i am about to use this paint for the first time. It is the acrylic paint. What do I thin it with to airbrush it? Can it be sprayed directly from the bottle?
I thin the Modelflex slightly by adding distilled water until the paint is the consistency of milk. It varies by color but I start with 1 part water to 4 parts paint. Much easier to add more water a few drops at a time than to try to make the paint thick again! [banghead]
Some people use windshield washer solution but I do not like to add any additional chemicals that may react with the paint formula, especially if you are going to return the unused paint to the bottle.
I have a bottle of Polly S airbrush thinner #55608 but I don’t notice any advantage to using it.
Some of my Modelflex and Pollyscale is going on 20 years old and it is still useable.
Be sure to strain your paint before putting it into the color cup.
Good Luck, Ed
Distilled water for me as well.
Never use tap water… And don’t ask me how I know why you shouldn’t…
Hello Anthony,
Badger’s Modelflex paint is designed as “ready to spray” directly from your airbrush. You can thin it slightly with distilled water. The yellow body section on the bus below is a mix of Modelflex Santa Fe Yellow and Santa Fe Red.
After painting the body, I thinned the yellow some more and painted the rims. Result: Instant weathering. By thinning the Modelflex yellow, it made it semi-transparent. This was helpful in making the rims appear grimy since the stock green color was showing through but looked blackish underneath the yellow.
If you have a standard “medium” size needle/aircap setup (as most single action airbrushes do) then thinning this product is usually not necessary. Thinning Modelflex is helpful for weathering washes, painting very small details, and for getting the paint into hard to reach nooks and crannies.
No disrespect to modelers that do the following, but I prefer not to thin waterbased paints, like Modelflex, with alcohol related products. Alcohol tends to speed up drying times for waterbased acrylic paints which is not helpful if you need to keep the paint inside of your airbrush for more than a few minutes in a room that’s warm (garage, attic, etc). Waterbased paints can gum up an airbrush’s passageways if left inside too long and cleaning up afterwards can become a chore.
What are you painting? Locomotive? Rolling stock? Structure? Or are you weathering.
I tried spraying directly out of the bottle but thr results were not good. Although the paint looks thin enough, I am having to spray at 30 psi to get any decent amount of paint through the brush. I use a Passache dual action airbrush. What psi do you spray at?
Hi Anthony,
For Modelflex paint I use a Paasche’ VL (pictured below):
I suspect that you have a VL as well. Which needle and aircap setup are you using? Modelflex works nicely with the #3 setup at 25-30psi as long as the paint is stirred thorougly. I make sure that there are no paint “clumps” on the bottom of the bottle (since some may sit for a few years).
If you’re using a #1 needle and aircap setup, you may have to thin Modelflex slightly with distilled water.
First, I’m definitely not an airbrush expert. I’ve done two whole projects with my Paasche VL dual action, a set of Athearn heavyweight passenger cars and (recently) a LaserKit train depot.
I wanted to start with water based paints as I presumed it was easier to clean water based paints at the garage sink. So I started with Badger ModelFlex. I had some inconsistency with using it as bottled, so I tried diluting it a bit and have no difficulty now. An important suggestion is 2% (not quite skim milk) consistency, which I think some experienced folks here recommend, and may be a bit thinner than in the bottle. I got some Wagner PaintEasy, recommended by someone here, as a diluting medium. It’s milky and on my last project I added a bit more than a tad, maybe towards the 1:4 ratio someone above suggested. I have no idea what the PaintEasy does or consists of, maybe distilled water is just as good. I spray at about 30 psi but can’t say that"s “right”. I’ve concluded that the ModelFlex benefits from some dilution (or it certainly doesn’t hurt). I’ll probably stick with it awhile.
When I inquired about airbrush cleaning recently here, one experienced member reported a problem experience with it. While that concerns me, I’m unsure which brand to shift to. I won’t go the non-water based route as I believe that long term the solvent paints will continue to go away. I got interested in TruColor but it has a $35 thinner and I’m not going that route. So for me, I’ll focus on what water based paint serves my needs and how to use it.
Paul,
Sounds like you’re moving forward well and thinning your Modelflex as needed. Spraying from 25 to 30 psi sounds good but be careful as sometimes you can potentially wind up with a bit of a textured finish when spraying at higher pressures. I had to practice a bit with Modelflex before I could comfortably lay a very smooth coat with it (scrap plastic is good to keep handy!).
Something to keep in mind is that Modelflex Paint’s viscosity varies from color to color due to the amount /size of the color pigments in the mix.
Re: Cleaning. Just sharing my experience. Whenever I spray waterbased products like Modelflex, Pollyscale, or Duncan I flush my airbrush out with a mix of distilled water and 70% alcohol. I partially disassemble the airbrush, wipe off the needle, aircap, clean the nozzle with a tip cleaner. Then I re-assemble it. Have been doing that for years and have had zero problems.
For solvent based paint products (Scale Coat 2 is excellent), I clean out the airbrush with automotive lacquer thinner. Cheaper to buy a gallon at an auto body supply store instead of a hardware or home improvement business.
Regarding your thoughts on solvents:
While solvent based paint production in the scale hobby and prototype transportation worlds has been cut back considerably due to the “Green movement” (I’ll leave that political hot potato alone for now) no need to worry it’s not going to become extinct any time soon. From my understanding
Thanks for the info.
You’re welcome Anthony.
Sorry for being so wordy, but I’ve communicated with modelers concerned that solvent based products are disappearing from the market. They were switching to waterbased products out of “pressured panic” rather than out of a desire to try something different or new for the right reasons.
I respectfully suggest to modelers starting out with airbrusing to try both types as they have their pros and cons.
Waterbased paints (Modelflex, Pollyscale, Testors Acryl) are safer as far as fumes, can yield excellent results once one gets past the learning curve (doesn’t take long), and dry/cure very quickly.
Solvents based paints (Scale Coat, Floquil, Alclad), imho, are generally easy for beginners to mix and apply, are less sensitive to humidity issues, and don’t “gum up” inside of the airbrush after so many minutes, which gives you plenty of working time.
Since I find airbrushing to be a relaxing activity (when I have jazz music playing in the background), I use both types.
For waterbased paint colors I have no particular favorite. My paint rack contains Modelflex, Polyscale, Acryl, and Duncan products.
For solvent based color finishes on plastic my #1 choice is Scale Coat. Its slick, high gloss level and durable finish is excellent.
NOTE: PLEASE guys, always use a respirator when painting, regardless if you’re using watebased or solvent based paints!
With properly thinned Modelflex, with the right cap&needle set, you should be able to spray around 22-25psi. (As mentioned, 2% milk consistency is the goal…) Solvent based paints can be sprayed at a slightly lower psi.
This is the reason many of us recommend a bit larger of a compressor than the standard “airbrush” ones… They have trouble keeping the pressure up at anything we use when painting models.
And, as Antonio mentioned, always have adequate ventilation, and always use a resperator style mask. “Safety first” doesn’t just apply to the 1:1 scale trains…
In my experience, even “airbrush ready” paints usually need a bit of thinner to really flow well. I use water for Polly-Scale, and Tru-Color thinner for Tru-Color. I use water and Testors airbrush cleaner to clean the airbrush after using acrylics. Nail polish remover after shooting Tru-Color. I’ve not used any other kinds of paint yet.
I’ll join the use a respirator regardless of the paint type chorus. I sprayed acrylics indoors and the fumes made me feel sick for a couple days. So, I always wear one now. I don’t as of yet have a spray booth.
For a compressor, I’d recommend a small shop type with a tank. Also add a moisture trap. No matter whether you use solvent or acrylics, you’ll get better paint jobs by adding a moisture trap. I use a Porter-Cable 3-gallon pancake model with a Paasche R75 Moisture trap/regulator combo.