Using Createx Illustration Paint

[Airbrush Dreams]

I am in need of advice with the new Createx Illustration Paint. I have been testing it for two weeks now and I am making no head way. I get line breaks, spitting and clogging in the nozzle. I have tried pressure from 7 to 25 psi. and reducing and not reducing. I need the secret formula to get this stuff to flow right. My Compressor is a Great White Shark with double particle separators before the air line off the tank. I have been trying the paint with the Micron C plus, Micron SB And the HP CS. All react the same. They have been cleaned with restorer and all new needles and nozzles. Nothing works.

 

[jagardn]

Interested to see what the consensus is. I have been thinking of getting Illustration paints and was unsure if I wanted to get Comart, Createx, or ETAC.

 

[Strictly Attitude]

The E'tac/Grex EFX is my fav over the createx line I have not tried the new createx reducer yet but I know to get createx to flow properly wicked or illustration it takes allot of over reducing.

 

[Mr.Micron]

For me Createx illustration works great but reduction is the main trick ..
1 part paint 3 part W100 1part W500 flows great no clogging or skipping.
The W500 is great but on the bottle it does read to mix W100 in with it. Not sure if that is just a standard stamping on all the bottles or not but I found it works better when you do mix them.
But I did try it the illustration straight out the bottle through both my Micron CM-C+ with the .18 set up and the Krome with the .2 set up. Neither of them would give a nice spray pattern I would think they should have without reduction.

 

[Airbrush Dreams]

The only thing with mixing W500 or W100 you loose the ability to erase with soft erases and the cross link is shortened. E-Tac Edwards FX flows flawlessly but is more fragile and a bit tougher to clean out. The Illustration reducer helps some, but I don't understand the skipping. Plus if they sell it as to work straight out of the bottle why do they send reducer with the set. I have talked with Createx and they blame my airbrushes for the problem. So the sent me a bottle of restorer. And some new paint, but it changed nothing.

 

[Mr.Micron]

The only thing with mixing W500 or W100 you loose the ability to erase with soft erases and the cross link is shortened. E-Tac Edwards FX flows flawlessly but is more fragile and a bit tougher to clean out. The Illustration reducer helps some, but I don't understand the skipping. Plus if they sell it as to work straight out of the bottle why do they send reducer with the set. I have talked with Createx and they blame my airbrushes for the problem. So the sent me a bottle of restorer. And some new paint, but it changed nothing.

Now if you were a complete newbie I might be in agreement with it is your brush. But your not.
When I first got some of the Illustration paint I shook it up real good and through it in the brush . Why because they said it would shoot straight from the bottle. It did not happen to well.
Not I have not had problem when reducing on erasing it for the highlights . unless I am trying to use a gummy eraser.
But like everyone else I have to try a paint before I will give an opinion. some can do great things with E'tac I am not one of them , I had more headaches with E'tac than any other paint I have tried.
Com-art is great but sometime too thin for some larger tipped airbrushes.
but I still prefer Wicked over the Illustration .

 

[AndreZA]

If you read the blurb for this paint it says it is to be used for Dru Blair's colour buffer method. For this you have to mix it with white to make it opaque first. But I doubt this is the cause of the spitting and splattering.

 

[rmopar]

I see this is an old discussion ,but has anyone hit on a good cure when i over reduce i get a gritty effect

 

[Squishy]

If it is looking grainy I would say it needs a bit more reduction. When it's right it goes down satiny smooth.

 

[Madbrush]

I see this is an old discussion ,but has anyone hit on a good cure when i over reduce i get a gritty effect

I should point out that some paints suffer pigment separation when thinned too much and this will also cause a grainy effect, in these cases it's necessary to stir the paint regularly while in the cup to avoid this, having used Schminke aero colour in the past, this was really bad for that particularly when colours were mixed, paints that are old are prone to this as well despite the appearance of still being good.

 

[jagardn]

If it is looking grainy I would say it needs a bit more reduction. When it's right it goes down satiny smooth.

Depends, it could go either way. Grainy and inconsistent paint flow would be under reduced. Grainy with spidering would be over reduced. I have seen over reduction causing pigment migration with CI, but it would have to be very thin.

 

[bubba g]

If you're not rinsing the air brush out thoroughly with water after using the restorer that can cause a problem with the paint similar to what you are describing.

You need to rinse it well then wipe out the inside of the color Cup.

I also agree with what others said. Reduction is the key with it. Add one drop of reducer at a time until it sprays perfect. It's really nice once you get it right...

 

[Madbrush]

Depends, it could go either way. Grainy and inconsistent paint flow would be under reduced. Grainy with spidering would be over reduced. I have seen over reduction causing pigment migration with CI, but it would have to be very thin.

I was referring to separation of the constituents rather than pigment migration, with pigment migration it's usually throwing too much on at one time causing fish eye, but some paints, certainly Schminke, breakdown completely losing their properties altogether with over thinning and the binders no longer have the ability to hold the constituents together, other attributes are also sometimes affected such as sheen, in my work as painter for example if we thin high gloss paints more than 5% they lose their gloss altogether and dry almost matt, even more thinning and they become powdery when dry, we generally avoid thinning and save such practices for colder weather when the paints are more difficult to use.

Normally technical data sheets will indicate just how much thinning a given paint or substance can take before it returns to it's main constituents there fore becoming useless, however these sheets are not always readily available.

 

[Squishy]

rmopar a pic if you have one would help, I was assuming a superfine speckled look, but it could also be what the other guys suggested.