How to thin acrylic paint for airbrushing models

There are many benefits to airbrushing models. One of the most important is that it allows you to get a smoother finish on your models. But what if you don’t have any experience with thinning paint for an airbrush? Read this blog post and learn how!

Why Thin Your Airbrush Paint?

When you spray an airbrush, the paint will create a rough texture on your model. This is because of how the nozzle atomizer and sprays tiny droplets onto the surface as it moves around. The more particles in each droplet, the rougher they will feel to touch. If you want to achieve that smooth finish without sanding or polishing, then you need to thin out your paint!

What Happens if You Do Not Thin Your Airbrush Paints?

If you do not thin your paint, the droplets will be small and dense. This means that it is more likely to get a rough texture instead of a smooth one. In order for airbrush paints to work correctly, they need to be at least 20% thinner than normal acrylics so that there are enough particles in each droplet when sprayed.

You can read more about stretching acrylic paint here.

The thicker the paint, the less pressure goes through an air valve which increases how often you have to press down on your model before spraying again. If this happens too many times then your nozzle may become clogged with dried-up paint!

Thinning Acrylic Paint

There are lots of ways to thin your paint. As long as you can get it down to 20% thinner than paste, then the method doesn’t matter! Here are a few methods:

- Mixing in water until desired consistency is reached (usually around 30%)

- Adding oil for more shine and durability

- Using a retardant that reduces drying time but affects the texture of your model. Acrylics work best when they’re applied with an airbrush because this type of application creates fewer bubbles that will ruin the surface quality. If you do use acrylic retarder, make sure not to apply too early, or else the paint will start curing before hitting any surfaces on your model.

How Finish Impacts Thinning Ratios

A matte finish will require a higher ratio of thinner to paint because the paint has fewer particles in each droplet. A glossy finish, however, can be achieved by using less thinning mixture and more pigment.

The best way to learn what type of mix you need for your project is through experimentation! The quickest way would be to just grab some cheap watercolors from an art store like Wal-Mart or Target and see how much they need to be mixed with water before they’re at 20% thinner than paste. Once you’ve found that amount then calculate it out for other paints so that everything on your model matches up nicely!