etac i cant say it enough

airbrushingferret

Air-Valve Autobot!
last year when i got my badger velocity i could not believe how well the thing worked. but I had to constantly take it apart to clean out clogs and it seemed if it wasn't a clog it would get some thick paint clump in it or tip dry and would not work as well. Thain one day I accidentally left it out all night (I fell asleep) with some wicked black so i cleaned it out with one of those air brush cleaning brushes and it never seemed to work right again so recently I bought a new needle bearing and nozzle set and cleaned it thoroughly.Thain I carefully re assembled it. I used Teflon tape for the needle bearing screw and I think for the part that holds down the nozzle ass for the regulator i used prepared bees wax . when you use Teflon tape you have to be very careful not to over do it as you may alter the distance a part on your airbrush needs to seat itself and loose proper air flow over a nozzle. To make a long story short ever since i switched to etac my velocity is working better Thain ever i was messing around with it for a while and even loosened up on the needle spring tension it feels better Thain the day I bought it and i don't get tip dry at all. That's with the efx the private stock is a little more susceptible to tip dry........I cant believe I got susceptible right on the first go lol . oh ant the paint is transparent like the reduce air is also like a transparent base great stuf and since ken is always looking at my posts I have to add the velocity is my number two gun of course after my micron lol
 
Love my Krome and Spirit, but just had to get an hp-ch to say I have one, and to compare the 2. Also just got some E'tac, so will be trying that out too. Using wicked mostly, my Krome was so bunked up, I had to soak it in AA airbrush restorer, finally it's back to sooth running.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
 
E'tacs are really good paints!! Like you said almost no tip dry, one of the best I have used. You can use them for automotive as well and clear over them. You should also try "Schmincke" German paints. Equally good!
 
just ordered some etac private stock today :) cant wait to try it out
 
I've been using E'Tac for about a year and a half now, won't go back to anything else. No fighting with it, transparents are awesome, and the EFX line rocks for erasing characteristics.
 
I am way behind on my comp piece. I don't feel like jink sing myself but I just aspent all day painting yesterday. I used my trusty micron and velocity and i never had to take either apart to clean a clog once. just slept all day and im fixin to go out get coffee and paint all evening to get caught up. when I was using wicked i had clogs all the time lo.
just one thing to mention thats with the efx which is verry similar to transparents if you see my airbrushed mirrpr vid. The private stoch straight out of the bottle does constantly leave a tad bit of buildup but its easily removed with a wee cotton ball wet with alchohol
 
airbrushingferret, I remember, not so long ago, reading you raving about Trident paints with no (or little) tip dry. Do you not use them anymore? I have some Trident paint but have never tried Etac (yet). What difference have you found between the two paints? Have you stopped using Trident in favour of Etac? I am curious because it sounds like the Etac is better to spray in its transparent form (not opaques) but Trident is basically opaque until its made transparent with transparent base and/or Reducer. I am asking on the basis of tip dry and/or cover?
 
i think melbee has me confused with one of the other weasels on the forum i never tried trident no need to . I love etac period i just placed an other order and would order every color they have in efx in bulk if i could . the white is awesome and i have no problems with any clogs at all tip dry is still apparent with the white but not nearly as bad as spectra or wicked or com art the whole thing is that it is re wetable so as long as paint is coming out of the gun it cant settle and fdry on the needle. the other night i was spraying lines so fin i could not photo graph them
 
i think melbee has me confused with one of the other weasels on the forum i never tried trident no need to . I love etac period i just placed an other order and would order every color they have in efx in bulk if i could . the white is awesome and i have no problems with any clogs at all tip dry is still apparent with the white but not nearly as bad as spectra or wicked or com art the whole thing is that it is re wetable so as long as paint is coming out of the gun it cant settle and fdry on the needle. the other night i was spraying lines so fin i could not photo graph them

Sorry ferret, my bad, I obviously got you mixed up with someone else.

I was wondering if you use the additives with Etac? And if so which ones? or do you use it straight? or with water? I went for Trident because it seemed simpler than Etac as it has only Reducer or Transparent Base as additives and Etac seems to have different additives for different paints (efx, private stock etc.) so I was scared away from it as a beginner. Now I'm very curious about Etac. Could I use Private Stock paint straight or reduced with water? or would I need Extend Air, Reduce Air and/or Condition Air?
Cheers Mel
 
itys verry simple and i believe watching guys like svee on you tube with his % mixing ratios and add auto air reduce air and counting drops of each item can become very confusing maybe if i make enough money this spring and you tube will allow me to make a video longer Thain 15 minuets il try to do a video on airbrushing fine detail with etac efx because the fine stuff iv been getting will blow away the stuff on svee's video i am in no way knocking svee , his videos are very informational and he is very talented

iI dont have to dilute etac efx i can spray fine with it straight adding up to 10% water is fine no more water is necessary

reduce air is a flow agent and a transparent base it is re wettable I believe the extend air is the non re wettable version for private stock. as for the condition air i have no clue what that is and have never used it i think it slows drying time i don't want that lol

as for the private stock i do get tip dry with it but not that bad the best thing is efx is re wettable meaning even if you accidentally fall asleep and forget to clean your gun the next day it should clean out easily with windex. i have also been using spectra tex . allot lately, Its pretty good stuff except it isn't re wettable and if it stays in the gun a while and dries its hard to get out.

also (wow lots of great reasons to try this stuff. when you spray this stuff on a piece of glass and it leaves a glass smooth finish. if you did like i did and tried as many paints do a comparison this stuff doesn't feel like sand paper the way createx spectra com art all do

so thats about it i dont feel like a chemist if its not flowing right add some water it doesnt take much and i believe chris marbut even said no more Thain 10 % water i hope that answers your question . i do believe all water re wetable paints would act pretty much the same they don't get tip dry because they aren't drying as long as paint is flowing you should not get tip dry. give the stuff a shot its awesome i was doing fine lines wit violet last night i could not even hardly see what was coming out .im talking micro lines on masonite
 
Thanks a lot ABferret for this clear info. I'd like to give Efx a try now I know I can use it straight or reduce with small amounts of bottled water.
Cheers Mel
 
I love E'Tac, especially the EFX line. It can get confusing with all of the additives available, but all you really need is the paint and a LITTLE bit of water. I keep some de-ionized water in a jar with an eye-dropper type lid/dispenser. I never bother counting out the drops like you see Svee doing in his videos (too many variables like temp, humidity, etc. I'd spend years trying to chart it all out. lol), but it only takes a few drops to really thin the EFX out.

To clarify the "E'daptables" and their uses (or some, at least)-
condition-air- the shiznit. It acts much like glycerin in that its sort or a "water wetter". A few drops in any waterbased paint, and flow, leveling, atomization, and tip dry are all improved. I also put a small amount in my airbrushes after I've cleaned them at the end of the day. It prevents any gobs of paint I may have missed from drying, lubricates, and conditions the needle bearing.

extend-air- basically it's the transparent base for the PS line. You can use it with EFX as well, though. For example, if you wanted to make the EFX a bit tougher, or more water-resistant.

reduce-air- the transparent base for the EFX (but can be mixed with PS). Great for making colors more transparent without losing viscosity or film strenth.

*as some of us E'Tac old-times found, a 50/50 blend of extend-air and reduce-air makes for a nice barrier coat or flake/pearl carrier. It's not tacky when dry like PS, and is tougher to scratch through, erase, and re-wet, like PS.

Pol'E- can be used mixed with the paints to create a tougher film, and can be sprayed over the paints as a fixative or barrier coat.

Jel'E- one of the most under-appreciated pearls in E'Tacs line up. It's a thickener, so you can re-constitute an over-thinned color. AND, you can use it to thicken up the "body" of any EFX or PS paint, and use it for pinstriping. I mix in a bit of condition-air to prolong the drying time and make palatting a bit easier. Also, it's best to use a Mack 70-series striping brush. They're made for use with waterbased paints, and work a lot easier with them than other brushes.
 
I love E'Tac, especially the EFX line. It can get confusing with all of the additives available, but all you really need is the paint and a LITTLE bit of water. I keep some de-ionized water in a jar with an eye-dropper type lid/dispenser. I never bother counting out the drops like you see Svee doing in his videos (too many variables like temp, humidity, etc. I'd spend years trying to chart it all out. lol), but it only takes a few drops to really thin the EFX out.

To clarify the "E'daptables" and their uses (or some, at least)-
condition-air- the shiznit. It acts much like glycerin in that its sort or a "water wetter". A few drops in any waterbased paint, and flow, leveling, atomization, and tip dry are all improved. I also put a small amount in my airbrushes after I've cleaned them at the end of the day. It prevents any gobs of paint I may have missed from drying, lubricates, and conditions the needle bearing.

extend-air- basically it's the transparent base for the PS line. You can use it with EFX as well, though. For example, if you wanted to make the EFX a bit tougher, or more water-resistant.

reduce-air- the transparent base for the EFX (but can be mixed with PS). Great for making colors more transparent without losing viscosity or film strenth.

*as some of us E'Tac old-times found, a 50/50 blend of extend-air and reduce-air makes for a nice barrier coat or flake/pearl carrier. It's not tacky when dry like PS, and is tougher to scratch through, erase, and re-wet, like PS.

Pol'E- can be used mixed with the paints to create a tougher film, and can be sprayed over the paints as a fixative or barrier coat.

Jel'E- one of the most under-appreciated pearls in E'Tacs line up. It's a thickener, so you can re-constitute an over-thinned color. AND, you can use it to thicken up the "body" of any EFX or PS paint, and use it for pinstriping. I mix in a bit of condition-air to prolong the drying time and make palatting a bit easier. Also, it's best to use a Mack 70-series striping brush. They're made for use with waterbased paints, and work a lot easier with them than other brushes.

Thanks HCP, the Etac system is getting even clearer :)

One more question I'd like to ask is if Etac Efx and PS paints separate in the bottle or if mixed with the E'daptables?

Com-Art paints separate a lot in the bottle and need to be shaken for a long time before using. Golden Fluids mixed with Airbrush Medium also separate in a relatively short time and need stirring before use. I know paints need to be shaken or stirred before use but the less needed the better. I find that Schmincke Aero Color can be premixed with Aero Medium (trans. base) and doesn't separate in the bottle, a quick shake and the premixed paint/medium is ready to go. Trident paint and their Trans. Base can also be premixed and doesn't separate but I've read that premixing with the Reducer is not a good idea because it becomes less effective somehow after 24 hours.

If Etac paints don't separate and just need a quick shake straight from the bottle or can be premixed with any E'daptable and not separate they would be very interesting paints indeed.
Cheers Mel
 
Melbee- From my expirience, if you mix any two or more colors together, it will eventually separate, at least to some extent. With E'Tac, it takes the mixed color sitting for quite a while for it to start to separate, and even then, a quick shake is all thats needed to re-mix everything. I haven't noticed any difference between the PS and EFX lines in that regard, or in mixing the PS and EFX lines together. I quick, 5 second shake is all thats usually required when you do get some pigment migration.

I've never had any separation when using the reduce-air or extend-air, no matter which paint line I was using. My guess, though, is that you would get some separation at some point if you let it sit long enough. Physics just dictates that, at some point, the heavier pigments particles will migrate towards the bottom of the bottle.
 
Melbee- From my expirience, if you mix any two or more colors together, it will eventually separate, at least to some extent. With E'Tac, it takes the mixed color sitting for quite a while for it to start to separate, and even then, a quick shake is all thats needed to re-mix everything. I haven't noticed any difference between the PS and EFX lines in that regard, or in mixing the PS and EFX lines together. I quick, 5 second shake is all thats usually required when you do get some pigment migration.

I've never had any separation when using the reduce-air or extend-air, no matter which paint line I was using. My guess, though, is that you would get some separation at some point if you let it sit long enough. Physics just dictates that, at some point, the heavier pigments particles will migrate towards the bottom of the bottle.

Sounds great HCP, I'm talking about obvious visual separation after one night or less so what you describe with Etac sounds very good.
Thanks Mel
 
im stil to tird to paint i am going to bed this is the time of year when its possible to work 7 dayss a week and when some body says wax my boat and i say 400 dollars they say ok i say im on it lol i was just goofing with some etasc efx straight seems to work best in my micron putting down some contrasty sharp micro lines that are way smaller thain the black line on my machinists scale wow totaly incredible with out a drop of dried paint il bet i can get allot of peolpe to swiotch to this stuff if i make a decent video any way my eyes are closing on there own goon night
 
I bought the ETAC EFX primary set and tried it out this week. The stuff sprays like a dream! It sprays a sharp clean line straight from the bottle, even with my Infinity .15. Tip Dry is very minimal. I have a huge birthday list with the secondary and tertiary colors. I have to say, I am a convert.

I was concidering buying a Micron, but after spraying this stuff through my Infinity and Iwata CP-CH, I don't really think I need one. :)
 
Last edited:
i have to say i cant get on with etac for some reason, maybe its because im use to AA so much. but i cant get it to flow how i want it or reduced how i want it. its either to light or too dark. but it smells nice lol i will do some more with it now i have my new brush and try it again.
 
Back
Top