small a compressor as they think they can get away with, that somehow they will cheat that extra pressure or volume out of the smaller compressor, or that they will just avoid any kinds of things that might tax the compressor, but the reality is that you are a whole lot better getting a big compressor and toning it down to meet your needs than you are trying to go the other way around. A big compressor won't have to work so hard to do what you need, and that in turn means that it will last longer, and be able to do what you ask without breaking a sweat. While the tiny compressors are cute, most aren't worth your time and frustration, There are some real cool little compressors out there, some that can do amazing work, but when you are trying to do textile painting, you need the pressure and volume to make the paint behave and to get the desired results. There are some great airbrush compressors that can meet your needs, but you pay lots of dollars for them. The difference between the AB compressor and the big ones from Home Depot and company?
I can work next to my airbrush compressors and not know they are on without having paint coming out of my brushes, they are that quiet, The big compressor... Lets just say it's a good thing to have in the other side of the house, or in it's own sound proofed shed.

Whatever you get, take care of it like your life depends upon it, big or small. Check the oil every day, empty the water traps every day when you start and end your spraying, keep it clean, and clean or change the air filter on a regular basis, especially if you have the compressor near where you are working. The easier you make your compressor's work, the less money and work it will demand from you.
Good luck, and welcome to your new addiction!

[derkdaigler]

Thanks alot man ! I realy appreciate the help and support and good info you gave me !