Hi guys,

After my debacle with airbrushing camouflage, i have been resisting the urge to post yet another 'how do i' question ( i have fulfilled my self imposed quota for the week) and am trawling through previous posts going waaaaaay back.

One of the things I am interested in is how people measure out thinners, acrylics or enamels, for airbrush use. I have read people use pippets, syringes, and others (like my inexperieced self) the 'near enough is good enough' method.

Seems that thinning paint is a common problem concerning newcommers like myself to the wonderful practice of airbrushing, I would like to hear what other people use.

A.

I managed to by some hypodermic syringes (no needles) from someone on ebay - they are great for measuring thinners and paint.

Yep.... Depending on the Qty of a color to be mixed... either pippets or syringes.......

A,

For syringes and eye droppers ask somebody in a job like nursing, or ask at your doctors surgry if you see one of the practice nurses/district nurses, or the other method is to examine if you have any friends or relatives that have diabetes as they like I will often use syringes for insulin, although some are now switching to the pen system.

You could also ask at a pharmacy they are likely to be able to sell them.


John

I use clear jars (old paint bottles) and pippets. I add thinner in proportion to the paint. I have found that the proportion vary from maker to maker and from enamel to acrylic. Have you tried reducing/ varying the air pressure. Practice on an old model and keep notes of proportions, pressures and nozzles used.

I do a combination of 'eyeballing' it as well as pipette measuring. I'll pour some paint (using a pipette) into my AB cup and then grab some alcohol as I use acrylics and will either count out the drops or try to match the amount of paint in the cup. Then I grab my paint pipette and suck up the paint/alcohol combo and spray it back into the cup, do this several times to get a good mix and check the consistency of the paint. Save my alcohol pipette for the next batch and also the cleaning fill of alcohol when I'm done.

I use graduated pipettes and cups. So all my mixing is done in ml's. Of course different paints need different mixes also. So I check each batch anyway and trim if necessary. Now if I could just get used to writing all this stuff done, I might save myself much grief! But, where's the challenge in that? Enjoy
capnjock

As an airbrush newby, this is really helpful. For the benefit of myself and my incompetent bretheren, keep the tips comming!

A.

for a lot of paints I use pipettes ( I work as an analytical chemist, so I have and endless supply). Most of my airburshing now is done with Vallejo, which has a dropper built. I just measure out hte ratio I want drop by drop and go.

Sean

The funniest thing just happened to me and i have to share it with you guys. My mum works in community health, and with respect for the said topic of conversation, i asked her if she can get her hands on some 2ml syringes for mixing acrylics with thinner. not exactly explaining myself quite thoroughly, i was given 'the talk' on drug use. lol

i keep forgetting how bizzare this hobby can get sometimes...

A.