Problems with white paint...

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Fallen's Maze

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I am getting consistent results from my black Createx paint , but am having trouble with white. Out of the bottle it seems too thick and my flow is poor(the color comes out in a rough stipple pattern). I reduced it Down to milk and then I get the spider legs. I lowered the pressure and that helped a bit but I am still way happier with my blacks. Is there a better paint/reducer ratio for white? I was doing the wrinkles texture tutorial and was feeling pretty good about it, when I tried adding some highlights it starts looking unnatural...somehow both underdone and overdone at once.

Also, can one reduce Createx paint with just water or is the createx reducer necessary.

Also, does anyone have a cool way to precisely reduce paint. I thought about using a seringe to mix so many parts paint to so many parts reducer? Anyway thanks for any suggestions in advance!
 
White colour is in general much more difficult to master than other colors. Which line of createx white are u using (wicked opaque, wicked detail, ordinary createx, auto air, ...)?
 
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I think white is probably one of the trickiest to use. You should strain it ( I say should, cos Im too lazy Lol), and it needs to be thoroughly shaken, as the pigment will settle a lot. If you over reduce, you will need to do light layers and build up the colour slowly. I use Wicked, and reduce 1droppaint:3 drops 0100 wicked reducer, and spray at 20 psi. I use the reducer as it also acts as a quick drying agent, you can literally see it work, and become almost instantly touch dry, which saves a lot of time. The more you reduce the less tip dry you get, but more layers will be needed to build up colour. I tend to just accept a certain amount of tip dry, and just get into the habit of pinching of the needle tip from time to time.

As with all spraying, make sure your gun is meticulously clean. But even more so when using white, the pigment will cling and build up on the teeniest speck of c***, and your nozzle will block up in no time. If you have a cutaway handle on your gun, pull back the needle from time to time, and spray heavily onto a bit of old rag or something to keep it clear.

Apart from that, just practise, practise, and then practise some more until you get the feel of it. Good Luck!
 
Hello Mr. Pingi,

Thanks for your reply! Right now I am just using the ordinary Createx on gessoed masonite. I read a post by Mitch about the wicked/wicked detail white working nicely. I might give them a try, but would like to figure out the stuff I have. I am still very new to airbrushing and I am sure that I am trying to run before I can crawl a little bit. How much do you reduce your white and at what pressure do you achieve your best results?

Thanks again!
 
Hello Squishy,
Thanks for your reply! I am going to give it a try with the one to three drop ratio at 20psi. I am still very new to airbrushing, so I am sure that a good deal of my problems are due to not having a strong enough feel for it yet. Thanks for your information!
 
20 psi seems pretty low for water-based paints? I think it's going to matter what size tip you're spraying out of as well, when I'm spraying out of my micron I over-reduce white like crazy-but if I'm out of my HP-C for fill/background spray I can barely reduce the paint, crank the PSI and cut clean lines. Keep in mind T-Shirt guys spray 30-50psi range, there is a video of this on coastairbrushtv you can check out as well. He's right, definitely strain your paint, and there is gun lube you can get as well and that tends to help with paint building up on your needle and does not cause spidering.

Before any real answers though, what airbrush are you using? What size is the tip?
 
Thanks for writing!
I am using an Iwata Hi line with a 0.3mm tip. I am using acrylic primed Masonite sanded to an eggshell finish. It takes the black very nicely. I was practicing skin wrinkles with the airbrush tutor pdf download. It looked pretty nice until the white...then it looked way off. I built the black up nice and slow. The white at the same consistency came out way too aggressively at first and was sputters... A bit like snow too. I then tried to thin it down little by little and I reduced the pressure thinking that I could build slower and more transparently, which worked at first , but then it spidered a few times in places that messed it up in a way that didn't seem correctable. I think I just need to practice a lot mor and get used to it. What was the name of that lubricant by the way?
 
If you're thinning it and reducing it at the same time you may over-do it on the thinning process. ALWAYS WRITE DOWN YOUR RATIOS! On all my pre-mixed bottles I wrote down how many drops of paint to reducer, in which case I can always make more and if I know 100% sure that sprays perfect for me, if at some point it isn't spraying right I know it isn't the paint. Iwata makes their own line of airbrush/spray gun lube, can be ordered through any site. I use CoastAirbrush.
 
To be honest I don't know if 20 psi seems low or not, I just know it works for me, Lol. I use an Iwata hp cs, and (famous last words) don't usually have too much trouble. Spidering occurs if too much paint is applied in one spot, whether it's because it's thin and too heavy a layer is painted, or because the needle was too static, (not enough movement in the hand),or because there could've been a slight blockage which suddenly clears allowing a build up of paint to come out. .100_2718 (600x800).jpg I did this with wicked white, at 1drop paint:3 drops reducer at 20psi, but I know I've looked at other people's set up and it hasn't worked for me, I guess there's a certain amount of finding a balance between your technique and your mixtures, and the only way to get that balance is by time, trial and tribulation. God knows I'm still learning, and that's the beauty of airbrushing, always something new to learn.:welcoming:
 
Spidering is too high of PSI or too close to the surface for the PSI. Paint too thick will cause grain-like texture, and too thin of paint can cause an effect very close to spidering.

To be honest I don't know if 20 psi seems low or not, I just know it works for me, Lol. I use an Iwata hp cs, and (famous last words) don't usually have too much trouble. Spidering occurs if too much paint is applied in one spot, whether it's because it's thin and too heavy a layer is painted, or because the needle was too static, (not enough movement in the hand),or because there could've been a slight blockage which suddenly clears allowing a build up of paint to come out. .View attachment 1842 I did this with wicked white, at 1drop paint:3 drops reducer at 20psi, but I know I've looked at other people's set up and it hasn't worked for me, I guess there's a certain amount of finding a balance between your technique and your mixtures, and the only way to get that balance is by time, trial and tribulation. God knows I'm still learning, and that's the beauty of airbrushing, always something new to learn.:welcoming:
 
Also there is a ton of variables without seeing someones setup, is the regulator at the compressor, closer to the brush, length of hose, etc. There is a certain amount of air pressure lost per foot of hose. Adjusting that to get an 'exact' PSI is virtually impossible-a rough estimate is the best anyone can do unless the regulator is very close to the airbrush. What can also happen is if the paint is not properly mixed and a 'thick' part comes through and dries at the tip and a sudden burst comes out, there is a good chance that sudden burst is mostly reducer and that will spider.
 
That tank is so cool! I tried diluting the white the way you said. It was a huge change for the better. Thanks for the advice. The flow was good and I was able to get much more subtle detail. Thanks again!
 
Fallen, I think that there are a few posts on white paint and Mitch went as far as buying different kinds of white paint. Wicked Detail white is going to be your best bet.


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Spidering is too high of PSI or too close to the surface for the PSI

Well yes and no, speed of stroke is just as vital, I rarely change air pressures whilst painting, no matter how close I want to get to the surface, I just increase stroke speed..

20 PSI isn't too low, especially on high reduction levels, pressure depends on so many factors it isn't funny but the best rule of thumb is to experiment and find what suits the paint and application your using it in, I personally find that just over reducing your white and layering it the easiest method to get it spraying nice..A few drops of glycerin could help as well as primarily most of the issue that comes with white is tip dry, remove that aspect and you will have less blow outs, splatters and issues.

Another easy way to reduce tip dry is not to stop to often, continuously drying the paint on the tip, keep it flowing as much as possible and it gives it less chance to dry...GL
 
[Wicked Detail white is going to be your best bet.] This depends on where you living and the availability of trident i used several brands of white and i found out that the tru white works the best for me, but i guess it is like all things involved with airbrushing it's all about personal preferences and no one else than you can make up what is good for you. What you can try as well is when you are shooting white is to use pulsating dagger strokes if you look at several vids from the pro's you see them when shooting white that they are constantly rocking backwards and forwards on the trigger it takes a little practice but when you get the feel for it is really easy, i use this method now myself and i even shoot straight white from the bottle without reducer for highlights in eyes and what have you.
 
Fallen, I think that there are a few posts on white paint and Mitch went as far as buying different kinds of white paint. Wicked Detail white is going to be your best bet.


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In order for my micron to spray Wicked Detail White at 20 psi, it is VERY reduced, more-so than previously mentioned. I can't spray 3:1 ratio out of a micron at 20 psi, it doesn't flow right. If somehow that works for you, that's great, but I over-reduce my paint very often for details. I stand by the theory in relation to vehicles. 90% of your gas mileage is in pedal control. (In relation to trigger control)

Well yes and no, speed of stroke is just as vital, I rarely change air pressures whilst painting, no matter how close I want to get to the surface, I just increase stroke speed..

20 PSI isn't too low, especially on high reduction levels, pressure depends on so many factors it isn't funny but the best rule of thumb is to experiment and find what suits the paint and application your using it in, I personally find that just over reducing your white and layering it the easiest method to get it spraying nice..A few drops of glycerin could help as well as primarily most of the issue that comes with white is tip dry, remove that aspect and you will have less blow outs, splatters and issues.

Another easy way to reduce tip dry is not to stop to often, continuously drying the paint on the tip, keep it flowing as much as possible and it gives it less chance to dry...GL
 
I stand by the theory in relation to vehicles. 90% of your gas mileage is in pedal control. (In relation to trigger control)

Only problem with that theory is a car is a car and an airbrush is an airbrush...LOL...Just joshin ya IM, no offence was intended, my post specifically states that pressure needs relies on many factors, I just mentioned in some circumstances 20 psi is not too low pending on these "other" factors, but ultimately I think it is important not to benchmark PSI's, it really comes down to experimenting in that sense as everyone's set-ups/environment can have major differences as many have pointed out, you mention two important elements, that your using a micron and wicked detail white..I use neither so obviously my needs may be different from yours, as Squishy's may have been because she doesn't mention a micron. Personally I don't use ratios for this reason, I just keep adding reducer/water until I get the desired outcome at the pressure I like to run for a particular application..But maybe I'm just blessed because I came across a white paint I think is amazing and it doesn't seem to suffer the same fate unless its a really hot day..

Ultimately it all comes down to the fact that Fallens Maze reduced their paint some more and it all works good now LOL
 
I just meant that by the sense that every airbrush is going to need a different reduction ratio depending on needle size and PSI. It's a lot harder to spray lower PSI's correctly because that is mainly used for detailing, just getting it to flow decent would of been my first step. Then slowly reduce PSI/Ratio until it was perfect, and write it down! It took me awhile when I first started to get good at ratio's, but I definitely took notes!
 
I have an hp-cs, can't afford a micron (*dreams*), I just know what works for others doesn't always work for me , but I found what does so I'm happy, it took a bit of time and many adjustments but my painting went from fighting the gun, to using the gun. There's just so much to factor in, heat, humidity, equipment, paint etc, and until you are confident with it, you doubt yourself, not knowing if it's you, or the set up that's causing problems. You just gotta play until you find what works, and then you can concentrate on getting creative. Glad that my way was able to help some Fallen's Maze, and I'm sure your own tweaks as you gain confidence will help even more, hope to see some of your work soon! Have fun!!!!!!!!!! (that's the important part LOL!)
 
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