Pigmented Acrylic Varnish Through An Airbrush

[xaeromancer]

I'm starting a new army for 40k (World Eaters) and I'm considering a few short cuts to speed up my painting.

Firstly, I'm thinking of buying one those cheap Humbrol "airbrushes", essentially just a spray-gun as far as I can see. This should get my base coat (red) on quickly and evenly so I only have to do the detailing. Would I be better off just using red primer? I'm not really interested in zenith or object source lighting or anything like that so I don't think I'd need a more sophisticated airbrush.

Secondly, I'm wondering about a variation on the Quickshade / wood stain / Klear varnish trick for dipping. But this raises the following questions:

• Would I be able use an acrylic paint to tint an acrylic varnish to such an extent that it would shade the miniature? Would this need to be an especially opaque paint or is that something to avoid?
• Does it have to be a gloss varnish that is used for this technique? All the 'traditional' methods are glossy, but would a matte varnish work just as well?
• Is it possible to run a pigmented varnish through an airbrush / spray like this? As it's acrylic based it should thin down with water / flow improver quite nicely, which would mean, rather than one strong and glossy layer with matte on top, I could build up a few thin layers of pigment and matte varnish and have more control over the final effect.

I've had quick look around and while people seem to be dipping, airbrushing and mixing their own varnish tints, no seems to have mentioned this. Is there a reason for that?

 

[airhead]

You are using some paint terms that I am not familiar with.

Acrylic paint = water based latex (GW, P3, Vallejo, Apple Barrel, etc.) ?
Acrylic varnish = this is a new one to me... water based urethane?

Humbrol airbrush? Link? Sounds like a re-branded Badger or no-name Chinese.

You'll still need to prime before you paint. Try one of the automotive rattle can primers. You don't say where you live so brands will vary.

Mixing 'varnish' and paint? The answer is maybe. I truly depends on what you are mixing. I'd say try it and see - on some white card or scrap sprue. It may work, or it may plasticize one of the elements and become a clump of goo.

I've done similar with oil-based paints and varnishes. A little paint goes a LONG way in the varnish. You can go from a tint to a stain to a thin paint in a hurry.

Wood stains traditionally come in an oil base with either pigments or dyes (or both) as color agents. I've not found any of the water-based stains that give the result of the oil-based ones (at least on wood).

 

[Einion]

Firstly, I'm thinking of buying one those cheap Humbrol "airbrushes", essentially just a spray-gun as far as I can see. This should get my base coat (red) on quickly and evenly so I only have to do the detailing. Would I be better off just using red primer? I'm not really interested in zenith or object source lighting or anything like that so I don't think I'd need a more sophisticated airbrush.

The Humbrol gun is certainly an option for what you want to do but what are you expecting to pay for it out of curiosity? You might be able to get a half-decent AB for about the same money, or at least within shouting distance of the price.

Would I be able use an acrylic paint to tint an acrylic varnish to such an extent that it would shade the miniature? Would this need to be an especially opaque paint or is that something to avoid?

Yes, this is totally doable in theory but would depend on the chemistry of the varnish.

Assuming they mix together properly there's no issue with spraying it, especially from a spraygun but any airbrush that can shoot the varnish or the paint should be able to handle a mix of them.

Does it have to be a gloss varnish that is used for this technique? All the 'traditional' methods are glossy, but would a matte varnish work just as well?

Short answer is maybe. You can certainly do this but you could run into some problems down the line with multiple coats simply because of the physical structure of the paint films (why matt overcoats are generally applied last, ideally over a high-gloss surface).

Acrylic varnish = this is a new one to me... water based urethane?

E.g. Model Master Acryl Flat Clear.

Einion

 

[airhead]

E.g. Model Master Acryl Flat Clear.

Einion

Ahh, thanks.

 

[xaeromancer]

The "airbrush" is about £15 from Hobbycraft, it's essentially just a valve with paint feed that connects to a can of compressed air. But that's all I'd need.

I'd be using one of the GW Foundation paints as a base coat, so that should go straight on. In theory...

I'll definitely test the matte and see how it layers up first. I'll probably give this a go in the new year; whether it works or not, I'll post some pictures here.

 

[ArgoMina]

Why don't you buy one of the army painter red primer instead? It would be much easier than an airbrush approach, probably with better results. After that you could just use a gw wash over the whole model and then tackle the details.

 

[Einion]

The "airbrush" is about £15 from Hobbycraft, it's essentially just a valve with paint feed that connects to a can of compressed air. But that's all I'd need.

That'll get expensive, fast (the fact that it runs on canned air). But I doubt you'll have any problems with blockages.

Einion

 

[xaeromancer]

@ArgoMina:
I've tried the bone Army Painter and wasn't very happy with the results, there wasn't much middle ground between a little and a lot of paint on the model and it clogged pretty badly. Plus, even with the set up cost, this might work out cheaper in the long run, it's just paint and varnish compared to a £16 can of paint + postage. Finally, the wash wouldn't quite work the same way. The aim is combine the shading and the varnishing. Although, I might try a very thin, dark red wash and then a layer of matte during the testing phase.

@Einion:
I've got access to a compressor, so I'll check whether it's got an adapter.
How much "air" does a spray can sized canister hold? About how much use would you get out of a can that big?

Tell you what, it's handy having the internet to ask! I'll have photos up in the next few weeks.

 

[Einion]

How much "air" does a spray can sized canister hold? About how much use would you get out of a can that big?

Minutes rather than hours is probably the easiest way to answer that - mileage will vary. It depends on the throughput of gas, but it might be literally no more than 10 or 15 minutes.

Einion

 

[xaeromancer]

Start up

In the end I bought a Revell starter airbrush and a can of air. I'm going to make up some Milliput blobs with various textures and test out the various techniques at the weekend.

One last question, has anyone ever run Army Painter Dark Tone through an airbrush? I'm assuming this would be the same as the acrylic varnish theory. Would I just thin it with water?

Update:
Remember when Foundation paints came out and GW said "you can put them straight on, no need for primer!" Well, they were either lying or my Mechrite Red has gone off.

After testing it out yesterday, I'm not happy at all. The paint pooled in the detail and refused to adhere, even on primed miniatures (Chaos Black spray). I wasn't happy with the paint economy either, the "airbrush" went through 6 eye droppers of Mechrite at varying densities and still didn't put sufficient pigment on the figure. I'd even put a piece of sprue in the pot to agitate the paint.

I also got caught out by the inevitable pressure drop on the can...

However, it does seem the ideal way to put the Dark Tone varnish on. After all, I'll be wanting this to pool in dark places and it's still more economical than dipping the figure in and flinging as much off as possible.

Hopefully the Dragon Red I'm ordering will have better results than the can of Bone I used last time.