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Which paint brand for Airbrushing


Howlindawg

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Hi All,

I've taken the plunge and have ordered an Airbrush and Compressor.

I now have to decide what paint to use while I'm learning to use this new tool.

I'd prefer to stick with a single brand to avoid any potential compatibility issues between paints, thinners and cleaners.

I'd also prefer a brand that's reasonably readily available in Europe.

I'll be spraying in a shed, rather than in the house, and have an extractor so strong smells aren't necessarily a deal breaker.

Ease of use for a beginner and ease of clean up are high on my priority list.

So what's your recommendation for primers, clear coats and colours?

Is Vallejo a solid choice or should I be looking elsewhere?

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Vallejo is IMHO a good choice, although acrylics are in my experience a bit more difficult to spray right compared to enamels. On the other hand acrylics can be cleaned very easily and quickly. As every acrylic paint they don't stick well to bare plastic, better use a primer first. As I only use primers in spray cans I can't help with a good airbrushable primer

Personally I'd rate the Tamiya and Gunze paints as the best for beginners, they spray beautifully when thinned with the right product, don't dry as fast as water based acrylics ( like Vallejo) and for this reason don't dry on the tip of the airbrush while spraying. At the same time they dry faster than enamels and are not as smelly (not an issue in this case but many rate this aspect as important). The main downside is that they are not easy to use with a hairy stick, if you want to use one brand of paint only this may be a problem. Gunzes are IMHO even better than Tamiyas and are available in several tints matched to the original colours. Most Tamiya paints aren't really matched and many camo schemes require mixing

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Well it partly depends on your subjects.

I'm a fan of Vallejo and they make good starter paints, they're true water based and easy to clean out of your airbrush but their colour matches are generally woeful! And also vallejo paints are quite delicate until you get a varnish layer on top.

Some people love Tamiya, they're lacquer based acrylics so you might get smells from using them, dependent on the thinners and how you clean your airbrush. They go on beautifully and the colour matches are better than Vallejo.

Gunze Sangyo are good paints as well (similar to tamiya) but can be harder to get hold of.

Primers? Again, it'll depend on your subjects, a car body can be can sprayed, a 700th ship would need something with finer control. For airbrushing, Stynlrez is the primer in fashion atm but it may be wise to steer clear for a beginner. I use Hycote plastic primer spray cans most of the time.

Clear coats? I use Aquagloss, Vallejo varnishes and Winsor & Newton Galleria matt and gloss (in the yellow bottles).

see here for Galleria:

http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234983376-acrylic-varnish-matt

Neil

Edited by Foghorn Leghorn
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Thanks for the prompts reply.

I've heard nothing but go​od reports about the Gunze products but I couldn't find a source for them other than eBay.

Are there UK / European stockists?

Brian at the Hobby Den which is in Kildare town has started stocking a good range of the Gunze/Mr Hobby paints and they are superb. I would recommend thinning them with their own brand Mr Levelling Thinner, I've had superb results with this.

Actually Brian is really helpful and I think runs beginner airbrush classes so I would recommend if you can calling into his shop and you will find all you need.

I also use the Mr Paint range with sounds similar but is in fact a Slovakian brand with a fantastic range of colours, and they are ready to airbrush without thinning (and do so beautifully).

I get them directly from their website and I find on average it takes a week to get them from Slovakia to Dublin via my local Parcel Motel. Feel free to PM me if you need more info!

Ronan

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I'd second Vallejo Model Air - easy to use. Just watch the colour matches in the sets; it's probably best to buy the ones you need separately. Their cleaner is also better than others I've tried (as you'd expect).

I use Stynylrez primers now - great to spray, great finish too and they dry really quickly. Again you'll find their cleaner is better with their paint than other (cheaper) brands.

HTH

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If you don't mind occasionally mixing colours, I would recommend Tamiya thinned with Mr. Color Leveling Thinners. As the thinners are lacquer-based, they do hang on tight, and obviate the need for primers. They also give the most incredibly smooth finish. I've taken to using Tamiya X-1 (gloss black) thinned this way as a primer for natural metal finishes such as Vallejo Metal Color, and the results are superb.

As for clear coats, Tamiya X-22 (gloss clear), again thinned with MCLT, dries to a glass-smooth finish, and is as hard as nails. For a flat finish, either Vallejo matte varnish, or Winsor & Newton Galeria matt varnish, sprayed cut 40/60 with 70% IPA.

For hand painting interiors and details, Vallejo Model Color thinned with distilled water over a matte primed surface (you can prime using Tamiya paint, as above) is pretty well unbeatable.

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Thanks for all the replies everyone, there's lots of great information there.

For the moment I'd rather go with a brand that doesn't require me to mix colours to get a decent match.

Just being able to reach onto a shelf an grab the colour I need is part of the attraction of the Humbrol enamels I currently use.

Brian at the Hobby Den which is in Kildare town has started stocking a good range of the Gunze/Mr Hobby paints and they are superb. I would recommend thinning them with their own brand Mr Levelling Thinner, I've had superb results with this.

Thanks Ronan, I had absolutely no idea that shop existed. It's only about 45 mins from me so definitely worth investigating.

It sounds like trying either/both the Vallejo and Gunze Mr Hobby systems would be a good place to start so I'll explore those options initially.

For the Humbrol Enamels that I currently have; Is it worth considering the option of spraying these (at least while my current supply lasts) or is that more hassle than it's worth?

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I am a beginner with airbrushing. I have been using Vallejo model air as it is meant for airbrushing but I have been having trouble with it drying on the tip every 30 seconds. Have tried adding more thinner, changing pressures and mixing in drying retarders etc. I can get it to work sometimes but it's a lot of messing and it was starting to put me off using my airbrush.

At the weekend I went on a beginners airbrushing course at my LMS. We used Gunze Mr Color paints with Mr Color Levelling thinner. The session was from 10:30am until 3pm and I didn't have a single problem with the paint drying.

As a result I am now going to start investing in some Gunze paints as it was so nice to use.

Once I get better at airbrushing I may go back to the Model Air as I have bought a few of the sets.

As a beginner I would seriously recommend the Gunze paint first, then the Tamiya paints and last the Vallejo Model Air

Edited by m4rky
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The problem of the paint drying on the tip, so clogging the airbrush, is typical of all those model paints formulated to be thinned with water. Vallejo, Lifecolor, Xtracrylics, they all suffer from this problem, some more and some less. Adding more thinner does not improve things, the only solution is to add to the mix a few drops of an acrylic retardant, a product designed to retard the drying time. Using this, things really improve a lot. Another cheap alternative is to have a small brush handy: every 30 seconds or so, dip the brush in water and gently wipe the tip with the wet brush.

Gunze paints need longer to dry and therefore do not suffer from the problem. This and the general high quality of these paints make them really easy to use, I'm not surprised that m4rky found them perfect as a beginner. Not that they are aimed at beginners only, Gunze paints are among the most highly rated paints in the modelling community, it's only because of their relatively less than perfect availability that they're mentioned less than others here.

Regarding airbrushing Humbrols, a lot depends on when your paint was made. Humbrol paints went through a number of formulas and there's been a lot of problems at some points. The "Chinese" days Humbrols are IMHO worth nothing, they are watery and cover badly. I haven't tried them after they moved the production back to the UK; some modellers still seem to find them tricky. Older tins however were great and I would spray them with no problem. Generally they are very easy to spray, however I hate having to spray their thinner to clean the airbrush, reason why I've moved almost completely to other brands. In any case the results that can be achieved with good quality enamels (old Humbrol, Xtracolors, Model Master) are very good and I have to say that for airbrushing enamels are IMHO even better than acrylics

Edited by Giorgio N
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I'm pretty sure I've missed the Chinese Humbrol Era.

Mine are all either very old (20 years plus) or brand new.

Could a good white spirit be used to clean the airbrush after spraying or would I have to clean with the Humbrol thinners?

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I just about use Xtracolor all the time, though Humbrol, Colourcoats and MM often end up in my airbrush, they are all enamels, and are all very easy to airbrush.

I use Badger airbrush cleaner to clean out my airbrush, rather than white spirit, which while it does work does cause quite a stink which my better half does not like, in your shed this may not be an issue.

For thinning I use Xtracolor thinner which is quick drying, I usually thin 50:50 but some of the above paints require less thinner.

For all the above paints stirring them well is essential, when you think that you have stirred enough start again, I usually stir for 2-3 minutes with a Badger battery stirrer.

I never use an undercoat, I just make sure that the surface is clean and smooth, if I am masking over paint I usually leave the base paint to cure for 2-3 days before applying masking tape.

Cheers

Dennis

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I started out airbrushing with Humbrol acrylics but found they were horrendous! Since then I've been using Vallejo model acrylic colours and they've worked very nicely.

What i like about them as well is they come in dripper bottles so it's easy to measure out ratios when thinning.

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I don't airbrush very often, but when I have done I used Humbrol and Xtracolour enamel paints thinned about 50:50 and cleaned the airbrush with white spirit. I've had none of the problems people mention with other brands. I wouldn't expect any problems with Colourcoats, having used all three with brushes.

As said, make sure the paint is well stirred and thinned to the approximate consistency of milk. Full or skimmed - I dunno!

By all means try different paints, but don't delay learning to use your airbrush just because you can more easily get Humbrol. The more practice you haven the better results you will get regardless of the paint manufacturer.

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I'm pretty sure I've missed the Chinese Humbrol Era.

How do we tell which are from the 'Chinese Era'? I have loads of old tins (1980s) but also a lot of 'super-enamels' from the mid/late 90s. I haven't used them for a long time (most are unopened) as I tend to use acrylics now. Is there a 'made in China' stamp on the tin or another logo?

Hutch

Edited by Hutch
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I'm pretty sure I've missed the Chinese Humbrol Era.

Mine are all either very old (20 years plus) or brand new.

Could a good white spirit be used to clean the airbrush after spraying or would I have to clean with the Humbrol thinners?

Very old Humbrol enamels are very good, they spray nicely.

Personally I've only used Humbrol's thinner when I first started with the hobby. I then switched to generic enamel thinners I used to buy in DIY shops, they always worked well for both thinning the paint and cleaning the airbrush (and the brushes), I'd expect white spirit to work just fine

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How do we tell which are from the 'Chinese Era'? I have loads of old tins (1980s) but also a lot of 'super-enamels' from the mid/late 90s. I haven't used them for a long time (most are unopened) as I tend to use acrylics now. Is there a 'made in China' stamp on the tin or another logo?

Hutch

As far as I know (and I'm open to correction)

If you have a blue swirl ​tin and is has a small union flag on the side and a six digit code on the bottom then it's UK manufacture.

If you have a blue swirl tin and there is no union flag on the side or six digit code on bottom then it's probably an offshore batch.

I was under the impression that anything prior to the blue swirl pattern on the tin was the original UK manufacture but a quick search shows that's probably incorrect.

Hopefully somebody more informed will chime in.

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When you start spraying you will find that you end up using quite a few different brands, as I only use acrylics as such I normally combine Tamiya, lifecolor, Model air, when spraying mixed with their own brand thinners and find some colours better than others to spray.

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Looks like I'll be picking up some Gunze products tomorrow to give them a try.

Will also pick up the necessary cleaners and thinners to try out enamels.

Now - I just need something to paint! ;)

..look out for Badger airbrush aerosol cleaner or 'spray-away' also in aerosol format - cleans the brush a treat when working with enamels. While the new formula Humbrol aren't brilliant they work well enough over primer I find. I use a separate brush for acrylics which is mostly just the Winsor & Newton Galleria matt and gloss nowadays. I'm thinking of trying out the Mr Paint range though

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Thanks for all the replies everyone, there's lots of great information there.

For the moment I'd rather go with a brand that doesn't require me to mix colours to get a decent match.

Just being able to reach onto a shelf an grab the colour I need is part of the attraction of the Humbrol enamels I currently use.

Thanks Ronan, I had absolutely no idea that shop existed. It's only about 45 mins from me so definitely worth investigating.

It sounds like trying either/both the Vallejo and Gunze Mr Hobby systems would be a good place to start so I'll explore those options initially.

For the Humbrol Enamels that I currently have; Is it worth considering the option of spraying these (at least while my current supply lasts) or is that more hassle than it's worth?

Glad to help! Brian at the Hobby Den is a very nice guy and very passionate about his modelling so I'm sure you will enjoy your visit.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Something no-one has mentioned and is really important, is to buy and use a good quality mask suitable for solvents. Your lungs will suffer, even with a good extraction system, if you do not. Remember even acrylic paints will have a detrimental effect. I recently forgot to use my mask whilst usung solvent based paints and suffered a degree of 'solvent abuse', burning sensation, light headedness etc non of which happens when I use my mask.

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Thanks TeeELL,

That's a good point.

I have a pretty basic mask that's been fine for the acryllics I've been using so far - certainly no smells making it past the filter.

I'll get something more substantial before I have a go with enamels and the like.

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Just a quick update...

So initially I was just using the Airbrush for clear coating duties on my swordfish build.

Tamiya clears were shot on without any issues which was encouraging.

More recently I moved onto the main event and used the airbrush to prime and colour a wee Fokker DR.1

The local model shop that Ronan suggested had these in stock.

28841956686_7d65beac6e_c.jpg
Paints
by Martin Fay, on Flickr

Both proved to be very easy to use.
The primer covered well and was easy to shoot.

The Gunze was an absolute breeze to apply and I was able to get a good finish pretty much straight away.

I'd highly recommend both brands to AirBrush noobs!

28255972934_7364e15dea_c.jpg
Revell-Fokker-DR1-Rot
by Martin Fay, on Flickr

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