Could I use this water-based acrylic craft paint (appropriately thinned) in one of the airbrushes?
Make it the consistency of milk and you should be good to go.
2 Likes
My understanding (not based on 1st hand experience) is that craft paints have coarser pigments compared to paints designed for miniatures (Games Workshop, Reaper Minis, Privateer (P3), et al).
These are smaller bottles for a higher price, but gIven the size of things you usually print, investing in a $6 bottle might be cheap insurance.
Amazon sells these paints, as does Madness Games and Comic and Hobbytown USA in Plano. Reaper Minis is SW of Denton and online.
1 Like
The reason I selected that paint is that it has a satin finish. Is there something comparable in true “airbrush” paint?
I haven’t seen that in a specific airbrush paint. You’ll be fine if you thin it well. You could also use an airbrush paint and then get a satin clear coat to put on it.
1 Like
Some brushes will handle it better.
Larger needle.
Higher operating psi
Should both help.
1 Like
Clean needle frequently if spraying or long time.
1 Like
As mentioned thinning paint helps.
I’ve sprayed craftsmart acrylic paint using iwata hp-cs. No problem.
1 Like
And start with a clean well maintained brush.
1 Like
I don’t know if you’ll reproduce the same finish when airbrushed vs brushing. Airbrushed paint will dry quite quickly and might not flow the same way.
You could use a clear satin spraypaint finish over the paint to establish the finish you want. Brush on matt, satin, and gloss clear finishes are also available through the same miniature paint lines I mentioned.
LOTS of colors available, and often are available in base/shadow/highlight triads for emphasizing textures at small scales.
https://www.reapermini.com/paints/master-series-paints-core-colors
Reaper also has:
9298 Gloss Sealer
9215 Matt Additive
You could probably customize the amount of shine by mixing these two.
1 Like