Solvent Inspire paint , how?

Hello Airbrush lovers,

I am used to waterbased since i started airbrushing , but i am giving the inspire solvent based a try because they got very nice colors.

But the problem i have with spraying solvent paints is that i have streaks on a test panel (inspire black).
Some places are shiny and other are matt..

And solvent also seems to spray very different then water based.

Can u guys give me some advice on how to properly spray nice coats with solvent paints (i got some base inspire paints and there reducer).

Thanks in advance

-Souldog Airbrush

I can’t helo unfortunately. But I’ll Be sticking here for the replies. I have some Inspire Solvent too. I haven’t had the chance to try them yet, but have been wondering, hopefully we’ll both find out.

First off Make sure you use a mask made for solvent based paints(safety first) You will find that you will need to build your layers on paper/board Most people only use solvent based paints on Metal because the paper soaks it in some spots more then others as you have seen by your results , Soaking in on the edge due to less paint being sprayed toward the outer edge.(this is why auto painters overlap there spray pattern) hope this helps

I think i know what i did wrong then
I tried to spray the inspire basecoat black on a aluminium test panel with a primer on it , with a iwata neo 0.3 nozzle, with lines at around 1 cm.
So i think my lines where to thin and i sprayed to little paint.

I get a dark shiny black line , but when i did the line under it , the above black line was gone matt (if that makes sense)

I rather not spray solvents due the damn smell tho

What do u guys think when it comes to pearls , flakes , and really popping colors like the colors u see on amusement parks bumpercars and stuff?
Solvents like HOK and Inspire or will waterbased paint like the Auto-Air range(there pearls/metallics) will do the job too?

I am asking this to settle my mind to a good paint system for custom painting requests.

thanks in advance!

Well, I have some experience painting amusement park cars. We used all urethanes. There are a number of reasons for that however I think that auto-air is a decent quality product that you will have no problems with. A lot of people use it with satisfaction.
It has great adhesion from what I've seen so that aspect is good.
The colors look very very near just as good to me.
(candies might not be quite as deep)


Is it as good as solvent based systems....... I doubt it. Why?
I dont have enough experience with auto air to say for sure but take a look at what custom car painters are mostly using.
Mainly this, only in the the last couple years have they come up with a waterborne clear that performs as well as the cheapest urethane clears (and thats debateable) and it cost something like $750 a quart.
If the clears are not as good, How can any of the rest be as good?


That said, autoborne has great adhesion so really the rest is up to the clear coat. Use a good quality urethane clear with good UV protection and I don't think youll have any issues either way. Solvents will be much less hassle to spray with (almost never tip dry)

Believe it or not the learning curve for the autoborne/createx system is not nearly as steep as uro systems. Because they have excellent documentation and application guides, tutorials, tons of AB'ers use them so it's easy to get answers. Most auto painters do it for work and go home and have zero desire to go online and discuss it. Thats a plus for autoborne.

Ok @basepaint pretty much covered you and it sounds like you've got a good handle on it.

I'll add this;
Basing something out with a round spray pattern and a paint that isn't a lacquer is a major PITA. You will feel like your drowning the substrate. It will still likely never be quite right. Probably the only reason you haven't noticed the same thing with wicked or whatever is that it's semi transparent matte. Reality is your likely still striping it.
Best to use a fan brush or mini gun to give you room to overlap.

I've found out of all these paints the best and easiest to base coat with through an AB is Aztek. It just lays down beautifully and melts into itself almost like a lacquer.

Sorry that was a lot, Just kinda threw it all out there. LOL

BTW, Inspire base colors are 1k basecoat. So they are supposed to dry matte.

Thanks for the info RobbyRockett2!

Sorry for any parts that were obvious to you. I just kind of went overboard. I was bored and it was a broad question.

Nah your explaination was more usefull then high school thanks!