Differant brands

[magicdrafna]

I'm looking at trying out several different brands so i can discover what one i like the feel of.
Would you guys suggest buying a brands transparent or Opaque? Im thinking i would want opaque So i could make them transparent with the right reducer. At the moment im looking at using AA, Wicked, Com-Art, Trident(if i can get it state side), Etac FX (if i can get it state side), Aqua-Flow, Spectra Tek, and Golden. I know this is alot of brands but i know almost nothing about all the different paints.

My work surface will be canvas or primed surfaces(helmets and such), and my airbrush will be either an Omni 6000, or a Badger Renegade: Spirit

If you have any comments about these brands please let me know i dont want to waste my money on bad paint.

Thanks

 

[wmlepage]

Transparents would be my choice. Yes you can add reducer or transparent base to make the opaques more transparent, but the simple addition of opaque white can shift a color to a lighter tone, and add opacity.

The ETac EFX is an American brand, so yes you can get it in the states, USairbrush dot com is their site. If you go with ETac you will not be sorry, almost no tip dry, it's a high quality paint, smells great when sprayed, is erasable and rewetable, but can be a bit delicate until fully cured and or coated.

The others are pretty good too. But they have different. Things they are good at. Do a bit more research on each paints abilities and use age. Many are not lightfast, so they can fade quicker in direct sunlight than others, not that you can't use them ,you just need to find all the facts before buying paints you won't like or use.


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[flycatchr]

Hi Magic - almost all the paints you have mentioned have great reviews from peeps on this forum. As far as I know the wicked is light fast, I don't know about any of the others. (wicked flouros are not light fast). Another thing I remember hearing here is that the clear medium turns opaques into semi transparents - but this needs confirming.

edit - what wmlepage said

 

[magicdrafna]

does lightfast really matter on a helmet or any such item once it gets 2-3 coats of automotive grade clear on it?

im doing a bit of research and i cant seem to find what Com-Art is used on, for example AA says for use on nonporous surfaces

 

[wmlepage]

Best bet is to find the companies websites and read their tech sheets


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[magicdrafna]

ill say out of my list i have managed to knock Trident and AA off my list. Trident requires me to mix all of my colors and to be honest i dont have a digital system to figure it all out , and AA well its not designed to be used on Canvas so i see no reason to limit myself however that still leaves me 6 brands of paint to try and i must say im quite excited to see how it all will work once i get going

after looking at all the high flow colors Golden has on chicagoairbrushsupply i could see myself getting in trouble if their paint works like im expecting it to

 

[wmlepage]

Do not rule out the AA. I have used it on shirts fine, so canvas would be fine too, even though it is geared more for automotive type use. But Wicked can b used on cloth, canvas, metal, just about anything and it is light fast. So is the Createx illustration, it just has that fragile flaw until it is cured fully or coated, but that can be dealt with fine.


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[jagardn]

ill say out of my list i have managed to knock Trident and AA off my list. Trident requires me to mix all of my colors and to be honest i dont have a digital system to figure it all out , and AA well its not designed to be used on Canvas so i see no reason to limit myself however that still leaves me 6 brands of paint to try and i must say im quite excited to see how it all will work once i get going

after looking at all the high flow colors Golden has on chicagoairbrushsupply i could see myself getting in trouble if their paint works like im expecting it to

Here is your digital mixing system for any paint. It's all you need.

Also, as Wayne said. AA can be used for much more than automotive.

 

[magicdrafna]

my only problem with using a color wheel to mix paints is that if i ever have to reproduce a color its almost impossible

 

[foreveryoung001]

does lightfast really matter on a helmet or any such item once it gets 2-3 coats of automotive grade clear on it?

im doing a bit of research and i cant seem to find what Com-Art is used on, for example AA says for use on nonporous surfaces

Light fast does matter BIG TIME! Most automotive urethanes have some UV protection built in and that will help, but if the pigment itself, isn't, then it will still fade. One season on the trails and a poor light fast paint will fade a lot. AA, Wicked and E'tac are the one's I use most, and they are all great with the UV... I personally don't care so much for the Wicked and AA spray characteristics, so mainly use E'tac, but I had to do the same thing you're doing... just trying out a whole bunch of paints until I found one that worked for me. If you can find that sweet spot with Wicked, it is a very versatile paint, and can be used for anything from fine art to tshirts to automotive. So I would say definitely try that one and I will always recommend E'tac... I use the private stock, mainly because it was designed more with harder surfaces in mind, but I use it on canvas and tshirts too. The EFX has better spray characteristics, but because it is re-wettable, you just need to take a little more care when spraying... I'm a messy, clumsy, fat fingered, idiot when it comes to airbrushing, so I've had to stick with the PS.

Try a bunch, and you'll find what you like and what works for your style and application.

 

[magicdrafna]

Im going to be at Dickblick this Friday and was wondering if anyone could suggest 2 or 3 transparents that might be worth picking up. im still doing dots and lines at the moment but im hoping i can move through all that fairly quickly.