Mixing Artist Acrylic Colours and Other Paint

It isn't obvious to many modelers that there are many paint options available, at a much lower cost, than the expensive paints at local hobby shops or online. We now use Liquitex tube artist acrylic colours to mix and blend our paint. The paints are thinned with blue windshield washer fluid. Yes, you read that right. Windshield washer fluid contains alcohol and surfactants (lubricants) that mix extraordinarily well with acrylic paint. They brush on well and when thinned properly, airbrush as well as any hobby paint. They also provide a very smooth finish. Craft paints also mix very well for brush and airbrush and come in a myriad of colours. This is an option if you'd rather not mix your paint as you should be able to find a close match. The other option is to buy mixed colours from our custom paint page.

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Paint mixing and preparation for spraying or brushing

 

• Measuring the amount of paint can be done in a variety of ways. We'll mention 2 of them here. The first, and I believe the easiest, is to mix your base colours with thinner in jars first (red, brown, yellow, green, etc.). Then you can easily use an eyedropper to measure the number of parts of each base colour you will need to make the blended colour you want. A second method is by using a ruler or stick to measure the length of the amount of paint squeezed out of the tube. One part could equal 1/16”, 1/4” or 1/2” length. Scrape the paint off of the measuring device into a disposable plastic glass. Add the next colour in the same manner. Once you have all the paint in one cup, add an equal amount of regular blue windshield washer fluid thinner.

• Now, thoroughly mix everything together. A Badger paint mixer is a very useful tool for this. If you find the paint is still a little thick, add a little bit more WW thinner. Be careful not to thin too much. The paint is now ready for brush painting.

• If you are airbrushing, an extra couple of steps are necessary. You will want to thin the paint down a little more so it runs with the consistency of milk. As you pour the paint into a paint jar or the thimble in your airbrush, you need to run the paint through a filter to catch all the small blobs (technical term) that remain in the paint. If you don't do this you will likely plug your airbrush. This should be regular practice using any paint with an airbrush unless you have a filter in your airbrush paint jars. We use a micro filter for straining resin used in 3D printing that works great. Search Amazon under 3D printing resin filter and you will find it and a silicone funnel. You'll need to experiment with the paint flow and air pressure to find the optimum for your setup.

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Tips for airbrush painting acrylics

 

A lot of people seem to have difficulty airbrush painting acrylics. There is no doubt that they aren't as easy to apply as the old solvent paints were. This is because the paint and thinner atomized much better in old solvent based paints. It was much easier to apply very light coats and build up the paint. Airbrushing acrylics requires a somewhat different technique for successful application.

 

• Your Airbrush and parts such as paint jars MUST be spotlessly clean, especially along the paint path. You will not get away with painting acrylics with dirty equipment. Over 30 years of painting experience have taught me this. The solvents and thinners used with acrylics will not dissolve any contaminants or lumps of paint. It is a good idea to thoroughly clean your equipment after each use. While warm soapy water is best to clean your equipment, a solvent such as lacquer thinner can be used for stubborn areas.

• Your paint must also be 'clean'. What do I mean by clean? Any unmixed pigment lumps, dry paint chunks or impurities have to be strained out to ensure smooth paint flow and application. This is a much greater issue with acrylic water based paints. Improper paint storage or mixing is often the culprit here. Always clean the mouth and lid of the bottle after use to preserve as good a seal as possible. A small square of clean plastic wrap makes a great gasket. Place the plastic over the top of the bottle and screw on the lid. Many of the acrylic paints now come in a dropper styled bottle. These are great and you could transfer your paints in open mouth jars into these if you wanted.

• Since water based acrylic paints don't atomize as well as solvent paints, a revised painting technique is needed. Firstly, you will need to increase the air pressure to around 30-40 psi. I use a pressure setting of roughly 37 psi. This will vary based on the equipment setup you have and the accuracy of your pressure gauge. Secondly, 'tip dry' can be a problem with airbrushing acrylics as paint builds up on the tip or needle as you apply the paint. There really isn't any way to avoid this and you'll need to clean the tip regularly while painting. Use of additives such as retarders and flow aids can improve this, but not eliminate it. Lastly, you'll want to apply slightly heavier wet coats than you are accustomed to with solvent paints. Acrylic based paint has more body than solvent paints and won't run as easily. Don't apply so much paint as to cause pooling on the item being painted. Then wait for the paint to 'flash' off completely (not be shinny wet) before applying the next coat.

• Practice really does make perfect here. As I mentioned earlier, I've been airbrush painting for a long time and I'm continually learning new and better ways of doing this. Take your time and apply the basic guidelines presented here and you will have success.

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Canadian Pacific Colours (CPR)

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CPR Red/Brown

-  40 parts Primary Red 

-  8 parts Burnt Umber

-  1 part Primary Blue

-  49 parts Thinner

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CPR Dark Chocolate Brown

-  5 parts Primary Red

-  7 parts Burnt Umber

-  2 parts Primary Blue

-  14 parts Thinner

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CPR Cream or Light Sandy Yellow

-  30 parts Titanium White (less if you want a darker shade)

-  1 part Burnt Umber

-  1 part Primary Yellow

-  32 parts Thinner

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Canadian National Colours (CNR)

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CNR Red/Brown

-  5 parts Primary Red
-  1 part Burnt Umber

-  6 parts Thinner

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CNR Dark Green

-  20 parts Light Green Permanent

-  1 part Mars Black

-  21 parts Thinner

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CNR Yellow

-  30 parts Titanium White
-  2 parts Burnt Umber
-  4 parts Primary Yellow

-  36 parts Thinner

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CNR Olive Green

-  20 parts Titanium White

-  3 parts Primary Yellow

-  1 part Mars Black

-  24 parts Thinner

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Other Colours

 

Roof Black

-  5 parts Mars Black

-  1 part Titanium White

-  6 parts Thinner

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Roof Red

-  1 part Primary Red

-  1 part Thinner

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White

-  1 part Titanium White

-  1 part Thinner

 

Grain Elevator Brown

-  1 Burnt Umber

-  1 Primary Red

-  1 Primary Yellow

-  3 parts Thinner

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Alberta Wheat Pool Aqua

-  1 part Light Green Permanent

-  1 parts Primary Blue

-  2 parts Titanium White

-  4 parts Thinner

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