Help Airbrushing

[flyguys]

Kinda new to this bought some of createx paint but is expensive here was wondering if you can run acrylic brands like plaid through a airbrush or if that would not work thanks for all the help i have received already

[RayburnGuy]

The pigment in paints that are designed to be sprayed through an airbrush are ground much finer than it is in other paints. A lot also depends on what size nozzle your using in your airbrush. As far as the thickness of the paint goes the larger nozzle sizes will have fewer clogging problems than the smaller sizes, but by using the larger nozzle sizes you give up some of the detail capabilities that can be achieved by using a smaller nozzle.

[BobP]

I used "hobby acrylics" like Apple Barrel, etc, when I first started. There's nothing wrong with their performance on the bait but they do leave a paint surface that's rougher than airbrush paint. Like RG says, they have large pigment size and will not shoot through an airbrush with a tip size smaller than about .35 mm, plus you will always need to thin the paint before you shoot it. Regardless, there will be more airbrush clogs with hobby paint because there is no standard about the size of pigment grain from bottle to bottle. Since you are forced to use larger tips with it, your ability to do detail and shading will be somewhat compromised. In the end, if you find that you like the hobby and want to stick with it, it's almost certain that you will want to switch to airbrush paint. The results are better and it's a lot less hassle. A 2 ounce bottle of Createx lasts an amazingly long time when you use it a milliliter at a time through an airbrush. The way I economize is to buy large bottles of paint that I use a lot, like black, green, pearl white and base white, and smaller bottles of colors that I use less often, like purple or red. The cost per volume for 4, 8 or 16 oz bottles is quite good compared to the 2 oz size bottles that are stocked in most craft stores. When all is said and done, one nice thing about the crankbait hobby is the cost of materials is almost negligible. My greatest expense in a finished crankbait is always the treble hooks I hang on it.