Hello. I am looking for some hints or tricks of the trade from you professionals. I just bought an airbrush. I understand you have to dilute the paint before you spray it. So, I have been mixing small batches of paint inside the caps ot bottles, then pouring it into the gravity fed cup for my AB. This seems to waste a lot of paint, the stuff that remains in the bottle cap. The AB came with a bottle that has a siphon in it, but I think I would waste even more paint when it clings to the sides of it.
Can anyone advise or expand on this?
What do you mix your paint in prior to air brushing? Should I make large batches of paints and keep them in little jars?
Thanks for any help!

I use syringes the disposable plastic ones for acrylics and the old fashioned glass ones for enamels (sometimes the piston of the disposable ones tends to get stuck when using the enamel thinners). First I get the thinner into the syringe then the paint(s) then closing the syringe tip wit a finger I shake it. In this way I've very accurate mixing in terms of stiring and quantities...
Ciao

I just put some paint into the color cup for my AB and add some thinner and stir. I use a pipe cleaner as a ram rod to push the thicker paint into the mixture. That may not work with a gravity feed, though, as I visualize it.

Hi Wardster

I'd be wary of trying to mix the paint in the gravity feed... that sounds like the perfect recipe for a clogged air-brush.

I don't find I waste that much paint mixing in a small pot and then transferring to the airbrush.

If you want to keep pre-thinned paint, you may find it "goes off" very quicky, because the thinner upsets the chemical balance of the paint.

Hope this helps

Rowan