Air Brush Paint

[spartyon8]

I just ventured into airbrushing lures and have been using createx/wicked colors as I can get them locally from Hobby Lobby. However, I am not enjoying them. Some need little thinning, others need lots of thinning. Some always clog while others will just spit. I originally thought it was my cheap harbor freight gun so I bought a Badger Patriot. Same thing even though the nozzle/needle (.5) is larger than the HF (.3). Then I messed with air pressure thinking that was it but nope. The Badger runs really well from 10-15psi while the HF likes it from 20/30psi. I am left thinking it is inconsistency in the Createx paints. A quick search online and a lot of people had the same complaints. I still need some colors in my stable like a moss green and a true chartreuse. What brands do you guys run and/or like?

 

btw…here is my latest. It’s supposed to be a pumpkinseed but it came out too brown (hence why I want a moss green in the group). 

[MN Fisher]

I don't paint lures - but I do scale models. One guy does testing on all sorts of things for scale modeling - he really likes the Patriot BTW - and here's his test on craft-store paints...and how to get the best use of them.

 

I've got an old Badger 200 siphon and a newer Paasche Talon gravity-feed that I use.

[SmugOne]

Get some 4012 reducer so you can thin out your paints. Createx needs to be thinned out quite a bit, some more than others.

[spartyon8]

4 hours ago, SmugOne said:

Get some 4012 reducer so you can thin out your paints. Createx needs to be thinned out quite a bit, some more than others.

I just wish there was more consistency along their paints. It makes it very annoying when you mix one with a lot of reducer because it’s thick and the next color is too thin. Just a pain. I am looking for more consistency in paints across the board. 

[purpurite]

You're not going to get consistency in any paint brand that you are looking for. You will need to thin all paints to some degree, and not with water. I use any clear glass cleaner, like Stoner's from a spray bottle but the Createx and Wicked reducers also work well. 4012 or 4013 is my go-to if I am using one of their color shift paints.

 

You are likely shooting too low of an air pressure with paints that are not reduced enough. I will shoot anywhere from 20psi to 50psi unless I am doing detail work, which requires more reducing and lower pressures. Also you should be reading your air pressures while the trigger is held open, not static. PSI only matters while paint is flying, not when the trigger is closed.

 

I have been using Createx/Wicked/Faskolor paints for over 30 years with excellent results on R/C lexan bodies, motorsports helmets and all types of fishing lures. It's not the paint.

 

There is a learning curve with painting and airbrushing, like any other craft. It's not going to come overnight.

 

I have a painting series on YouTube @squareheadbaits that can help guide you through the process with a little less stress. It's not difficult to get awesome results, you just shouldn't expect it in the first few days of using an airbrush.


Oh, and you were smart to dump the HF airbrush. Nothing but headaches with cheap equipment.

 

Oh, and you mentioned some of the "detail" paints from Wicked... they are essentially transparents or candy colors. You shoot them over other colors to adjust tones, and yes, moss green is a must-have. I also use detail smoke black, yellow ochre, burnt sienna and sepia a lot for lifelike fish colors. Here's the trick with the details, though, I shoot them NOT REDUCED and at 40-50psi. I sometimes will shoot fluorescents like that, too. It's counter-intuitive to everything I know about Createx-based paints, but it works.

[spartyon8]

Thanks for the info! 

[looking45]

I’ve had to use as much as 50-60 psi with some

of the Createx paints, even after they’ve been thinned. I’ve never had to thin ComArt paints and spray them with 26-30 psi. Most taxidermy paints don’t need thinning either. Check out Matsuka taxidermy

[spartyon8]

I messed around with 30psi and thereabout for a bit. I found that it sprayed a lot of paint, fast. Not to fond of that. Thinning and spraying with my Patriot was way more comfortable and easier to control around 15psi. It’s difficult to remember which paints need more thinning than others. I guess it will all come with more practice. 

[12poundbass]

5 hours ago, spartyon8 said:

I messed around with 30psi and thereabout for a bit. I found that it sprayed a lot of paint, fast. Not to fond of that. Thinning and spraying with my Patriot was way more comfortable and easier to control around 15psi. It’s difficult to remember which paints need more thinning than others. I guess it will all come with more practice. 

I’m not a painter (looking to get into it sooner than later) but would taking some tape and marking the bottles that need to be thinned be helpful?

 

[MN Fisher]

35 minutes ago, 12poundbass said:

I’m not a painter (looking to get into it sooner than later) but would taking some tape and marking the bottles that need to be thinned be helpful?

 

Except that even within the same brand/color there's variation in thickness...pretty much it's trial and error at first to figure out how much it needs to be thinned. Once you have more experience, you can almost do it by eye.

 

Base target? Get it to about the consistency of whole milk...

 

40 years experience using an airbrush on my plastic scale models...

[looking45]

7 hours ago, spartyon8 said:

I messed around with 30psi and thereabout for a bit. I found that it sprayed a lot of paint, fast. Not to fond of that. Thinning and spraying with my Patriot was way more comfortable and easier to control around 15psi. It’s difficult to remember which paints need more thinning than others. I guess it will all come with more practice. 

Practice using the airbrush. You don’t need to pull the trigger all the way back. Learn how to use your finger to control the amount of paint that comes out of the brush. Dropping too low in pressure will make it hard to use a lot of paints, even with the trigger pulled all the way back. Check out some airbrush tutorials on YouTube. Buy some cheap white plastic spoons from the Dollar Tree to practice on. Good luck and have fun