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Thinning in the Airbrush Cup


regme
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17 minutes ago, regme said:

I recently saw a vid where the guy mix the paint and thinner in the cup of the airbrush (gravity fed).  Would this be normal practice? Even for small amounts?

 

It's not 'best practice' but I do it all the time with Vallejo Air paints. However, I always mix enamels before putting them in the airbrush.

 

David

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Hi,

 

as an addition, if you dilute it that way, you can press your finger on the nozzle. If you release air and paint, the air will escape through the pant reservoir. This will mix the paint quite nicely, especially at the bottom of your reservoir.

I an doing it sometimes with Vallejo, but I think it is no good practice.

 

Michael

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I do this as normal for Vallejo acrylics using their thinner. Never seems to matter which you put in first, the thinner always rises to the top. Needs a really good mix or the first paint to come out of the airbrush is thick. Normally I do enamels in a seperate container, mix and then pour into the cup.

 

Iain

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12 hours ago, Kendo54 said:

Cheap shot glasses is the way to go. You can get accurate measurement through a pipette and achieve the consistency that you want before committing to the airbrush cup. 

Hi

 

However,  as I found out last night don’t mix Phoenix Precision etch primer and the etch primer thinners in them as it dissolves the plastic.

 

Cheers

 

Paul

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Thinning in the cup is handy if you only want a very small amount of paint, however its not recommended for someone new to airbrushing. 

 

Until you are familiar with thinning ratios for the various types and brands I would mix in a jar or pot. 

 

If I think I'm going to need to comeback and do another coat (remember thin light coats is the key to a good finish), I'll thin a sufficient amount and keep it in a dropper bottle.

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On 13/02/2020 at 13:31, regme said:

I recently saw a vid where the guy mix the paint and thinner in the cup of the airbrush (gravity fed).  Would this be normal practice? Even for small amounts?

 

How large was the area he was airbrushing? Was he coating an O Gauge coach or weathering a Terrier buffer beam?

 

For small amounts it is the best way to go about things, especially if weathering. For large amounts it is a bit of a trial, because you will have to keep mixing more and more cups full as you progress, and probably not achieving the same consistency or (if applicable) colour.

 

If you decide to mix in the cup then the thinners always goes in first, meaning that it is not unmixed paint that reaches the nozzle first.

 

There's no reason for not using a separate bottle, of course, it's all about personal preference. Everybody will develop a system that suits themselves, what they're painting and the materials they are using. All you have to do is choose from all the differing repsonses you get!

 

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It was small area that he was doing, and the paint seemed to go a long way considering it was just a few drops.  So it got me thinking, you would use less paint with an airbrush that a brush?  Hence, would not have to mix the paint in a container before placing in the airbrush, as you would probably leave more paint in the container that what went into the airbrush.

 

I was going to use the Mr Color Aqueous and thin it 50/50 (from what I've searched).  I was going to start small, but from the advise here it might be better to go big unitl I get control of what I'm doing.

 

Well it's going to be a learning experiece, so it should only get better, right?

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The 5ml cup on my brush is plenty big enough to spray a 4mm wagon and as that's mainly what I'm painting these days, I mix in the cup. Less mess and cleaning up after. As others mentioned, thinner first, then I use a brush to put the paint in the cup and mix. Anything bigger and you might want to consider mixing a larger quantity in a separate pot and decanting to the brush.

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