Amount of paint used for airbrushing

ulvdemon · Post by **ulvdemon** » Thu Oct 11, 2012 10:21 am

This may be added to the silly question column, but I was wondering, exactly how much paint is used to airbrush say a base coat of a model? Do you find yourself going through a whole 1/2 oz bottle for a model the size of say BSG Viper or any of the Star Trek/Star Wars ships?
I have an idea when I have to use a rattle can, but I am going to be starting airbrushing and I do understand the need to thin the paints. I have the feeling I may go overboard and mix too much then is needed. Since I will need to order most of the colors I need I am trying to get a general idea as to how much I need to order/use.
Thank you in advance.

Fokker Ace · Post by **Fokker Ace** » Thu Oct 11, 2012 10:41 am

You won't need a whole bottle for what you mentioned unless you put the paint on too thick. If you are using a straight color, ie no mixing colors, just thin enough to get a bit in your airbrush and see how far that gets you. Then continue on until the job is finished.

The reason to airbrush in the first place is to be able to apply very thin layers of paint and build up colors. If you are using too much paint you are defeating the purpose of the airbrush.

ulvdemon · Post by **ulvdemon** » Thu Oct 11, 2012 10:46 am

Thanks for the info, once I get started on the first model I will see how it goes. Now to pick the first one.

Post by **TER-OR** » Wed Oct 17, 2012 7:58 pm

Get a cheap kit to use for practice. You can clean it off - windex works great for most acrylics. Don't be a noob on your first kit, get the feel of the airbrush and paint first.

One of the sticky topics is on airbrushing, it's worth a read.

nanook177 · Post by **nanook177** » Sun Nov 18, 2012 7:29 pm

This looks like a good, similar topic to enter this discussion. I've a Paasche VL and I'm painting a AMT Refit. I'm using Tamiya white and am going through the stuff like it's going out of style. I read that Tamiya can be airbrushed directly out of the bottle, but I'm gonna go bankrupt buying so many bottles of paint. What would be a good suggested ratio to start thinning the Tamiya to? I normally run my compressor at about 30 psi for painting.

Joseph Osborn · Post by **Joseph Osborn** » Sun Nov 18, 2012 8:15 pm

nanook177 wrote:This looks like a good, similar topic to enter this discussion. I've a Paasche VL and I'm painting a AMT Refit. I'm using Tamiya white and am going through the stuff like it's going out of style. I read that Tamiya can be airbrushed directly out of the bottle, but I'm gonna go bankrupt buying so many bottles of paint. What would be a good suggested ratio to start thinning the Tamiya to? I normally run my compressor at about 30 psi for painting.

A VL can push a lot of paint. You can probably thin the paint as much as 50:50, drop your pressure to 20-24psi and still get decent coverage. What kind of primer did you use? White really needs to go over a white or light gray primer so that you're not building up too much paint in an effort to achieve your color.

nanook177 · Post by **nanook177** » Sun Nov 18, 2012 8:22 pm

Joseph Osborn wrote:A VL can push a lot of paint. You can probably thin the paint as much as 50:50, drop your pressure to 20-24psi and still get decent coverage. What kind of primer did you use? White really needs to go over a white or light gray primer so that you're not building up too much paint in an effort to achieve your color.

I used Model Masters Acryl medium grey primer. I initially tried MM Acryl White, but it airbrushed HORRIBLE, runny and "Frosted". Tamiya sprayed great, but wow, I'mg going through a lot of it!

Post by **TER-OR** » Wed Nov 28, 2012 4:38 pm

White is the worst. It's best if you can use a white primer or a very light gray primer. I had this same issue with the Meteor Sweeper - talk about a LOT of white hobby paint.