How do you get your paint into your airbrush

I use a piece of sprue to transfer paint drop by drop into the Cup and to stir the thinner in. As I usually need about 8-10 drops of paint to airbrush one side of a plane (in 1/48 scale), this method is enough for me.

Yes, but you cannot mix the two together.

The big thing for me is not contaminating the original paint bottle. Whatever you mix up for putting into your airbrush you never want to put back into your original paint bottle. It will destroy the original color, and definitely shorten shelf life of the paint in the bottle. I get these nice soft plastic mixing containers from hobby lobby. They are about the size of a film container and they come with a cover so you can store paint in them for a little while. You can take a black marker and mark down your mixing ratio for later use if that paint mix works out good. Depending on how much paint I'm using depends on whether its poor, or to use a dropper. I've never used a strainer at this point but I'm sure it would help cut down on clogs in the airbrush. Sometimes if it's just a small area I need to paint I just mix the paint right into the cup on the airbrush. Using a dropper ... so many drops paint ... so many drops thinner. Using a tooth pick to mix the paint up.

Like another poster stated I think painting acrylics from different brands over acrylics is okay, just don't mix them together while painting.

Chris

I have an adapter that allows me to mount Testors Model Master enamels directly to the bottom of my Badger 200 or 150. I find that if I use MM Airbrush thinner I usually only need to thin to just below the rim to get a good airbrushing mix - I use an eyedropper to add thinner. Saves me tons of cleanup time over what I used to do...and no more pouring stuff around.

I bought mine somewhere, but such an adapter is also pretty easy to make using a paint bottle top and a brass nut and bolt. You'll need a drill pres and a tap to match the threads on the delivery side of the airbrush.

I once mixed two different brands of water-based acrylics together, and ended up with something resembling Jell-O. :-D

Pat

i used a testors cap and a little silicon to put on one of the large badger caps. lets me use old bottles for mixers and i can still use the big badger bottles for large areas. talk about ending a lot of mess. how was the return to the lumpen proles, ruf?

The usual...sometimes one has to be reminded.

Working my butt off hauling and tweeking for a local band...not my kind of music, but they run the band I like I would run my own. And then the guys I split from when I took sick asked me back to play...to I've got two...three?..jobs now. Still, I'm a helluvalot better off than last year at this time...

and building. great your well and life let's you play, too. i'm finishing an early tiger...my flying stuff is getting a rest so that i may regrow interest. the tiger is the old tamyia, i'm basically practicing my armor skills before i tackle a underkind. them dicke max's look real nice. anyway, damn glad your well. ride soon, maybe?

Actually, the long answer is that one probably can mix Gunze Aqueous and Tamiya Acrylics* since they're coming from the same paint maker, but Lifecolor acrylics and Vallejo/Andrea/Prince August/Prince August Air/Color of Eagles (differend brands, same maker) do not mix with anything else.

*Tamiya's XF21 contains only the matting medium and a carrier, but no acrylic binder, so it can safely be used to flatten a satin or gloss Gunze Aqueous.

I use airbrushes with the suction feed bottles. I have tried eyedroppers to move paint from paint bottles to airbrush bottles. I found the eyedroppers too hard to clean.

So I just pour directly from paint bottle into airbrush bottle. I DO have to remember to wipe the threads area of the bottle. Sometimes I forget this step and have a devil of a time removing cap next time, but I live with it. Same thing with the thinner- though sometimes I pour the thinner into the thinner-bottle-cap first to make it easier to pour the right amount into the airbrush bottle. I pour the color(s) first, then add the amount of thinner I believe appropriate.

I haven't bought Pactra paints in a a long time, so I don't know if it still holds, but the Pactra bottles used to screw right onto the Badger airbrush feed cap.

If I can stop making music - and I'm still not quite done with the phys-therapy on my left shoulder. The one band does about two gig a month, and my guys usually practice once a week...I need a break. A long one. Getting ready to head east in a couple weeks.

i see. unless you get a spurt of the moment, i'll look towards after xmas? say hello to windsville. especially if you hit berwyn.

Bendy straw - suck paint up to the bend. Close with tongue over other end and transfer to mixing jar!

Up to line with another straw of thinners and that's your 50:50 Mix! ( Humbrol anyway... )

Oh, and if you do the thinners first you only need one straw AND the film on the inside of the straw eases the paint flow.

CAUTION: DO NOT USE THIS TECHNIQUE IF YOU SUFFER FROM HICCUPS!

snipped-for-privacy@AOL.com wrote in :

I also use a straw, but I don't suck: Just dip the straw in the paint, wait until the level inside the straw is the same as outside. Then close off the top with your fingertip, and transfer. You won't transfer as much paint, but there's no risk of aspiration this way.