Badger Paint

[beginner-James]

Hi ya all
Today was a slow day so I thought I would practice some dots and lines with my Iwata as the Mr Hobby 289 Has been cleaned polished and put away. Polished with Class cleaner I pick up from to USA amazing eye glasses cleaner also my Phone screen. Any way I was getting bored so I decided I would check to see if the Golden High flow reducer was compatible with the Badger Paint But after adding a drop or two I noticed the big difference in quality no not quality pigment size. the following image is Golden High Flow transparent paint (Acrylic).




witch look fine what I'm use to seeing, smooth and no signs of pigment particles what you would expect. But on the other hand I was really shocked to see the same colour or near to the same colour in Badger Paint both paint was reduced with water 3 water to 2 paint. I also check the paint out with out reducing it with water and my findings where the same.



My question is should this brand of paint be like this as I wouldn't want to put it through a fine brush like Mr Hobby 289 or the Extreme. Is my Paint faulty ??

Beginner-James

 

[HellBird]

You may want to be careful mixing one company's reducer or thinner with another's paint. I had similar issue with some of my paints early on. Think it was Badger come to think of it. Flocculating (clumping) of your mix means your paint doesn't like what you're trying to thin it with. Go with a home brew reducer or something else the Badger paint is compatible with (a WAG would be Badger thinner)

 

[jord001]

When i use spectra-tex paint through my airbrush i thin it with water.

Lee

 

[beginner-James]

No i only reduced it with water the images you can see are straight from the bottles
Beginner-James

 

[twood]

The second pic looks like it needs to be mixed better....

Your post is a little confusing to me. You started talking about reducing with Golden High Flow reducer, then show two pics and say both paints are reduced with water.....now you say they are straight from the bottle, or are they reduced using water?

 

[beginner-James]

No sorry i did reduce first with High Flow just to see if it had any adverse effects and i noticed the grains in the cup then i reduced with just water i had the same effect grain in the paint so i then compared the badger with High Flow to see if it was just as grainy hence the two pots of pure paint from the bottles
Beginner-James

 

[beginner-James]

Hi sort on time but just a quick update on my badger paint.
So I have opened my paint's now as I'm going over to steve to have a bearing adjusted as the needle is sticking (New Spirit)
I have tried to be fair on my test as I hate returning item's or even making a fuss but I have redone my test on my blue again and open a second blue, I bought two starter set as they where on offer so ball bearings added to both paints (I do this with all my paint's if they don't have a mixing stone in them even my own mixed colours) All the pots are clean shot glasses (new Plastic shot glasses) so first I added two drops of bottled water and then two drops off paint mixed in the glass by just swishing it around with gravity so as not to add containments to the test then after 5 min's I added just paint 4 drops to a fresh shot glass, still the same results grainy pigment so then I thought it might be reacting to the plastic (who no's hey) to I have some s/steel shot cup that are clean (dish washer) but just to be safe I then rinsed them under the tap and used Badger own cleaner/thinners and allowed it to air dry again to reduce the possibility of containments the same. So you may say he didn't mix the paint correctly (amount of time) I timed my self for two min's for the first min the bottle was upright and the second min the bottle was inverted then the first shot glass was poured then after 5 min's the second glass with just Acrylic paint was done but not until I repeated the process of shaking as in shot glass one. So in fact the Paint on the second shot glass was mixed for 4 min's.
I really don't want to return the paint but I'm not adding this to any of my airbrushes what would you suggest I do is there anything I can add to the paint to breakdown and get the paint pigment to mix correctly or should I cut my losses and return my paint.
Beginner-James

 

[twood]

That blue looks terrible....Have you tried distilled water?
That new bottle could be from the same batch as the first. If that is the case then any test would be the same. Have you tried to do a spray out? You say you do not want to put it thru your brush, but it will not wreck it. I would spray it and see how the end result would be.

 

[HellBird]

I agree with you and Tony, that blue does look bad. (Frozen? Old?) Spraying it won't hurt your brush, but if it's like that in the mixing cup, I doubt it will go on silky smooth and look fantastic.

 

[beginner-James]

Well ive had a full refund. What is Windsor ink like to spray or Com-art but im happy with golden

 

[HellBird]

Com-Art's nice to work with. I've been using it on Bristol and other papers. Haven't found the sweet spot for spraying on TerraSlate yet (spiders or sputters), but I'm close.
You may also want to check out E'tac. Lots of people here use it. Not sure how easy they are to get where you are.
Important thing is to find something that works for you. (I'm still digging)

 

[beginner-James]

I think I'll give Com-art a go. E'tac is only sold by one supplier in the hole of the UK i could try cretex illustration. But unsure i don't think any time soon I'll be changing from clayboard and synthetic paper ( scratch and eraser) is the technique I most enjoy.

Beginner-James

 

[Malky]

Well ive had a full refund. What is Windsor ink like to spray or Com-art but im happy with golden

If you're happy with Golden, stick with it, you wont find Com-Art or E'tac any easier, but you won't find thrm any more difficult either except for the fact that Com-Art is a lot thinner out of the bottle, I reckon with how you've been working your Golden right for you, if you plod on with that the quick progress you have making regards your skill will continue, learning new paint systems on the other hand could hold you back, I would rather see you progress than experiment with different paints

 

[beginner-James]

very good points Malky I shall take your advice. I shall invest in some lighting led panels like this https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ceiling-Do..._rd_t=40701&psc=1&refRID=Y3GNHZ853GE7A02CSK1B

Beginner-James

 

[Malky]

very good points Malky I shall take your advice. I shall invest in some lighting led panels like this https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ceiling-Do..._rd_t=40701&psc=1&refRID=Y3GNHZ853GE7A02CSK1B

Beginner-James

Those lamps are ideal, I have one bought while I lived in Holland, mine is half the size of yours at 600 mms x 600 mms, I paid €50 for mine which I believe is around £42, I'm still trying work out how/where to hang mine to get the best use out of it but since I work in my bedroom I'm concentrating on getting the normal stuff in there straight before I do anything permanet with my work corner, until then most of it is makeshift, only my desk and swivel chair are in a sure space since they can't go anywhere else.

The lamp you've linked is also made 1200 mm x 30 mm, I would have preferred that size for my work space.

 

[Robbyrockett2]

It was damaged. The first badger paint i used had sat in a shed for about 15 years exposed to temps anywhere from -9 to 40C and it looked like your blue. In particular the blue and green.
I strained it and used it anyhow for some practice stuff on paper, it was fine after straining, though i wouldnt have trusted it to stay on anything but paper.
The brand new badger paint was perfectly fine and sprayed well through anything right out of the bottle. The best thing about it is Its very vibrant. Idk about its lightfastness though so i dont use it much.

 

[musicmacd]

Well ive had a full refund. What is Windsor ink like to spray or Com-art but im happy with golden

You’ve answered your own question!

Stick with the golden and get the proper reducer it talk to Mark Thomson as he’s a golden boy

Please don’t think there’s better or worse paint, It’s just spending time with one product and learning it

 

[Squishy]

Paint is a personal preference thing. I got given some badger paint for free with an order once, and didn't like it one bit. Also not a huge fan of e'tac/grex (though I do like how the sepia looks and flows - even single colours of a brand can behave differently or have a look you prefer) and don't like how I would have to use various additives to meet my needs, not good at chemistry . However people love and swear by both those paints. As someone notoriously tight with money, I chose wicked because of its all round, multi surface properties and lightfast qualities, and got to know it real well. It suits me, and I don't have to think about it. Availability is a factor too, can you easily get hold of your chosen brand.

I think as long as you choose a respected brand that does what you need, has the look/vibrancy you like, is readily available, and just spend some time really getting to know it, play around and refine pressure and reduction, work out how to get the best solid or transparent effects, if there are additives what are their properties and benefits, best, quickest and most effective methods of clean up, you won't go wrong. It's not what is the best paint, but what is best for you, and how you get the best out of it.