Need Airbrush Paint Advice

[JawjaBoy]

I'm slowly expanding my lure making capabilities, and was wondering which airbrush paint would be best to start out with?  I searched the site and Createx Auto Air and Wicked Colors, and Testors Aztek seem to be the go to brands.  I'm planning on buying a couple of different sets to get started, i.e. basic, fluorescent, transparent, opaque, etc.. 

 

My real questions are, 1.) What brand would be best to start with?  And 2.) What colors/categories  (flo., trans., pearl) would see the most use to start with? 

 

I will be adding to my palate as I go, but don't have a huge budget right now.   And I'm not sure if this helps, but I'll be using my trusty old Paasche Model H airbrush that I've had for some 20 years now!

 

Thanks!!

[BobP]

Createx and it’s sub-brands are popular because they’re widely available and consistent in quality, but there are other brands which offer specialized palettes for wildlife art including fish.  I mix brands and often find paints among the taxidermy paint brands that let me shoot without a lot of blending, thinning, and layering of colors.  The colors you choose are personal preference.  Everyone needs white, black, red, green and blue.  After that it’s up to you.  Mix intermediate colors or buy shades,, pearls and flakes you can use without mixing.  Among the Createx paints, I most often pick the “transparent” colors that allow you to layer paint for more natural looking fish coloration.

[gliders]

J, it's well worth learning to mix your own colours, like bob p says , black and white essential. I would also add transparent black . With red,blue and yellow you can make any colour, if you add pearl white,gold and silver and a few fluorescents you will have tons of options. If you go down this route then you will use a lot more yellow than red or blue. Personally I use lots of transparents. ..glider

[JawjaBoy]

Waaaay back when I first got into making lures seriously  (or at least as seriously as a fishing obsessed 17 year old could be), I used oil based enamels as that's pretty much all I could easily get ahold of in my rural area.  I had black, white, red, blue, green, yellow and orange.  I would mix those to get the color I wanted and then mix in enough thinner to get it about the consistency of milk and it worked fine through my Paasche H.  Cleaning was a pain in the posterior though!

 

So, yeah, I'm planning to start with mostly basic colors and maybe some fluorescents and transparents or candies. 

 

How much thinner do these paints require and how hard is clean up?

 

Thanks again!!

[BobP]

Cleanup is fast and easy with water, soap, or a solvent.  They can be thinned with water or a paint reducer like Createx 4011, or you can make your own with water, alcohol and a little glycerin.  Thinning depends on how you like to paint, whether you plan to do freehand details, and at what pressure.  Some do, some don’t.  Some prefer using paint templates and shooting unthinned.  Some brands of paint, especially taxidermy colors, comes pre-thinned.  It all really depends on your style of painting and whether you need to thin a specific paint to get it to shoot the way you need it to.

[MonteSS]

I use Createx and like them. I really like the pearls and iridescent, But...they require thinning, and different colors by different amounts. White and pearls the most. 

Createx white is thick and aweful to clean up. You will be using white a lot to base coat. This stuff  is awesome and many use it.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/4oz-High-Flow-Acrylic-Paint-Color-Titanium-White/182637968543?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649

Edited December 15, 2017 by MonteSS

[JawjaBoy]

I just ordered an Auto Air transparent basic color set because it had 4 oz. bottles and the price was good.  I know I'll be using a lot of white so I'm going to definitely look at the Golden brand white.  Probably get some fluorescents or iridescent next. 

[gliders]

Seems a good choice j , if you add pearl white you can tint it with transparent colours ,or paint pearl over base white then use transparent colours over top for different effect. Fluorescent colours  are also transparent and need to go over white to be effective, so you will go through a lot of white......

[FishCandy]

I use the Aztek paints and like them. The opaque colors can be a bit of a pain, I have to keep an eye on the needle tip and clean off accumulated paint. The pearls are awesome, as are the metallics. I wait for the fifty percent off coupons at Michael's. I used to use a lot of white for a base, but then I started just dipping the lures in Bull Eye 123 primer. 

 

[JawjaBoy]

2 hours ago, FishCandy said:

I use the Aztek paints and like them. The opaque colors can be a bit of a pain, I have to keep an eye on the needle tip and clean off accumulated paint. The pearls are awesome, as are the metallics. I wait for the fifty percent off coupons at Michael's. I used to use a lot of white for a base, but then I started just dipping the lures in Bull Eye 123 primer. 

 

You've grabbed my attention with the 123 primer!  How well does that work?  Is it plain water base or does it have latex in it?  I used to dip lures in acrylic enamels but the dry time was awful!

[FishCandy]

It's plain water based but can also be used under and over oil and latex paints. Stain blocking, and blocks tannin stains from cedar wood-good for me 'cause that's what I use. Label says dries in an hour, which is technically right, but it's still kind of a soft surface at that point. I let dry for at least 3 hrs but I really prefer overnight. When it's fully dry, it forms a nice hard and smooth surface. I sand with 220 before airbrushing, just to have a tooth and smooth out any imperfections. I also use a brush to get into the eye sockets before I dip, otherwise it likes to form an air bubble in there that pops and leaves a bare area. I buy a gallon, and use a big syringe to transfer some to a plastic "can" that was the package for tennis balls. Works out nice.

[JawjaBoy]

10 hours ago, FishCandy said:

It's plain water based but can also be used under and over oil and latex paints. Stain blocking, and blocks tannin stains from cedar wood-good for me 'cause that's what I use. Label says dries in an hour, which is technically right, but it's still kind of a soft surface at that point. I let dry for at least 3 hrs but I really prefer overnight. When it's fully dry, it forms a nice hard and smooth surface. I sand with 220 before airbrushing, just to have a tooth and smooth out any imperfections. I also use a brush to get into the eye sockets before I dip, otherwise it likes to form an air bubble in there that pops and leaves a bare area. I buy a gallon, and use a big syringe to transfer some to a plastic "can" that was the package for tennis balls. Works out nice.

This sounds excellent!  I use a lot of cedar as well.   And my local Wal-Mart has it for less than $20/gallon.  Also like the tennis ball can idea!  Think I'll go this route and maybe use pearl white over this under the transparent and fluorescent colors.