|
|
Post by sw1 on Feb 20, 2015 14:34:16 GMT
I've been looking at a few guides and it seems you can use different glass cleaners to thin acrylics plus clean up the airbrush afterwards. I'm going to be investing in some actual thinners/cleaners but need to order them in and want to try out the airbrush now without having to wait!!! I think I've got the right stuff but wanted to double check with those in the know. So is this the right stuff to use to thin paints alongside water:  And is this the right stuff to clean the brush with afterwards:  Looking at the ingredients I'm guessing either would do for both jobs, is this right? |
|
|
|
Post by Farseer Kyladras on Feb 21, 2015 10:22:16 GMT
Not sure if those can be used but if I could offer a bit of advice from personal experience don't put paint in your brush unless you are absolutely certain you have the correct product to clean it after, you don't want paint drying in the airbrush while you are dashing out looking for something to clean it with!
Another tip from experience is always thin your paint even if you are using airbrush specific paint and always thin it in a pot before adding to the airbrush rather than trying to thin it in the airbrush cup.
|
|
|
|
Post by ghostwalker on Feb 21, 2015 12:35:36 GMT
Not entirely sure what effect those products might have on the rubber o-rings in the airbrush either.
|
|
|
|
Post by sw1 on Feb 21, 2015 19:07:27 GMT
Cheers. I'm asking everything I can think of BEFORE knackering up the brush with a lack of knowledge.
|
|
|
|
Post by Brassaxe on Feb 21, 2015 19:08:57 GMT
A lot of double glazing units have rubber seals round the glass so I'd doubt that the 'o' rings would have a problem. As for using them as thinners all I can suggest is giving it a go (not sure that vinegar sounds a good idea though), just as a matter of interest whose paint are you using?
|
|
|
|
Post by Oryhara on Feb 21, 2015 19:42:12 GMT
Check out to see if there is any ammonia in either of them as that wont do you any good for your airbrush.
|
|
|
|
Post by sw1 on Feb 22, 2015 8:14:34 GMT
I'll probably start off with GWS paints well thinned with water as a trial and then get myself some Vallejo when I can get an order done.
Problem with ordering paints and other liquids is Royal Mail won't touch them so it has to go via courier and they tend to try delivering while I'm doing the school runs or I'm at work.
Just wish there was a local supplier. May have to try going into manchester at some point.
|
|
|
|
Post by sw1 on Feb 22, 2015 8:32:06 GMT
Found out that acetic acid aka vinegar in high concentration is used in the chrome plating process. In the concentrations used in the cleaners this shouldn't cause an issue as long as I rinse out with water straight away. Even though quite a few scale modellers swear by it as a thinner I'll just use water for now with a splash of IPA.
|
|
|
|
Post by ZOG! on Feb 22, 2015 8:43:43 GMT
A splash of Indian pale ale? Lol!
Valijo do thinners in a biggish bottle so get that it's only 4 quid I ise it to re-vamp old paints as well.
You don't need specific hobby shops for it, just see what your local art suppliers have. Ask them.
|
|
|
|
Post by sw1 on Feb 22, 2015 12:12:26 GMT
Lol ... Zog, Indian pale ale is to lubricate me if it ever comes into the house. The paint can do one if it thinks I'm going to share any with it.  IPA is also known as iso ... Erm ... something or other alcohol. It's basically 99.9% alcohol so not really suitable for drinking. As far as I can tell it's the main ingredient in all the branded thinners they also seem to have flow improver which is probably just glycerine as well. I've been to all the local art and hobby type shops in my local area. As I don't drive there's a few a bit further away which probably do have it but I can't fit in the trip with work/kids for a few weeks. So I'm trying to work out what I can use as a stopgap measure so I can play with it now. Tested the tank by pressurising it and making sure the auto stop on the compressor worked and sprayed some water out of it. I noticed the trigger bit was a bit low for a comfortable grip as I've got fairly big hands. Did a bit if a google/YouTube search for modifying airbrushes and adding a bit of a foam pad to the trigger seems like an easy task, without doing anything permenant to the brushes. I'll avoid the other common mods I came across of shortening the back end of the brush and clipping springs as these seem a bit more extreme and looking at my brushes would break them. One thing I was worried about was the volume of the compressor while it's running as it was an extremely cheap one and it's going to be used at night. This turned out to be unfounded as it's pretty quiet and it takes very little time to refill the tank when it needs to. Rather than waiting till I needed to clean them I stripped both brushes down to component parts and reassembled them a few times. So I'm now confident with getting to the bits that will need cleaning rather than panicking first time around. Lol ... I've never had a new 'toy' for so long and not been able to properly give it a go. Checking it and reading about how to use it isn't scratching the old itch to jump in at the deep end. |
|
|
|
Post by Brassaxe on Feb 22, 2015 13:17:45 GMT
Have you tried using water? Most acrylic paints are water soluble so should thin down sufficiently with that alone, for a cheap 'flow improver' something like a drop of Fairy Liquid will 'thin' the water. Just a thought
|
|
|
|
Post by sw1 on Feb 22, 2015 13:50:16 GMT
If I don't get back too late tonight from work I'm going to have a go with what I've got access to and see what happens. Lol ... It's likely it'll be too late and I'll probably have a go anyway. |
|
|
|
Post by Stretch on Feb 22, 2015 13:54:27 GMT
IPA isopropyl alcohol.
I'm with you on not sharing the other kind though ;-)
|
|
