Is This The Best Method Of Thining Craft Paints For Airbrushing? 

I'm glad you liked the video. Definitely give it a try. I'm still excited about it myself and can't wait till I can get back to the workbench and paint more items.

You are very welcome. Thank you for watching and commenting.

Hey Crooked River. You are very welcome. Definitely give it a try. You're gonna love how easy this method is. Take care and happy railroading...

Hey Dream Big. Thank you for the kind words. Definitely don't be scared of an airbrush. It is just another tool in our modeling tool box. Don't get me wrong, there is definitely a learning curve like there is with any new tool or method. Take care and happy railroading.

Thank you George. And thanks for watching.

Hey Peter. As always thank you very much for supporting my channel. I love hearing from a long time viewers like you. It really makes me feel like what I am doing has meaning. Thank you again...

That's awesome Todd that you got your first airbrush. Have fun with it. And remember, it may be frustrating to learn how to use it, but persevere. You will love it....

That's great to hear that it worked out well for you. Thank you for watching and commenting......

Thank you very much Peter. I really appreciate it. Take care and happy railroading.....

That'd awesome. And welcome to yet another hobby that will drain your bank account. LOL. Take care and happy railroading.....

Southpaw. Definitely the windshield washer fluid with OUT the added alcohol. Thanks for asking. Take care and happy railroading....

Thank you first off. Please tell my wife that I am amazing. Ha. No seriously, thank you. All I want to do is help others and it is nice to hear that I am accomplishing that goal. As far as other paints go. As long as they are water based acrylics you should be fine to use this method to thin then. Always test them on scrap though just in case there's one that just doesn't want to cooperate. Thank you for watching and commenting..... Take care.

Awesome. Let me know how it works for you!

I guess it depends on which brand you buy. I have a "winter" mix (I live in North Dakota) that I got from Wal-Mart and it contains some Methanol, not IPA. There are three main alcohols ... Methanol, Ethanol, and IPA. Each one has a different chemical makeup. I stay away from IPA in all of my thinners, since I use Vallejo a lot, it reacts badly to IPA. But for craft paint, I use the windshield wiper fluid. I got this tip from watching Barbatos Rex's YT channel, and he's in his fifties and has been airbrush painting since he was a teenager. I do use IPA, simple green, and distilled water in my cleaner solution for my AB. Take care and have a great day. Lastly, it's very important to strain the paint, as Paul said. I use a disposable 190 micron filter (by in the 50 pack for $9 on amazon). I even use the filter when I get ready to spray my Stynylrez primer after the bottle has been opened and has been sitting around for a while.

Hey Julia. That is a great question. I never thought to try it as a cleaning agent. Looks like I may have another video to make. But to answer your question directly. I don't know. At least not yet. Thank you for watching and commenting. Take care.

I just reviewed the Ovaga airbrush and portable air compressor. It works great and the best part is that it still works even if you have it plugged in and charging. But even though it's pretty cheap to buy here in the states I know it is ridiculously expensive to buy in Canada and Great Britain. If that's the case for you as well I would suggest just sticking with a decent small shop air compressor.

@@PaulsRailroad Thanks for your answer. Will check your review. I watched some videos on building a silent compressor with a fridge motor, but it's Plan B for now. Thanks again!

Thank you Chuck. As far as top coats go, I usually use whatever I can find at the store. I prefer Rustoleum brand. But as long as it's made for yournapplication, plastic in my case, it should work. I have purchased some clear coats that are made by Createx. They are made to used with an airbrush. I haven't tried them out yet though. I will most likely create a video talking about them and rattle can top coats sometime in the near future.

@@PaulsRailroad Thanks for your help,I do woodworking as well as plastic modelmaking and I have tried water based poly and it works ok but I have never heard of anyone using that. Look forward to you doing a video discussing top coats. your strainer suggestion should solve some of my issues. Thanks again.

I did not know that. Thank you for the information....

I am glad it was helpful. Thank you for watching and commenting.

Hey Nigel. Unfortunately I have not tried that with Vallejo paints. My theory is I when I'm using cheap paints that I am going to use a cheap way to thin it, just in case I mess up the mixture and have to start all over. That way I am not wasting good thinner/reducer. However if I am going to use my good paints then I will use good reducer that is made for them.

Thanks Paul I'll bare that in mind. I guess the worst I can do is to make up your mix then try some mixed with the paint and see what it does in a small mixing jar before trying it in my airbrush. If it reacts badly then I guess that's my best indication.

Hey Raymond. If I'm reading your comment correctly you are using foam board to make your wing. I used to make balsa airplane and cover them in tissue paper. What a pain that was. Anyhow, I think I would use IPA in that instance and just move / paint quickly. I think you would have less of a chance of the paper on the foam board from getting soaked using IPA since it flashes off very quickly. Also just food for thought. A regular airbrush may have too small of a spray pattern to cover the surface of the wing evenly, depending on the size of the wing of course. You may want to look into something like a detail spray gun for larger projects. I bought one years ago at harbor freight and it was pretty cheap. It works alright. Just have to fiddle with it a bit. I hope this helps.

Hey Lou. Thanks for watching and subscribing. To answer your question. It is straight windshield washer fluid. Just regular blue summer mix. I have seen people add flow inprover and all kinds of stuff. However I'm lazy and anyhow if I were to go to all the trouble of adding more stuff to it, then I would just buy regular paint reducer. LOL. KISS is motto. Keep It Simple Stupid. Ha. Take care...

Well that's not easy to answer. If I can only have one, then I will go with a silent compressor and a higher end airbrush like the Iwata eclipse hp cs. I have a Fortress quiet air compressor from harbor freight and I like it a lot. It is super quiet for a standard non silent airbrush compressor. And I mean super quiet. And I believe it's well under 200 bucks. A standard air compressor will always give you more flexibility than any rechargeable portable air compressor can. At as of the ones that are available today. But if you have the funds I would also invest in a portable one as well only because of the portability and convenience of having such a small package. It stores easily.

@@PaulsRailroad Thanks for the advice. I sort of came to the same conclusion. I’ll get a traditional compressor with a good airbrush now and see how it goes. I just started watching you and really enjoy the way you present your information. Stay well!

No problem Stephen. If you have any questions once you get your airbrush, feel free to ask. You can find me on Facebook as well and send me a message. Take care...

Hello Jan. I'm not sure I can be of much help in answering your question. We don't have any concentrated wwf here. What I use is just a standard summer blend we get here in the US.

Ok, thanks.@@PaulsRailroad

I would use the standard, ready made washer fluid.

Hey Leo. It is not concentrate. Just plain old windshield washer fluid. I took it straight from the bottle to the paints.

B and S. Thank you for subbing and taking the to watch my video and to leave this comment. I recently just used that windshield washer fluid to thin a whole bunch of white paint that I was using as a base coat for a project I am working on, and I don't see any color change at all. The white was still very white. Take care and thanks again.....

@@PaulsRailroad Thank you.

Hey David. Actually there is a link in the description of this video to where you can find the strainers.... Thank you for watching and commenting. I appreciate it very much.

Hi Paul, I think I've just found the answer you gave to a guy from the Netherlands. As we are neighbours, the answer will be the same. I live in England. Many thanks.

I don't see why you couldn't airbrush tube acrylics. As long as it is thinned enough to go through the airbrush. Heck I've diluted PVA glue and shot it through an airbrush to cover a large scenery area for static grass before and it worked.

Hey Ken. The paint is so cheap that I just toss what's left over and clean the bottles, unless I am mixing a custom color. Then I will mix enough to keep until at least the project I am working on is finished. Just in case I need to do any touch ups, or I need to create something else for that project with the same custom color. Thanks for asking.

Well Jeff. That is definitely thinking outside of the box. I don't have a reusable keurig filter to try myself. All I can say is to give it a try. I'm sorry I couldn't give you a better answer. But hey any filter is better than no filter....

@@PaulsRailroad I just thought it might make for an interesting tid bit on a video. :) They have a lot of fine mesh (larger surface area), so it'd be filtering well, and maybe quicker for the same mesh size. You just have to get one that has the mesh on the bottom too, most just have the mesh on the sides.

No Ammonia. Just plain old blue windshield washer fluid. I'm afraid using product with ammonia in it will eventually degrade the rubber O rings in the airbrush.

@@PaulsRailroad thank you for taking the time to reply. What you said makes great sense.

Hey Larry. I do paint wood structure kits for my model railroad. I use a paint brush for that however. I have painted wood ornaments with my airbrush in the past and I always used a wood sealer first so the wood wouldn't absorb the super thinned airbrush paint as deeply as un-sealed wood does. I hope that helps a little.

I don't think it was. The greens did not seem to have any blue tint to them. With that being said. I did not make myself a control swatch of paint to test.

Hey TB. I honestly don't know. The lightest color I used was that light green. I did not see any discoloration with it, but it may have been so minor that I did not notice it. Hey you know, give it a try on something to test it. Worse case if it you don't like the results then you have windshield washer fluid for your car. 😁 Take care.

I thin acrylic paints with windshield washer and have done so with white. The blue color windshield washer does not show in the white paint at all. That test was with using a brush painting on wood clapboard.@@PaulsRailroad

Their old testors model paint bottles. I'm sure you can find them on Amazon. I don't know where you live, but I also see them sold at Hobby Lobby in the model paint area.

Check out my video using IPA to thin your paints. IPA dries acrylic paints super fast and I use it for when I'm in a hurry and need my paint coats to dry fast. With that being said, be careful because it can cause acrylic craft paints to dry in your airbrush if left too long and it ends up coagulating the paints when it sits too long, so you need to work fairly fast and clean your airbrush immediately after painting.

@@PaulsRailroad thanks for the tips

Hey brother. I designed these myself. I actually sell the files on Cults 3D. Just look up paulsrailroad if you want to check them out. Nice to hear from you. Take care.....

Just plain old summer blue. Do not use winter blend.

I am sure glad that Sunmer verses Winter blend question was asked...... all have on hand is Winter Blend.

glycine costs more than the paint here in California

@@magicpixelz4237 so

Glad that works for you. All your 4 Oz bottles have the same starting viscosity? All painting requires lots of practice and experience. These tips can only give a beginner a good start. I tell beginners to spray and make mistakes. You will learn.

@@davidbell4986 have done those for sure and agree that is how you learn. Not all paint the same as paints are thicker or lighter in velocity. I tend to pour my air blush left over paint in the same bottle when it should be in its own separate one .

Hey Seth. Unfortunately I tore the label off before I made the video so I don't know exactly what brand it is. It is just regular blue wwf and not a winter blend. I bought it at Walmart. I hope that helps...

Definitely. You need the blue summer blend. Don't use the winter blend that has all the additional additives.

Sure is.

@@PaulsRailroad all year fluid

I don't know what you want to call it. It n is definitely not the winter blend. Just standard old blue windshield washer fluid. It just said windshield washer fluid on the bottle. Sorry if thats not much help. Oh I'm in ohio and I bought it at Walmart. Maybe that will help a little. 😁

@@PaulsRailroad Ok thanks, i try both, we have 2 kinds here in Denmark, both are blue so you got to read the label to get the right one, haha.😄😂

Denmark. That's awesome..... Hope you find one that works for ya. I just tried to find a windshield washer fluid that didn't seem to have a lot of extra additives in it.

I have tested it with white paint and it does not tint the paint at all.

Cheers, I will definitely try it

No it uses alcohol not ammonia.

@@PaulsRailroad Risposta veloce e precisa. Grazie infinite. Ma il liquido lavavetri con ammoniaca + acqua distillata va bene per la pulizia?

I wouldn't use anything with ammonia in it. Could degrade the seals in your airbrush.

Hey ct810. It definitely doesn't hurt to add flow improver. I've never used it only because these are cheap paints that I am using and I didn't want to add more expense into the mixture. I've never needed it. Thanks for watching and asking a great question. Take care...

I'm pretty sure there is a small amount to help keep it from freezing.

If you have the money, get one. Or build one. I do want one. I just keep spending my money on other things. I don't know if you've noticed in any of my videos. I do have a fairly powerful double fan that I have mounted in front of my ity bitsy basement window. It does ok. And when I'm not recording I wear a full double canister respirator. You want to at least get one of those. And a dust masks wont work for painting.

@@PaulsRailroad Thank you, Paint Booth planned abandonment aborted :))

Wouldn't that be nice. Heck. I've been doing this for years and I still get it wrong sometimes.

And that my friend is why I do not use tap water. You can mitigate that somewhat by not reducing the paint quite as much, making sure to mix the heck out of it, then you will have to play around with your air pressure.

Actually it does not. I've used it with white paint and it remained just as white as what was still in the paint bottle.

@@PaulsRailroad okay, cool. I just bought one of those badger mixers so I'll give it a try. Thanks Paul

Let me know how that mixer works out. I've got one saved in my wish list on Amazon.

@@PaulsRailroad I will. It was $16.50 I bought those strainers you recommended too. I'm building a wooden model ship and I'm hoping to paint some figurines with the Ovaga airbrush. Do you still like it? Thanks

Yes I do like it a lot, but here's a kick in the pants. Ovaga just sent me their new model that is upgraded with items that I suggested they do and, well it is freaking amazing. I will be doing a review of it soon. But the one you have works just as good. They just replaced the curved trigger backer with one that is attached to the needle barrel assembly amd they included a braided hose instead of the rubbery like one. Take care...

Not in the least bit. I used it to thin some white paint and did not have any blue tint to it all....

Hey Big and Tall. Trust me I have proper gear. And I do believe that everyone should eventually buy proper gear, but many people who don't know if they even want to airbrush don't want to invest tons of money into the hobby. Also there are many folks out there that simply can't afford the best, so I an here to help those folks get the best results for the least amount of out of expense. Thanks for warning and commenting. I appreciate it...

That's right on Paul, I for one love your economical ideas .. it's just a hobby not a business for me. And damned if I don't already have a ton of hobbies and all that goes along with it.

Oh candy. Now we're taking. I just bought a several candies from Createx along with a couple of different colors of metal flakes. I haven't had the opportunity to try any of them yet, but when I do I will be making a video over the process. Can't wait to give them a try.

Thank you. How do you think I can afford this hobby. LOL