Help wanted: Dried airbrushed paint reactivating and running

[gilbert 122xp 1]

This is so strange. Never heard of a water based paint reactivating. Oil, yes. Enamel, yes. But not a water based product. It must be a contaminant from some place. Do you use a chemical with the ultrasonic cleaner? It might be that? You also mentioned brush soap, how often do you soap your brushes? You might be overdoing it and ending up with soap inside the furrle (the metal coller)?

[banzaidukeParticipant 122xp 2]

I use a lot of Stynylrez for my figures and 1/35 stuff. There is no need to thin it. Slightly higher air pressure and light mist coat first then solid layer after a few minutes. Could be a case of the primer is not tough enough after thinner? So any moisture is just activating the colour particles, if that makes sense?

[lawnor 25928xp 0]

I soap them at the end of every session.  I use Justins recipe inside the ultrasonic: Mostly water with a squirt of dish soap and a heavy squirt of airbrush cleaner.  I get several uses out of the mix.

Gonna go back and work through some of the earlier suggestions later.  Im caught up in my painting right now and my compressor isn’t too accessable.

[kingandcountry 3014xp 0]

dish soap can be used to make a flow improver, could soap residue be acting as a contaminant?

[gilbert 122xp 1]

There is a possibility of a build up of soap in the furrle. Personally, I tend to not soap my brushes that much, maybe 2-3 times a year because I find soap contamination really affects both things like citadel washes and can lead to brushes forking. One way you could test is to use a fresh, cheap brush that has never seen soap and see if you get the same results.

Having said that I do think banziadukes advice is probably your best bet. Again it’s personal taste but I don’t tend to thin my primers. I only really use vallejo polyurethane acrylic. Never even heard of this badger Stynylrez stuff until this thread.

Would be interested to hear if you solve it. Keep us posted!

[lawnor 25928xp 0]

If its anything on the brush then why is it only the paints that have been airbrushed that are reactivating and not all paints?

You dont thin any primers?  As the vallejo primers (74.600-602) didn’t say they are airbursh paints I assumed they needed thinning, but I’ve just read the small print and they do want to go through an airbush and it doesnt mention thinning.  But I’ve been thinning them for years before I first noticed this issue.

[Anonymous 0xp 2]

An easy way to rule out your airbrush, is don’t use it…  Use an old bit of sprue or a base and try brushing on some primer, some paint, and see if you can replicate the problem, thinning everything as you do now.  If the problem persists, it isn’t your airbrush.   Then, if needed, experiment eliminating one product, process, tool each time until you find what is causing it.

[gilbert 122xp 1]

It may be (and I’ll stress the may) contaminated. I’m not saying it definitely is, but what you could also look out for to test is if citadel washes sometimes go cloudy/white in the deep recesses of a model.

The reason only airbrush paints are getting affected it thickness, I’d say. Airbrushed paints are so much thinner in application and so have loads of microscopic gaps. It’s why you can only do the hairspray chipping technique with an airbrushed paint. The brushed on paint would be too thick and will tear off in big chunks, if at all.

Maybe try experimenting by starting with a barely thinned or neet primer and see if it helps? If your other paints stop doing it you know its the primer, otherwise you could experiment with toning down (pun used wholly intentionally and utterly unapologetically) the dilution ratios of your paints or adding additional coats. All part of that hobby fun, yo.

Let us know if you solve it. Loads to try! I have to admit, I’m really intrigued what the issue is. Good luck!

[zorg 18801xp 1]

Have you tried giving the gun a good bath of gun cleaner? I have done that with fullsize guns many times solves problems many times over the years gets all the minute particles of grime out of the nooks an crannies as i cant think what your problem could be this will give you a sparkling clean gun revitalise the seals if they have dryed/shrank, soap deposits and many miner things no one can think of and the thinner will evaporate away.

[lawnor 25928xp 2]

What do you mean by gun cleaner?  I’ve only ever washed my airbrush with a mix of water, dish soap and airbrush cleaner in an ultrasonic.  A full bath of Airbrush cleaner is gonna be a little pricey.  Thats a full bottle gone on one go, maybe more.

[zorg 18801xp 1]

Gun cleaner is a paint thinner that has been used to clean things similar to phosphate tanks in factory lines so its not as reactive to delicate parts does that help. they should sell it in the same shops as your other paint materials may just be named as thinners. @lawnor

[lawnor 25928xp 1]

So its not the airbursh thinner or cleaner I use daily, its a separate product I should be looking for and it has nothing to do with bang-bang guns, you mean airbrush guns.

[zorg 18801xp 1]

You can keep the bottle and reuse the cleaner several times as any dirt will sink to the bottom of the bottle and if you use the sonic wash after the thinners wash the gun will be super clean.

[zorg 18801xp 1]

No its airgun cleaner but i’m used to using 5 litre tins of the stuff.

[zorg 18801xp 1]

If you go to an auto shop they will stock tins of spaygun cleaner for all that are interested.

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