New to airbrushing, new to acrylic paints - HELP!

You mean it's beading up?

You probably overthinned the paint.

Or perhaps the paint had settled, and you didn't shake/mix it enough before using it, so what you poured out was mostly thinner. If there's any gunk at the bottom of the jar, you have to loosen it up with a stir stick and mix it back into the paint until it's all smooth.

I use windshield washer fluid, or sometimes rubbing/isopropyl alcohol.

Which rules out the possibility that the parts weren't clean enough.

You were right - it was WAY overthinned! Once I got the right ratio the paint looked great - wow airbrush is like a giant leap in scale modelling (compared to a brush). Now it's time to experiment and learn the art of paintbrushing. Really exciting!!!!

Thanks for your help!

Yes...you will find it is all a matter of "tinkering" until you find something that works for *you*. There is no real "etched in stone" answer.

Also, don't limit yourself to "model company" paints. Many people are getting excellent results from the myriad number of "craft" or "artist" acrylics available from places such as Michael's or Hobby Lobby.

Jacob:

Piece of advice: Go to your nearest Michael's and buy a small bottle of "Liquitex low viscosity acrylic airbrush medium". I think that's the correct name. you add a few drops when thinning the paint and it helps improve flow and delays drying at the tip. I found I can even airbrush the older Poly-S paints with the use of this additive, and they were formulated for hand brushing.

Bill Shuey

I'd like to expand on that: you can get very good results with watercolour or drawing inks, particularly the gray/sepia/ochre range, for all weathering and panel line jobs.