Warning, Noob Inside - Do I have to thin enamel for use in an airbrush?

[haylcron]

Hi all, I'm new to the scale model scene and just picked up a Moebius Viper MK II model I'm itching to put together. I bought an airbrush and the enamel paints mentioned in the instructions (although I subbed out blue angel blue for the insignia red) - now I'm trying to figure out how to use them. So to the question... the enamel seems to be very thin, is it ok to put this directly into the airbrush or do I need to thin it first? If so, what ratio are we talking about and what is the best kind of thinning agent to use? If it helps, the paint is Testor's Model Master and the airbrush is an Iwata Eclipse CS.

Any and all help is greatly appreciated!

Cheers!

 

[Quaralane]

For most enamels, yes, you want to thin them to some degree. Otherwise, you may gum up the brush badly.
Since you're using the Testor's paints, the best bet would be Testor's airbrush thinner.
Mix is usually around 50/50, but needs to be about the consistency of milk in order to spray properly.
Some of the other guys here can give a LOT better pointers, though

 

[Grendels]

The only thing I can add is that Quaralane is correct, you need to thin the Testors enamels. I didn't do that once, I thought it was an acrylic by mistake and boy did it make one hell of a mess INSIDE my airbrush. It took hours to clean that gunk out. I use acrylics in my air brush now, and haven't gone back to the enamels with the dual action. I have a single action external mix that I use for enamels so I don't have to clean it up so much.

 

[haylcron]

Thanks all for the replies, you saved me from hours of scrubbing out an airbrush.

Bit nervous to get started, hope it goes well!

 

[punkpigpen]

i'd switch over to acrylics too. it dries much faster and easy to mix colors. the enamel is always soo gummy even when thinned for my tastes. though i like using them for some minor detailing sometimes. like in a cockpit. the testors chrome silver is the best looking "real" metal ive seen or used.

 

[m1ks]

Try the enamels, I love using them, the finish is far superior to any acrylic i've used so far, especially so with gloss.
They have their downsides, smelly thinner, long curing time, 24, 48 or 72 hours depending on brand, thickness of layer atmosphere etc but coverage is unbeatable for me I always use enamels for a gloss finish specifically.
Acryl has its good points too, less smelly thinners, faster curing time, 12 to 24 hours, no reason you can't use both types so play about.

People say cleanup for acrylics is easier, not so, either ones as easy i find, just different cleaning medium, Turpentine for enamels and IPA for acryl.

Theres no golden rule for thinning ratios, just mix in a pot and add thinners and stir with a brush till you get a milk like consistency that 'just' coats the sides of the pot when brushed up.

Heres a video I made for cleaning after spraying enamels, this may help.

Model tips, How to clean your airbrush after Enamel & Acrylic paint use