airbrushing?

[Anonymous]

I want to use testors black paint.What happens is it settels all at the bottom of the jar.What can I do to make it mix with the paint thiner.What other colors are hard to airbrush with?

Thanks Barent Foley

[claycts]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Barent Foley

I want to use testors black paint.What happens is it settels all at the bottom of the jar.What can I do to make it mix with the paint thiner.What other colors are hard to airbrush with?

Thanks Barent Foley

ANY paint will settle. Try this LID TIGHT again LID TIGHT turn the bottle upside dowan and let it sit over night. Invert bottle and open IF the pigment FLOATED back to the bottom then stir thin and shoot. If it never moved CHUNK IT and get a fresh bottle.
As far as air brushing each paint has its own thinner to be used. The ratio of thinner to paint is "BLACK MAGIC" in the painting world. I have use as high as 6-1 on some colors (6 part thinners to 1 part paint) to get it to flow in an air brush. Also your line pressure and size needle will also effect how your paint will work.
If you are new to spraying there are some great books put out on the subject. Also the air brush MFG should have a website that may help you in the thinning game

[Anonymous]

Should I be using Testors or Badger Model Flex paint.I don't care about clean up I care about quaility.I kind of like the smell of the fumes with paint thinner [xx(] Also if i air brush with model flex can I hand paint with testors over it .

Thanks Barent Foley

[claycts]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Barent Foley

Should I be using Testors or Badger Model Flex paint.I don't care about clean up I care about quaility.I kind of like the smell of the fumes with paint thinner [xx(] Also if i air brush with model flex can I hand paint with testors over it .

Thanks Barent Foley

Now you are over my head. I use Floquil, and Model Masters. I make my own water base paints. www.leatherique.com I just change the carrier for my dyes. AS long as I have benn doing this (since about 1955) have always used the Testor Products.

[AntonioFP45]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Barent Foley

Should I be using Testors or Badger Model Flex paint.I don't care about clean up I care about quaility.I kind of like the smell of the fumes with paint thinner [xx(] Also if i air brush with model flex can I hand paint with testors over it .

Thanks Barent Foley

Barent! Whoa! Please! [:0][B)][:0][:0]

Perhaps I may be overreacting, but you don't want to smell those fumes. Over the long haul solvent based paints CAN DAMAGE YOUR NERVOUS SYSTEM.

I'm 41, have worked with paint chemicals for nearly 2 decades and have suffered some after effects! Protect your self. If you don't use a respirator, then at least paint in an open area and have a fan placed behind or beside you blowing on "low" so that the wind stream won't disrupt your air brushing but will blow most of the fumes away.

I used Testors, Pactra, and Floquil for years. I've switched to ModelFlex and Pollyscale water based Acrylics. Good quality! ModelFlex is ready to spray right out of the bottle. The only reason for thinning ModelFlex is if you're using some as a "weathering wash". Thin Polly Scale with 70% alcohol instead of water. Acrylics are much safer BUT, still not healthy to breathe. Always protect yourself!

Cleaning up after spraying acrylics is easy. Flush with alcohol. Also important with any type of paint you use. Always clean your airbrush's needle and aircap!

An important key to using these paints is good surface prepartation and cleanliness! There have been modelers that strip paint off of a model and clean it nicely. Then when they're about to airbrush it, they pick up the model with sweaty or dirty hands! Or they sneeze near the model. Guess what: The model's contaminated! [B)] They paint the model, mask off for stripes and the paint peels when the tape is lifted off. First thing they do? Blame the paint! (yes, that's what I did years ago!)

I used spray cans quite a bit until a friend of mine introduced me to airbrushing years back. I have a spray can of Dullcoat and several other spray cans that I no longer use! Airbrush is the way to go!

Hope this helps, and please stay safe! [:)][:D][;)][8)]

[Anonymous]

hey I built a paint booth today with a bathroom fan in the back to suck out all the fumes!!!!![:D][:D][:D]

[AntonioFP45]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Barent Foley

hey I built a paint booth today with a bathroom fan in the back to suck out all the fumes!!!!![:D][:D][:D]

Way to go, Barent!

That's good news. Hope the Newbies are reading!

[Anonymous]

I'd suggest also using a respirator when using any solvent based paint, even with a paint booth. Get one that says it can be used for organic solvents. If you can smell the paint fumes when airbrushing, then you need one.

Bob Boudreau

[DTomajko]

Be careful with that homebuilt spray booth. If the motor you are using isn't a sealed type,the flammable fumes from paints like Testors, Floquil or Scalecote could be ignited by a spark from the motor brushes.It is recommended that a fan with the motor outside of the booth airstream be used in this type of application. If you have access to a Grainger catalog, they have a good selection. Also, if you are only using acrylic paints,they could still be flammable if you are thinning with alcohol like some folks recommend. Remember, paint fumes can be hazardous in more than one way. Good luck and stay safe.

[dwRavenstar]

DTomajko has an excellent point re the spark danger. I work in an Alcoa Extrusions plant that recently (2 wks ago) suffered a six day shutdown of our one paint line due to a fire caused by a simple spark. Besides the hole in the roof and the extensive water damage everything electrical in that area had to be gutted out and replaced before safe operations could return. Luckily no personel were injured in the holocaust.

Physical damage to your home is serious but irrelevant compared to physical damage to yourself. Time invested assuring your own safe operations is far better than time spent cleaning up the mess and working through rehab after a preventable accident.

Dave (dwRavenstar)

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by DTomajko

Be careful with that homebuilt spray booth. If the motor you are using isn't a sealed type,the flammable fumes from paints like Testors, Floquil or Scalecote could be ignited by a spark from the motor brushes.

I've had a spray booth for around 20 years, and I'm on my second brathroom fan, I replaced the original with a more powerful one. Both had brushless motors with no sparking/arcing. I've used mostly Floquil paint over the years with no problems. I think most bathroom fans have these kinds of motors, but it wouldn't hurt to check.

Bob Boudreau