Createx paint/reducer ratio + pressure on compressor

O

orteninho

Guest
Hi,

I just started this airbrushing thing and I am soon to be very bald from the frustration... No matter what I try I just keep screwing up the mixing of paint and reducer and use either to low pressure or to high for my mixes. Is there any conversion table on how you should mix all of the factors together? I am currently using an airbrush (not the best there is I guess) with a 0.3 mm tip. I also use the water based colors from Createx (opaque black) atm. I am getting a lot of splatter/spidering as it is now and it is driving me crazy.

So is there any ratio paint/reducer you should use preferrably with this setup and at what approximate pressure?

Getting kind of desperate here!
Regards
Orteninho
 
First, welcome to the forum .

Createx is a thick paint. It is to be reduced with water. I would recommend at least a 1:1 if not maybe a 4:1 , that's water to paint. You can reduce as needed for conditions. I would also run at least 35 psi. This will keep the paint flowing better and help to lessen clogging. The works paint to learn with is opaques. They have the worst tip dry of all types of paints, no matter what brand you use. Higher pressures will blow the paint off the needle better. So if you can , try running 60 psi for a while, or is you want to keep a more moderate air pressure, reduce up to 10:1 at 35 psi. If you are just spraying onto paper , like printer paper or newsprint, it will spider like crazy anyway, if you overdo it. It has no body for pain absorption.

No matter what ;it takes time to get the correct balance of pressure/reduction relationship to suit your particular paint and brush combination. Experience will eventually make it easier to adjust to this. Unfortunately it takes much practice. You can also try straining your paint , especially opaques, with a section of screen out of a paper paint strainer, or a piece of an old women's stocking. I have some set up this way. If the paint is kind of old it can tend to try out a bit needing more reducer and cause dried paint chunks and or unrefined larger bits of pigment, these can all clog an airbrush adding to the frustration.
 
Thank you for the reply!

So if I use the Illustration base from Createx I am doing it wrong I guess? It should be regular water? You were correct in assuming that I used regular printer paper during practice. I have bought myself some heavier one, 250g/m2, but it feels wrong to use that paper before I have the techniques down.

The thing is, I notice that the color sprays a big "halo" of paint around my dots/lines (following Mitch's guide from this website). Is there any way to get more clean dots and lines or is it just my technique that is horrible at the moment?

Thank you again for your reply!
 
You can use the illustration base to reduce the regular createx or good ol H2O. There is only ONE magic trick to learning control, etc. and that is..... Practice.
Trigger time. The dreaded "P" word.
Are you able to determine the PSI (spray pressure) coming from your compressor? Can you adjust it? Follow WM's guidelines about PSI. Usually rule of thumb is the thinner the lower the thicker the higher.
Practice on paper towels. It sucks up the paint, you don't get such bad spidering etc. and it's the closest to t-shirt material without actually buying t-shirts. And when you're done, with the fugly ones, just wipe up what the kids spilt on the floor. With the good ones give to your friends and neighbors and tell em those are the only freebies. LOL
 
My personal recommendation would be to get rid of the regular Createx, and get some Createx Wicked or Illustration paint, some E'Tac, Com Art, Holbien, or, well, almost anything but regular Createx. That stuff is an absolute nightmare to use. As far as reduction ratios vs. psi settings, it will constantly vary. Depending on the airbrush, depending on what line of paint, different colors within the same line of paint, weather conditions, sun spots, the phase of the moon..... You get the idea. As a general rule of thumb, I like my paint to be about the same consistency as 1% or 2% milk, so I'll use that as a rough guide, then adjust the reduction, air pressure, etc from there. Eventually, it just becomes second nature. Like driving a stick shift, you don't even think about it, it just happens. When I was starting out, I read somewhere that t-shirts were the easiest material to paint on because of the absorbancy. The paint tends not to spider or blow out as much. And that metal, plastic, and hard surfaces are the most difficult to paint on, for the opposite reason. So, I went out and got a bunch of sheet metal. I figured that if I could get it right on the most difficult surface, anything else would seem easy. Plus, I wouldn't be limited in what I could paint on. Anyway, it worked for me...
 
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