Airbrush guns hold paint in an attached paint jar.
Acrylic enamel paints must be combined with a reducer in order to use them with airbrush equipment or paint guns. The mixing itself is a simple procedure, but determining the amount of reducer to add is often a matter of trial and error. If possible, always begin with the amount of reducer recommended by the paint manufacturer. Each brand of paint may vary in viscosity. You will also find that different batches of paint vary, even within the same brand. If it is not possible to determine a manufacturer's recommendation, there are some general guidelines you can follow.
Instructions
1. Determine the air pressure needed for your project. When airbrushing a large area a single color, you want to use high pressure such as between 15 psi and 20 psi. With high pressure, you can use less reducer with your paint. This will help to achieve better coverage with each pass of the paint gun. Detail requires less pressure with more reducer added to the paint. This prevents spraying paint into areas where you do not want it. For detail, you should set your air pressure to between 8 psi and 10 psi.
2. Pour the paint into a mixing container. For air pressures between 15 psi and 20 psi, start with three parts paint to one part reducer. For lower air pressures, mix even parts paint and reducer.
3. Stir well with a wooden stir stick.
4. Pour the paint from the mixing container into the airbrush paint jar.
5. Test the paint on scrap cardboard or wood. With high pressure, hold the gun 3 to 4 inches from the surface and test the spray. With lower air pressure, hold the gun between one-half and 1 inch from the surface. If the spray is not even, add a small amount of reducer and test again.
