Problem with the water based airbrush paint

S

Szymon

Guest
I have a Harder Steenbeck ultra airbrush 0,4mm and I have tried to use the water based airbrush paint. But it doesn't work correctly. If I use just paint air flows but paint doesn't come out. When I use water everything it's ok. But even I add 2-3 drops of paint again it doesn't flow out.
What should I do??
I must admit that the paint whitch I use is not the better one. I'm from Poland so I think the name of the brant will tell You nothing.
 
it sounds like your paint is not intended for airbrushing and is probably too heavily pigmented, if that is the case even thinning it won't help, to be able to rule out a problem with your airbrush you should try another paint that you know is intended for airbrush use, but if it is spraying water without problem, I'm sure it's your paint.
 
Does the paint you use have a compatible reducer? Even though it says it is for airbrushing, doesn't mean it will work straight from the bottle. You don't say what air pressure you use. T shirt artists can use straight paint, but they generally use larger needles and have maybe 60 to 80 psi. Even branded airbrush paints have additives for various reasons, so I guess the paint you're using would have similar issues, and maybe more so if the pigment isn't ground as fine. Also, you may want to check that your nozzle is clean, or that there are no bubbles coming u into the cup which could suggest a blockage. Hope you get it sorted. Good luck.
 
when i began airbrushing, i tried almost anything imaginable as a paint,so i can tell from experience that if it is waterbased it can be airbrushed,but the quality wont be the same as a medium used for airbrush purposes.so what you have to do is to reduce the paint more,up to 10 to 1 so it can spray properly.pressure,since it is not an airbrushable paint keep it at 18 psi,but also it will depend on the substrate or support you are working on,so you can reduce the pressure so you wont soak the material you are working on.

hope this helps!!!
 
rule of thumb - anything u airbrush should be the consistency of milk :)
and what everyone else said above
 
crank it up to 50 psi and work your way down. T-shirt artists use this and higher. A s stated above general rule for consistency is skim milk. but with a .4 you can shoot it heavier. you will have a harder time with detail with thicker paint and higher pressure though. Here >Homemade Reducer is a reducer that might help
 
Hmmm.. How does one thin water based paint out for air brush? Just add water? (I'm super new to this).. And how much water if so? :)
 
A lot of us work in just drops of paint at one time, depending on the job and paint I have used 1 paint to 1 water upwards to 1 to 25 which was more like dirty water. I would try 1 paint / 5 water that should be thin enough for almost anything. its just experimentation from there, add more water or paint from there and see what results you get. and dont forget to try this on scrap paper untill you get the consistency that will suit you the best. Set your air to about 25psi and also try higher and lower psi per paint mix. It will be a combination of both which gets you the best results. Only you can decide what is best working for you as we all use different airbrushes and compressors. Even the same combination of airbrush/compressor might not work the same as yours, they all differ slightly. Hope this helps.

Regards

Lee
 
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