I read that someone in Denver is letting the pressure off of spray cans and pouring this paint into bottles for spraying with airbrush. I tried this and one can worked fair but the second can poured paint all the time I was releasing the proppellant. I then fashioned a nozzle with a coffee stir tube and this way I can spray what paint I want into the bottle. What I would like to hear from any of you is. What is the makeup of different brands of paint and what thinner will clean it up. After emptying one can into a bottle the paint was quite gassy and acted like seltzer water. This same paint seemed to react weird with regular paint thinner. I like this idea of using spray can paint as the price is great. There must be brands that are better than others. Thanks for any help.
Enamel paint is oil based and paint thinner works just fine.
Lacquer Paint has acetone and or ketones as a base and a lacquer thinner works best.
Some paints are alcohol based but mostly used in commercial applications.
Today urethane paints are used.
I used some auto paint recently and it dried dull because a clear gloss is needed to cover.
Enamel is inexpensive just thin it out for your application. For a small spray gun you may have to go 50/50. Plus you can buy by the pint.
For Lacquer paint find, an auto store with a paint section. It will be more expensive but works better with a spray gun and you will know your getting the right thinner. Oh Yeah Lacquer base damage plastic. The Krylon paint is safe with plastic
I like Walmart Spray can stuff. It’s inexpensive the flat black has a little gloss to it. The colors are not bright but have a used tone to them. Handy in modelling.
Enamel paint in a quart can is thick and will need to be thinned.
Rustoleum is ok Ace isn’t too bad either. I think Rustoleum makes the ACE brand.
Oil base is getting harder to find. Latex is more popular because it is water based.
Why go to all that trouble. Just buy paint that is in a can or bottle and apply it with an airbrush. The practice of puncturing a rattle can might lead to a disaster.
For certain roads, I use spray bombs straight from Wally World. The black “house brand” is perfect for a Western Maryland Speedlettering scheme, just put it on in VERY thin coats.
For other schemes, I’ll use the airbrush, with either Floquil’s Polly S, or Scalecoat (my preferred)so I can get a good paint match for my lighting conditions.
I have to agree that puncturing a can, with paint in it, is a bad idea. If you MUST use spray bomb paint, with out the can, turn the can upside down, and bleed off the pressure that way. Then puncture the can and drain out the product. IMO, this would be a far safer way to to this.
I’ve shot spray paint into a bottle to use with a brush for touch ups. Be careful if you put a lid on. If you shake the bottle, it WILL foam up and go every where when you open it.
50/50 mix with thinner is a bit much. Spray paint is already pretty thin. You could probably use it straight.
I knew I would get an answer to my paint thing here. I was confused as to the make up of spray can paint. Like you pointed out it is carbonated and keeps putting of gas each time I open the bottle. I will let it set open for a while. The label on the can lists acetone and I would think this makes the paint different than regular enamels. I patched a spot on my 1 to 1 white car that Krylon matched very well. Mutch Mutch cheaper than getting auto enamel. I plan to use this paint for other projects. Thanks again all for the answers.
Again, I would have to ask, “why?” If the paint is already in a form to be sprayed, why go to the trouble to remove it from the container designed to spray it (spray can), to put it into another device to spray it (airbrush)? The model paints are different, and this difference cannot be made up by thinning the paints. The model paints have a much finer pigment to help cover with color but not to cover the details cast in or added on, so regular spray can paint is not a suitable substitute due to the thicker pigment used.
Well, you can regulate the pressure with an airbrush, and maybe there is finer atomization. I wonder if the pigments really are finer, as is often said. On some of the high-build primers I could definitely see that…but don’t the mfrs. use standard commercial paints?
I’m not even sure how I’d go about measuring pigment size…electron microscope? I wonder if there’s ever been any actual measurements made. I think I need to Email Krylon.
I’ve found a Krylon Camouflage flat brown color that I like for painting my track before I ballast.
MUCH cheaper than buying 6-$4.50 bottles of Floquil roof brown to do the whole layout.
The spray cans put out WAY too much paint for doing track. Lot’s of over spray and it tends to hide some of the details. It would be much nicer to transfer that paint to an airbrush so I could get better control vs. the overkill spray can.[2c]
I’ve only been told that the reason was that the paint pigments were ground finer, I have seen a distinct difference between the coverage and paint thickness, even back in the old days when “model paints” consisted of Floquil and
TD:
I don’t disagree with you. I’m just wondering if our beliefs about pigment size are really the whole story, or even still true. There could be other reasons for a paint film to be thinner or thicker, or to give a better finish. If a spray can is designed to deliver large amounts of paint in big droplets, it’s not likely to give a thin layer with fine-pigmented paint, so I have to wonder just how much is the paint and just how much is the can.