Spray Painting

[Fathead59]

Hello Guys , I am looking at trying my hand at painting my own cars , I have Testors Aztek paint system and want to mix my own colors . What I am looking for is the ratio of paint to thinner for this type of system . Any help will be appreciated .

[War Eagle River]

Try different mixes, spray on plastic spoons to see what is best. Then go for it!

[Fathead59]

Thanks War Eagle , I guess it will be trail and error

[chrisguyw]

If you can try and mix to the viscosity of milk, you won't be too far off.........I have been mixing this way for years.

Cheers
Chris Walker

[chappyman66]

Chris is right...with an airbrush you want to not be watery, but not be thick either....hence the milk reference. General rule of thumb is bottle/brush paints are too thick, but it does depend a little on color and formulation. Also note that distance from the subject and technique matter....it's not always the paint or equipment. So the trial and error is reasonable, but milk is a good place to start.

[Fathead59]

Thanks for the info Gents , now I need to get past my fear and start painting

[dinglebery]

I think you're being a little hard on yourself. It's not difficult, it's all about technique. With time you'll enhance your technique. Start off with single solid colors and don't over think it. Focus on spraying nice even layers onto a large white piece of construction paper to see how much paint is laid down in relation to how far away you are, trigger postion, etc. You'll get the hang of it pretty quick I think! And show us the work! we're all in it with you!

[slothead]

I've started to consider an airbrush system and have asked questions of builders during the weekly slot car zoom meetings. The value of using a compressor instead of a canned propellant was discussed and it will take practice to learn good techniques.

I'm considering where I can get some cheap models to practice on for multicolor paint schemes and fades where one color transitions smoothly to another. There are apt to be a lot of poor outcomes before being able to produce something to be proud of.

[Fathead59]

I didn't want to jump right into the compressor route right away , figured if I got good at using spray cans first then I would move up to using it

[slothead]

I get that, since the cost of a high quality airbrush and compressor could be $200 - $300. Iwata is what was recommended and what I checked out. Not sure I'll make the investment but if I do it'll be so I know what's possible with a good setup. If I can't get desired results with a good setup I'll know it's my lack of ability and move on.

What your doing makes sense (and cents) because you can always move up to a better setup in the future. Just don't let the results you get with the Testors airbrush and canned propellant convince you of the best you could do.

[Fathead59]

And that is fresh milk not curdled milk , right

[Fathead59]

I wouldn't know what to do with lumpy paint

[Bill from NH]

You could strain it through a piece of panty hose fabric. A couple years ago I had to convince a dollar store clerk that the ultra-large pair I was buying wouldn't be worn by me. The lady in the register line behind me had to get in on the conversation too. <LOL>

[Fathead59]

Well Bill , you could have told them that you are planning a bank robbery and you needed a mask , lol

[Fathead59]

And the way I look at it is , if you are going to ask a stupid question you are going to get a stupid answer

[RichD]

Hardware and paint stores sell paper funnels with fine mesh at the bottom to strain paint.

[SpeedyNH]

i think that Scott's plastic spoon paint test method is pretty clever.
(he really forked over an answer- knife job mate!)

[RichD]

If you are going to use solvent based spray paint you should have a spray booth that vents outside or wear a mask that has a cartridge for organic vapors. The cartridge would need to be replaced from time to time. If you are spraying water based paint a simple dust mask would do.

[waaytoomuchintothis]

The first time I used plastic spoons I bought the wrong kind of spoon, can you believe it? Just for the record, get white, stiff, cheapass spoons, the kind you wouldn't even try to eat with, the crappy ones. They are perfect.

[Wobble]

Yep, plastic spoons are a great idea. Beats layers of paint on a body before you get it right although an old body works too. I have an old Scalex Merc that has more than a few layers on it.