Now that I have your attention..... I have been airbrushing for 30 years. In all that time I have only once gotten acrylic to work through my airbrush. I have tried Polly' S , Tamiya, and Model Master varietites. I have tried using water, alcohol, and some "airbrush thinner" made by Polly S. So today, once again a major mess and no paint shoots through the airbrush onto my Essex flight deck. I'll mix a batch of enamels together to achieve a reasonable color and go from there. Could/would someone give me a guideline on successful use of these colors?. The only one that ever worked was Tamiya red which I used for hull color a month ago.

What airbrush are you using?
I use Tamiya and MM acrylics out of the bottle all the time through an Aztek 470. Worked fine through a bader too, though I quit using the airbrush cus I really didn't like it-- the Badger that is. I love my 470.

Blaster, I shake and bake MM Acryl out of the bottle through my Testor's airbrush and have never had a problem. In fact, MM Acryl is what got me started airbrushing. No thinner at all.

Shaun

Funny ...... I always used enamels and because of recommendations on here and at other sites, I tried out tamiya acrylics. Now I only shoot with them. My brush is a cheap copy of a badger! Compressor is a diaghram ... so hardly the best set-up in the world but it works fine ... no problem! Maybe they are not thinned enough ... or pressure is too low! Funny how one colour works and the rest don´t? Weird! #:-)

No they don't. I airbrush exclusively with Tamiya acrylic paints and have yet to have a problem. What is your paint-to-thinner ratio? I don't really measure mine but it is probably something like 2 drops of paint to 1 drop of thinner. Also, I use the Tamiya thinner when airbrushing with Tamiya acrylics.

I don't understand why you're having such a problem. I use only acrylics through my AB. I never thin them with water. I use either rubbing alcohol or manufacturers thinner. I use MM Acryls and thin them to about 4 parts paint, 1 part thinner. I spray between 13 - 20 psi.

Could you give us some more details of your trouble? How much paint/thinner ratio, what psi, what manufacturer's paint?

I too use Tamiya Acrylics and haven't had a problem (barring the time an enamel plugged up my nozzle). I usually mix 25% thinner, 75% paint and brush at 25-30 psi (lower for detail/camo schemes).

I'll pretty much echo what everyone else has said....primarily acrylics for me. Both Tamiya and Polly S. I just put the second color on my 1/72 academy stuka last night using Polly S. Went on like a gem. I'm using a 2-1/2 pound tank compressor and a badger crescendo airbrush. I also use a badger 150 and a Pasche VL. All work well with acrylics. Let us know the specs on what your using and how...maybe we can help you come up with a solution.

John

Gotta join in here... i use Tamiya Acrylics in the small bottle - straight up with no thinner. I do use an electric "mixer" to stir the paint to maximum consistancy, but then I just thread the little 43mm bottle directly to my Badger 350 and go to town!

I've no probs either with tamiya paints in my aztek 470 either only paint I have probs with is
life colour i spray about 25psi as the aztek dosen't like it any lower

Never had problems wit Tamiya's Acrylics but when they get very old and you try to "revive" them with thinner because they were almost dry. Only in that case it ended up in a mess trying to airbrush them. For the rest I thin Tamiya's acryls wit their own thinner, isopropyl alchool or winscreen liquid without any problems. No experience with the other two brands you mentioned because it's almost impossible to get them here in Italy.
Ciao

I am using a Paasche H with medium tips and a basic compressor ....I guess a diaphragm type so I can't adjust pressure. I have tried every level of paint to thinner ratio probably up to 50/50. Paint just likes to glump up on me. But the one most consistent thing I am hearing is use Tamiya with Tamiya thinner. Any good idea on the model master stuff cause I like their color choices better. The only reason I'm even concerned is, it looks like enamels are going the way of the betamax, and I would hate to go back to paint brush only because I can't get things to work. If I need to buy a new airbrush, or compressor, I guess it's a stock up on the enamel charlie' cause that ain't gonna happen

I have switched to Life colour acrylic paints which I found while poking around military hobbies..use them straight from the bottle with no problems or add a few drops of thinner to the paint just to be sure... Never had a problem with them

I have limited experience with the new MM acryl line. The few bottles I have I've found can be sprayed with little to no thinning. When needed I use iso. alchohol and/or water. You may want to try a few drops of acrylic extender in your mix as well. It will extend (!) the drying time of the paint so it'll clog your tip less.
Also, a guy in my local club swears that laquer thinner will work great to thin acrylics instead of water/alchohol, and makes an awesome airbrush cleaner. I've been hesitant to try it because of the smell, but I imagine it would reduce clogging as well.

I only AB PollyS/Scale and Model Master acrylics and have no problems. Been doing the PollyS/Scale for years. The older PollyS most times requires me to use their AB Thinner. I've had a Badger 350 and now own a Aztek 470.

I can not agree with your (original) "description".

Hi Blaster the only thing I can think of is to try and shoot some enamels through the AB.
If you still have a problem, then that means it's most likely the AB itself. The Paasche line of AB's are real work-hoarse's and can shoot both enamel & acrylics flawlessly. .... As far as enamels going the way of the betamax, that will never happen. Enamels hobby paints will still be on hobby shop shelves as long as there are scale models to paint.

- ralph

I just started using MM acrylics in an Aztek 470 airbrush. I use the cup and add a drop or two of MM Acryl thinner per cup. I do think it's important , if you are doing a long session, to shoot a cup of thinner every few cups of paint, just to keep the a/b clean.

Blaster, there's been lots of good info put out. I too use the Paasche H airbrush and have so for over ten years with acrylics and enamels through all three tip sizes. You can spray anything through it as long as your setup is correct. For Tamiya acrylics, I thin the paint roughly 50/50 with Isopropy Alcohol. The Hs. 123 I just finished was painted using the MM Acryl line of paints and I didn't thin them at all. I've used Polyscale and thinned them with a drop or two of water.

You have to remember that the acrylic paints dry very quickly and unless you are continuously (sp?) using the airbrush, they will start to clog up some in the needle. To remedy this, I open the needle adjustment all the way open, cover the tip with a rag and backflush with one or two puffs of air. You should see the paint bubble a little in the bottle. After that, spray a few test lines on a spare notecard or something to make sure it's clear and then resume airbrushing after readjusting the needle to the proper setting.

On cleaning the 'H. When was the last time you removed the o-rings from each of the needles and cleaned them? It's not required very often but can help. If you look down in each of the needles you will see a screw down in side. Carefully remove it with a small regular screwdriver and the o-ring will come out. If it's caked in there you may have to fish it out but be careful not to damage it. Once it's out I clean the o-ring and the inside of the needle with thinner. I use pipe cleaner to clean out the needles.

I hope this helps you some.

OK I rarely have a problem with enamels, and I certainly hope they'll be around. But...I think I'll look for the MOdel Master acrylic thinner and purchase a bottle of it and see what I can do. Thanks to all, I know about cleaning and clearing airbrushes, just never can figure why acrylics are so unco-operative. Maybe I too can get profecient enough as they are more readily available around here than enamel. Of course, there is always Squadron in a pinch

I have used auto window cleaner (blue stuff) as thinner for both MM and Polly Scale with great results. I use the Aztec 470 with the medium tip at 20-25psi or the fine tip at 12-17psi.I have only had problems when I did not stir the paint well, did not use enough thinner, or let the paint dry in the brush because of some interruption.Happy painting.
capnjock