What is the best white airbrush paint to use?

[Lanny]

I'm airbrushing mesh caps using Createx Airbrush Colors. I'm not having any problems with the colors like red, blue, green, etc. but after the paint totally drys and I spray on some highlights with white paint I can hardly see the white highlights. I'd like to know the best type of white paint to use for making white highlights on dark colors without having to spray over and over again to make the white stand out. Thank you very much for your help!

 

[splasha]

Man, If only we had an answer for that!
Been a huge problem for heaps of us.
Just have a look in the forum section under Paint and you'll see what I'm getting at!

 

[Lanny]

Thanks splasha for your quick reply!
Yeah man, I see what you mean.
But there's just gotta be an answer somewhere.

I envy this dude on YouTube.
He seems to be spraying some very bright white highlights over his letters.

I'm a new member so I can't post a link yet but if you search...
[h=1]Pete V. How to Airbrush Block letter design on trucker hat.[/h]

 

[Mr.Micron]

I'm a new member so I can't post a link yet but if you search...
Pete V. How to Airbrush Block letter design on trucker hat.

Well if you had started with an little introduction you would more than likely had the 5 post it takes to post links..
So now how about a introduction?

Wicked (by Createx) spectra-tex (by Badger) are both great paints for what you do , But Color shift is what is the problem . In an area you know you will have a highlight just do not put paint there.
The dye of the hat for the most part will not effect the white the way paint laying underneath it will.
Notice if you spray you white highlight on black how it looks blue.
So it may not be so much the white you are using but how you are using it.
Jaime Rodriguez I think covered that in one of his videos on painting trucker hat. Granted J. Rod is no longer with us but his art and his video will live on.

 

[Squishy]

Just remember that those guys on youtube that are painting shirts and hats etc, are probably using a gun with a fairly large nozzle, and high psi, maybe up to 60. So, they can get thicker paint through, which makes the white brighter, and need less passes. Createx paint is for use on fabric, and so works best with the bigger nozzle/high psi combo. If you are working on fabric then do the same and you should have no problems.

If you aren't working on fabric, then Createx may not be the ideal paint for you. To get it through a gun below .5 you will need to reduce a fair amount (a lot paints need reducing, despite what it says on the bottle, I believe com art is one of the few that doesn't and maybe E'tac?), which will obviously mean the paint is thinner and contain less pigment so you need to build up the colour. White of any brand, is notorious for tip dry as it is kind of chalky, I like the Wicked opaque white, and I think E'tac white is popular too. Getting the balance of having it thin enough to flow - but thick enough to have good coverage, and lower pressure - which will dry the tip less, takes a fair bit of experimenting. But it will definitely help, as will using the appropriate reducer, I recommend W500. But unless you are using thick paint at high psi, you will probably still have to build up to get a really bright white, especially if over a dark background. The surface you are painting on could affect coverage too, if it is absorbant.

 

[airbrushingferret]

i like the spectra tex etac private stock but you also may want to check out auto air sealer white base coat thats what its ment for no mater what it takes a bit of paint to make a dark color white again

 

[airbrushingferret]

nice hats by the way

 

[Lanny]

Yeah you're right Mr. Micron, I didn't think of that.

So, let me take this opportunity to introduce myself.
Well, to make a long story short, I'm originally from the Washington, D.C. area.
20 and some odd years ago on the way home from work I missed my exit on the beltway and wound up in Japan.
Now I live in Kyoto with my wife Yuko. We both teach English at our home near Kamigamo Shrine.
Recently I started airbrushing mesh caps to earn some extra yen. Business is slow but I'm really having fun airbrushing!!

Thanks Mr. Micron, Squishy, airbrushing ferret and splasha for all your help and advice!
I'll try and get hold of the paint you guys recommended and check out J. Rod's video.
Also, I'll do a bunch of experimenting with tip sizes, psi, paints and reducer.

 

[Mr.Micron]

Yeah you're right Mr. Micron, I didn't think of that.

So, let me take this opportunity to introduce myself.
Well, to make a long story short, I'm originally from the Washington, D.C. area.
20 and some odd years ago on the way home from work I missed my exit on the beltway and wound up in Japan.
Now I live in Kyoto with my wife Yuko. We both teach English at our home near Kamigamo Shrine.
Recently I started airbrushing mesh caps to earn some extra yen. Business is slow but I'm really having fun airbrushing!!

Thanks Mr. Micron, Squishy, airbrushing ferret and splasha for all your help and advice!
I'll try and get hold of the paint you guys recommended and check out J. Rod's video.
Also, I'll do a bunch of experimenting with tip sizes, psi, paints and reducer.

Was stationed in D.C you are a smart man for missing that exit Japan is a beautiful country spent some time there as well as pretty much every country on this big old planet. My Daughters dream is to live in Japan, I am just trying to get her talked into going into a field where she can afford to live there and enjoy it..She starts college this summer.
You might look into the drifters and tuner clubs over there , I know most use stickers but hey some might want airbrush work , But you might also talk to them about painting up custom logo hats for their clubs.

 

[Squishy]

Good to meet you Lanny, from the uk!

 

[airbrushingferret]

wow we have a member from japan japan is on my list of places i want to see as for the whites just do what i do and experiment with diferent oones

 

[Glen Hunter]

I had some of the same coverage problems with white paints. I used Com-Art white opaque first, tried Createx...somewhat better. Then someone suggested using Golden's White Opaque paint and although it was way thicker, after thinning it a bit, worked great.

 

[HCP-draggin]

My favorite whites to use (on textiles, anyway) are E'Tac Private Stock white (which is also sold as Grex paints), and the Createx Wicked. They have a few varieties, but I'd think in this case, I'd recommend the opaque white.

The E'Tac will be a bit easier to spray, and have less tip dry. The Wicked will probably be a bit heavier pigmented, and cover quicker.

As Mr. Micron pointed out, though, any time you spray white over a darker color, you will get some blue-shift, which can really kill the look of a project. There are a few potential work-arounds that you could try. The first, and the one I'd suggest, would be to simply always work from light to dark. I can seem a bit odd at first, but pretty quickly it just becomes automatic.

Another way you might be able to minimize the blue-shift would be to add a SMALL amount of blue's complimentary color to the white. In this case, that would be orange. The tricky part with this is getting the just-right amount of orange in with the white. Too little, and it won't kill the blue shift. Too much, and it just looks like a really light orange.

If you try that way, you'll have to play around with it and do some test-spraying to find the right amount of orange. Also, no matter what you do, you'll never get a "pure" white that way. It will always be slightly grey-ish. But, when put next to a lot of other colors, most people's eyes would never notice the difference.

 

[mike k]

i understand the frustration, im new to here but not to airbrushing a good white was hard to find, but i settled with copic white pigment, you cut it with water, and it is a beautiful white, i just got mission models white, they are suppose to be the new in thing in the hobby world and its actually pretty good, the pigments are triple grounded to finest pigments it shoots great, they also make an additive for better flow its multipolyurethane, and to be honest it does the trick i use it with all my paints now and your able to shoot and lower psi with fantastic atmoization, idk if it will help but this additive is everything i need to put in my paints

 

[Russ Allen]

My favorite white paint is Createx Illustration Color White with 4030 Intercoat mixed at 10%. Flows super smooth, much less tip dry and fluidity. Just my opinion but its the smoothest flowing I've used so far!! You can also mix the 4030 with the Wicked White and it flows even better as well!!!

 

[Dawid]

I'm airbrushing mesh caps using Createx Airbrush Colors. I'm not having any problems with the colors like red, blue, green, etc. but after the paint totally drys and I spray on some highlights with white paint I can hardly see the white highlights. I'd like to know the best type of white paint to use for making white highlights on dark colors without having to spray over and over again to make the white stand out. Thank you very much for your help!

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Hello i give you two best in my opinion whites Golden High Flow White nad Holbain Acrylic Ink Super Opaque White ( this one is over pack whit pigment whith its make it less durable then Goldem) but if you intend to put it as a last touch on your art you can try this its give really brilliant highlights!