Thinning craft
paint for spraying
Q.
How thin is thin
enough? I want to thin
some cheap hobby paint
for my airbrush to spray
the backdrop. I’ve been told to thin the paint so it’s about like
milk, but are they talking skim, 1%, 2%, or whole milk? I use
the cheap Apple Barrel paints that are about $1 per bottle, and
I have a very large area to cover. Do you thin with just water,
or add alcohol? Since I’m painting a backdrop, the quality
doesn’t have to be as good as painting locos or rolling stock.
—Rick
A.
One solution is to forget spraying large areas, and use a
brush to apply inexpensive interior flat latex paint.
But if spraying will work better, there are a couple of options.
The most common are ammonia, windshield washer fluid,
water, and acrylic airbrush medium.
For an airbrush with a medium tip that can spray at about 20
pounds of pressure, the goal is the consistency of 2% milk – thin,
but not completely watery. Over-thinned acrylics cover poorly
MRH Q-A-T |
9
4. Acrylic thinners,
extenders, and flow aids
help acrylic paints spray
easily in airbrushes with-
out compromising the
final finish. MRH photo
