Instead of brining the other thread completely off topic, i thought i'd throw down a few notes on paint and how it affects your decision for what airbrush to purchase. This is not intended as an "enamel vs acrylic" discussion.
I took some time to take photographs of paints to inform rather than use handy marketing snaps from the web. I hope this info is of some use to the younger brigade who may be assembling a paint collection or those who are are thinking of getting an airbrush.
In the interest of supporting the home grown retailers, I'd like to include availability and cost per pot, so if I don't have you listed post or pm, I'll update the thread. Every little helps.
Acrylics
Tim Shackleton has a whole chapter on paint in his book on weathering techniques, so i'll briefly sum it up.
Acrylic paint consists of particles of paint suspended in water, which never dissolve completely with the medium, and is why you will see separation of water and paint in a tin left for some time. Acrylic is a plastic, a polymer emulsion, the medium it is suspended in being the emulsifier. One is a plastic (from oil) the other water, or a derivative medium (water-based). How they work is best left to Mr. White. Acrylic paints generally break up into various dilutions, some which love water, like watercolours, others that don't - like artists acrylic. Avoid both for airbrushing, they are not designed to be fired out of a gun at high pressure. The paint I want to focus on is the variety you can buy in the Modelshop, Marks, Easons, ModelshopBelfast. Now let me get to the separation part. Some paints are better than others at avoiding this and i'll get to the products shortly. As the particles of water and acrylic leave the airbrush at high pressure, much of the water evaporates. As these two media separate, particles stick to poorly engineered airbrush nozzles, in the microscopic grooves left behind at manufacture. These will build up creating a little pile obstructing the flow. I find the more a paint is willing to separate in its tin, the more hassle you'll have later on.
Acrylic paints then...
Vallejo - or - Model Colour
Both the paints above have been shaken for a good minute, but still produce this "snot". Not ideal for airbrushing small amounts of colour, but if you can decant it into another pot to mix and thin, all the better.
This stuff loves separation, will clog readily a cheap airbrush, but it's colour depth is great. Perfect dispensing nozzle for airbrushes, no wastage or spillage. Not readily available here on the high street, and sometimes labels do not match the contents. My Algal green is battleship grey..! For the novice I'd steer clear - to find a colour to suit a particular rail livery you may have to buy several to see which is best. 17ml tubs though, and they don't take up much room.
That's the green one on the right....!
Available from :
The Model Shop, Capel Street, Dublin 1 - €2.80 ea
Any Other Retailer - ?
Humbrol
The older type love the clogging, and are better suited to hand painting for figures. ( the ones at the back) However the more recent versions are excellent, especially the authentic rail colour variety. Readily available from most retailers here, and I'm sure if you wanted a batch purchase a deal could be done. The only way to assemble a paint collection quickly. 14ml tubs like their enamel cousins, and same size so if you have a drawer with separations to accept both even better. Accurate painted lids make these really good value when looking for a colour in a hurry.
Available from :
The Model Shop, Capel Street,
The Model Shop, Belfast,
Marks Models, Almost Nationwide,
Banba/Toymaster outlets,
Any Other Retailer - ?
Tamiya
Lovely smelling paints, which are in an acrylic medium rather than water, and go on well. Domestic authorities tend to mention the smell though. Not easy to find, usually in bargain buckets, and rather expensive relatively. The nice little glass bottles only come with 10ml, opposed to 14ml normally, so a bit of a swizz.
Available from :
The Model Shop, Belfast,
Marks Models, Almost Nationwide,
Banba/Toymaster outlets,
Any Other Retailer - ?
Games Workshop
These paints never seem to separate and generally do not clog, though it's not easy to get consistent dilution to suit airbrushes. Also at 4eu for 12ml, it's poor value. Also the colour range would not be as wide as the guys above, with highly saturated colours, more suited to lazer wielding orcs than brake vans.
Available from :
Games "Hey, what orc are you painting then (get away from me freak...grrr)" Workshop - €4.00
Free pain in the ass from the spotty kid with every purchase.
Revell Acrylic
I like these a lot, good square pots - hard to knock over after a beer or two, and the lid doubles as a brush holder, - most importantly - the paint does not separate. My only complaint is that the sticker on the lid doesn't always match the contents accurately, but this could be from shop soiling and age. The big upside is that it is in an 18ml jar and I find the yellows and orange tones to suit Irish Rail colours. If I were to restart my acrylic paint collection again, I'd go with Revell for brush and airbrush work.
Available from :
Banba/Toymaster outlets
Any Other Retailer?
Lastly, there are acrylic mediums out there - Tamiya and Windsor & Newton. I have yet to see Tamiya for sale here, but I believe it is excellent. Rather than using water to dilute, it's a specialized formula to try and blend the paint and carrier more effectively, so less clogging. I uses the Windsor & Newton one, and it does a great job.
Des noted once that denatured alcohol also works fine, but I assume that's only available from chemists. The alcohol evaporates nearly instantly on contact with the surface, for quicker times between coats.
Enamels
Enamel paint generally has a different molecular make-up than acrylic, whereby the solution which dilutes it becomes a constituent part of the paint rather than a carrier. However, there are two different formats when it comes to enamel paint that aren't such an issue whit acrylics. Matt and Gloss. No, not a poor boy band from the mid eighties, but two different paint formulas which behave completely differently, particularly in the tinlet.
Matt paint generally has thicker particles which, when suspended in a thinner, and gravity effects same, means it falls to the bottom of the tin. It may never harden, but the long it stays in the pot, the more stirring is required to re-agitate the paint and make it useful. Matt paint, prior to airbrushing, requires a hell of a lot more time stirring to ensure you will not get gummed up in an airbrush. Cocktail sticks and fancy coffee stirrers aren't worth a fiddlers for waking up the paint - grab a fat paint brush that has seen better days and hammer the crap out of it. Lumps will be stuck to the bad brush. Be sure to transfer the "good paint" to another pot, via the brush, and then thin. Don't take matt paint direct from the pot, or else you'll get textured bits like orange peel coming out the end of you airbrush. I have a 25 year old pot of Humbrol 82 - the Gurkha colour - and the Gurkha mentality. It just keeps coming back for more punishment.
Gloss paint has a different compound make up, though a lot heavier in parts per million than matt paint, has a finer solution. Rarely will you find a tinlet of gloss paint that has separated, this is commonplace with it's matt cousin . It also contains extras which enhance colour, glossiness, and at times metal particles to produce silver, metal, and bronze. With gloss paints, the main drawback is dilution - a crimson red gloss will be as thick as snot, and a silver will be as thick as kids snot. This has to do with the components added above. The way I work out the dilution for the above paints is that if its an old colour that would appeal to a 40 year old, thin it 4 to 1. If it would appeal to a 10 year old, thin it 1 to 1. Not scientific at all, but its my non patented Snot Scale. It's easier to thicken paint in the airbrush environment than thin it. Thin paint won't adhere to anything.
So sum up with enamel paints, matt paint is really enjoyable to work with, though if from an old tinlet, needs to treated with caution - and gloss paint it is the easiest formula for airbrushing, without question. Whether you stick to the Snot Scale or not is your choice! Thankfully the range of enamel paint falls doesn't vary as much as acrylic. If you have good ventilation and a 3M mask, patience to wait between coats drying, enamels are the way to airbrush.
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Question
Glenderg
Instead of brining the other thread completely off topic, i thought i'd throw down a few notes on paint and how it affects your decision for what airbrush to purchase. This is not intended as an "enamel vs acrylic" discussion.
I took some time to take photographs of paints to inform rather than use handy marketing snaps from the web. I hope this info is of some use to the younger brigade who may be assembling a paint collection or those who are are thinking of getting an airbrush.
In the interest of supporting the home grown retailers, I'd like to include availability and cost per pot, so if I don't have you listed post or pm, I'll update the thread. Every little helps.
Acrylics
Tim Shackleton has a whole chapter on paint in his book on weathering techniques, so i'll briefly sum it up.
Acrylic paint consists of particles of paint suspended in water, which never dissolve completely with the medium, and is why you will see separation of water and paint in a tin left for some time. Acrylic is a plastic, a polymer emulsion, the medium it is suspended in being the emulsifier. One is a plastic (from oil) the other water, or a derivative medium (water-based). How they work is best left to Mr. White. Acrylic paints generally break up into various dilutions, some which love water, like watercolours, others that don't - like artists acrylic. Avoid both for airbrushing, they are not designed to be fired out of a gun at high pressure. The paint I want to focus on is the variety you can buy in the Modelshop, Marks, Easons, ModelshopBelfast. Now let me get to the separation part. Some paints are better than others at avoiding this and i'll get to the products shortly. As the particles of water and acrylic leave the airbrush at high pressure, much of the water evaporates. As these two media separate, particles stick to poorly engineered airbrush nozzles, in the microscopic grooves left behind at manufacture. These will build up creating a little pile obstructing the flow. I find the more a paint is willing to separate in its tin, the more hassle you'll have later on.
Acrylic paints then...
Vallejo - or - Model Colour
Both the paints above have been shaken for a good minute, but still produce this "snot". Not ideal for airbrushing small amounts of colour, but if you can decant it into another pot to mix and thin, all the better.
This stuff loves separation, will clog readily a cheap airbrush, but it's colour depth is great. Perfect dispensing nozzle for airbrushes, no wastage or spillage. Not readily available here on the high street, and sometimes labels do not match the contents. My Algal green is battleship grey..! For the novice I'd steer clear - to find a colour to suit a particular rail livery you may have to buy several to see which is best. 17ml tubs though, and they don't take up much room.
That's the green one on the right....!
Available from :
The Model Shop, Capel Street, Dublin 1 - €2.80 ea
Any Other Retailer - ?
Humbrol
The older type love the clogging, and are better suited to hand painting for figures. ( the ones at the back) However the more recent versions are excellent, especially the authentic rail colour variety. Readily available from most retailers here, and I'm sure if you wanted a batch purchase a deal could be done. The only way to assemble a paint collection quickly. 14ml tubs like their enamel cousins, and same size so if you have a drawer with separations to accept both even better. Accurate painted lids make these really good value when looking for a colour in a hurry.
Available from :
The Model Shop, Capel Street,
The Model Shop, Belfast,
Marks Models, Almost Nationwide,
Banba/Toymaster outlets,
Any Other Retailer - ?
Tamiya
Lovely smelling paints, which are in an acrylic medium rather than water, and go on well. Domestic authorities tend to mention the smell though. Not easy to find, usually in bargain buckets, and rather expensive relatively. The nice little glass bottles only come with 10ml, opposed to 14ml normally, so a bit of a swizz.
Available from :
The Model Shop, Belfast,
Marks Models, Almost Nationwide,
Banba/Toymaster outlets,
Any Other Retailer - ?
Games Workshop
These paints never seem to separate and generally do not clog, though it's not easy to get consistent dilution to suit airbrushes. Also at 4eu for 12ml, it's poor value. Also the colour range would not be as wide as the guys above, with highly saturated colours, more suited to lazer wielding orcs than brake vans.
Available from :
Games "Hey, what orc are you painting then (get away from me freak...grrr)" Workshop - €4.00
Free pain in the ass from the spotty kid with every purchase.
Revell Acrylic
I like these a lot, good square pots - hard to knock over after a beer or two, and the lid doubles as a brush holder, - most importantly - the paint does not separate. My only complaint is that the sticker on the lid doesn't always match the contents accurately, but this could be from shop soiling and age. The big upside is that it is in an 18ml jar and I find the yellows and orange tones to suit Irish Rail colours. If I were to restart my acrylic paint collection again, I'd go with Revell for brush and airbrush work.
Available from :
Banba/Toymaster outlets
Any Other Retailer?
Lastly, there are acrylic mediums out there - Tamiya and Windsor & Newton. I have yet to see Tamiya for sale here, but I believe it is excellent. Rather than using water to dilute, it's a specialized formula to try and blend the paint and carrier more effectively, so less clogging. I uses the Windsor & Newton one, and it does a great job.
Des noted once that denatured alcohol also works fine, but I assume that's only available from chemists. The alcohol evaporates nearly instantly on contact with the surface, for quicker times between coats.
Enamels
Enamel paint generally has a different molecular make-up than acrylic, whereby the solution which dilutes it becomes a constituent part of the paint rather than a carrier. However, there are two different formats when it comes to enamel paint that aren't such an issue whit acrylics. Matt and Gloss. No, not a poor boy band from the mid eighties, but two different paint formulas which behave completely differently, particularly in the tinlet.
Matt paint generally has thicker particles which, when suspended in a thinner, and gravity effects same, means it falls to the bottom of the tin. It may never harden, but the long it stays in the pot, the more stirring is required to re-agitate the paint and make it useful. Matt paint, prior to airbrushing, requires a hell of a lot more time stirring to ensure you will not get gummed up in an airbrush. Cocktail sticks and fancy coffee stirrers aren't worth a fiddlers for waking up the paint - grab a fat paint brush that has seen better days and hammer the crap out of it. Lumps will be stuck to the bad brush. Be sure to transfer the "good paint" to another pot, via the brush, and then thin. Don't take matt paint direct from the pot, or else you'll get textured bits like orange peel coming out the end of you airbrush. I have a 25 year old pot of Humbrol 82 - the Gurkha colour - and the Gurkha mentality. It just keeps coming back for more punishment.
Gloss paint has a different compound make up, though a lot heavier in parts per million than matt paint, has a finer solution. Rarely will you find a tinlet of gloss paint that has separated, this is commonplace with it's matt cousin . It also contains extras which enhance colour, glossiness, and at times metal particles to produce silver, metal, and bronze. With gloss paints, the main drawback is dilution - a crimson red gloss will be as thick as snot, and a silver will be as thick as kids snot. This has to do with the components added above. The way I work out the dilution for the above paints is that if its an old colour that would appeal to a 40 year old, thin it 4 to 1. If it would appeal to a 10 year old, thin it 1 to 1. Not scientific at all, but its my non patented Snot Scale. It's easier to thicken paint in the airbrush environment than thin it. Thin paint won't adhere to anything.
So sum up with enamel paints, matt paint is really enjoyable to work with, though if from an old tinlet, needs to treated with caution - and gloss paint it is the easiest formula for airbrushing, without question. Whether you stick to the Snot Scale or not is your choice! Thankfully the range of enamel paint falls doesn't vary as much as acrylic. If you have good ventilation and a 3M mask, patience to wait between coats drying, enamels are the way to airbrush.
Edited by Glenderg9 answers to this question
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