Best Paint for Guns That Can Be Airbrushed and Air Cured. SO No Krylon Rattle Cans and Not Cerakote. Have Searched but Not Getting a Clear Answer )

[Groot]

Hello

Sadly we cannot get Duracote in the UK, which is sad .  What is the best UK available alternative. 

Other than Krylon that is only available in rattle cans and in a limited number of colours.

Does anyone know of a brand of paint that can be worked through an airbrush, comes in a larger number of and doesn't requite training courses or an oven to cure. 

Thanks

[Lozart]

https://www.graphicair.co.uk/product-category/airbrush-paint/artgraphics-paint/wicked-airbrush-colours/wicked-colours/

 

https://www.smdesigns.co.uk/collections/createx-colours

 

https://www.smdesigns.co.uk/collections/auto-air-colours

 

I've used all of those for automotive/helmet/guitar custom work. Hairdryer/heatgun to dry them off, work best with their own basecoats and will need a sealer/topcoat for durability.

[Misery]

most decent acrylic airbrush colours be fine from vallejo games workshop army colour

[Speedbird_666]

5 hours ago, Groot said:

Hello

Sadly we cannot get Duracote in the UK, which is sad .  What is the best UK available alternative. 

Other than Krylon that is only available in rattle cans and in a limited number of colours.

Does anyone know of a brand of paint that can be worked through an airbrush, comes in a larger number of and doesn't requite training courses or an oven to cure. 

Thanks

 

What about Cerakote C-Series (air cure)?

https://www.cerakote.co.uk/product-category/c-series/

 

 

[Groot]

51 minutes ago, Speedbird_666 said:

 

What about Cerakote C-Series (air cure)?

https://www.cerakote.co.uk/product-category/c-series/

 

 

WOW that stuff is expensive 

[Speedbird_666]

14 minutes ago, Groot said:

WOW that stuff is expensive 

 

Yeh, £32 excluding VAT for a 4oz tester pot. Crazy. But 4oz might be enough for a receiver and rail system? Still cheaper than sending it off for coating.

 

Otherwise - Tamiya/Humbrol paints with a flat matt top coat? Nowhere near as tough but cheap and loads of colours.

[Shamal]

Get yourself to Halfords.Rattle cans,liquid paint, thinners. What more do you need? 😉👍

Regards 

 

[AlphaBear]

3 hours ago, Speedbird_666 said:

 

What about Cerakote C-Series (air cure)?

https://www.cerakote.co.uk/product-category/c-series/

 

 

 

I had no idea you could get air cured Cerakote! That's impressive shit! Just reading the description on one of the colours it says.....

 

Cerakote Coyote Tan is a medium-dark tan.

*NOTE: This product does not require catalyst. This color does require a 100 Mesh Strainer (SE-275).

 

What on earth is a 100 Mesh Strainer? 🤔

[Misery]

149 micron mesh strainer

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/401618782376?var=671363138447&chn=ps&norover=1&mkevt=1&mkrid=710-134428-41853-0&mkcid=2&itemid=671363138447_401618782376&targetid=1140163972729&device=c&mktype=pla&googleloc=1007321&poi=&campaignid=12126090633&mkgroupid=117623829555&rlsatarget=aud-381667280803:pla-1140163972729&abcId=9300481&merchantid=9460704&gclid=Cj0KCQiAyoeCBhCTARIsAOfpKxjLFMm1Fu3QW8YAkcP0OTnRUSw12165zxHrVeCFzljECWwQ22eh8psaAmNIEALw_wcB

[Iceni]

50 minutes ago, AlphaBear said:

What on earth is a 100 Mesh Strainer?

It's a sieve for the paint to remove larger lumps so it sprays correctly. You can buy an official one or just ram some 100 mesh gauze in the top of your airbrush before you fill it.

https://www.meshdirect.co.uk/woven-stainless-wire-cloth-100-mesh-0.14-mm-aperture.html

[AlphaBear]

6 hours ago, Iceni said:

It's a sieve for the paint to remove larger lumps so it sprays correctly. You can buy an official one or just ram some 100 mesh gauze in the top of your airbrush before you fill it.

https://www.meshdirect.co.uk/woven-stainless-wire-cloth-100-mesh-0.14-mm-aperture.html

Ahhhhh now I got ya. I had no idea you had to do that even with airbrush paints. Looks like it’s google time to research which ‘hobby’ air brush sets are good to get Nothing too pricey. So a compressor and an airbrush kit right ?

[Speedbird_666]

1 hour ago, AlphaBear said:

So a compressor and an airbrush kit right ?

 

Generally, yes, but you can buy disposable compressed gas cans (which work out really expensive in the long term) and I've even heard of ghetto setups that use large car tyre inner tubes (yep, they still exist).

 

Dedicated airbrush compressors can be had for fairly cheap - you'll find compressor/brush sets on Amazon aimed at manicurists to paint finger nails. Might be good enough for spraying small areas. Generally the quality and reliability of these units/airbrushes ain't great, but on the other hand you won't be painting fine details (like, say, an Airfix modeller needs) so they might be good enough to throw some Humbrol #29 onto your blaster.

 

I'm about to jump down the rabbit hole that is a 'proper' compressor for my shed, to run air tools (and the occasional spray gun) - but I have to get an electrician to sort me out with a 20Amp supply to run a more powerful compressor unit, as domestic 13A power supplies will trip out the moment you switch the things on.

 

 

[Iceni]

I have a few compressors for painting with.

The cheaper kits actually work pretty well, The only thing you have to be careful of is they like the paint to be thinner because you are pressure limited, and they have a significant pressure drop when you first open the air on the airbrush.. Meaning you often get a puff of paint. Easy to work with both issues TBF.

I used one of these kits for a few years.
 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Voilamart-Airbrush-Compressor-Kit-Dual-Action-Air-Brush-Spray-Gun-Paint-Tattoo/224160047368?hash=item3430fae108:g:W5wAAOSwmoxfYyw4

There's no regulation on the air, and the modes are just motor speed controls. They work fine if you can live with the lack of regulation for laying down base coats, and are not planning on doing super detailed stuff. For airsoft guns it'll do. Paint wise I'd probably use a self etch primer, then airbush acrylics (mig ammo, Valejo), and cap it with a satin clear coat halfords do a respectable rattle can.

I upgraded a few times from that, but there's not a lot of difference in the £100 bracket and those. The next big step up is a dedicated airbrush compressor, Badger/Iwata make decent ones, or you can go the other route and get a standard compressor like Speedbird. I went a different route and got a silent 9ltr compressor that uses a fridge compressor, More expensive but I can use it in the house without the wife moaning, It's no good for tools, but for airbrushing it's perfect.

https://www.machinemart.co.uk/p/quiet-run-compressor-2/

 

 

The mesh is only needed for that specific paint. Anything that is designed for an airbrush should not need filtering. The mig ammo and valejo stuff just likes a drop of water so it flows better. Mig have a better range of military colours IMO, and they have matched sets so you can buy a specific camo pattern.

https://www.migjimenez.com/en/15-acrylic-colors

[Enid_Puceflange]

Funnily enough

My Mrs is selling an unused airbrush kit that she bought for cake decorating

finishes tomorrow morning 👍😉

[AlphaBear]

I don't understand where the mesh goes in the case of the Cerakote paint. Is it put in the paint reservoir of the air brush? 

 

I've never used an airbrush so this topic intrigues me.... Badger or Iwota seem t be the airbrush makes to go for and then a decent compressor and of course a lot of practice... 

[Speedbird_666]

11 hours ago, AlphaBear said:

I don't understand where the mesh goes in the case of the Cerakote paint. Is it put in the paint reservoir of the air brush?

 

I don't think it intended for the reservoir itself.  You pour the paint from the tin into another container (or spray pot, depending on what type of brush/gun is being used), through the strainer, to remove any lumps from the paint. You either pour the paint from said container into the Airbrush, or screw the spray pot onto the gun.

 

[Lozart]

If you use proper airbrush paint you shouldn't need to strain it. It's made using finer pigments to deal with the smaller nozzle sizes used on most airbrushes.

On 06/03/2021 at 23:19, AlphaBear said:

I don't understand where the mesh goes in the case of the Cerakote paint. Is it put in the paint reservoir of the air brush? 

 

I've never used an airbrush so this topic intrigues me.... Badger or Iwota seem t be the airbrush makes to go for and then a decent compressor and of course a lot of practice... 

 

Badger are OK, Iwata are industry standard.

 

For what you're doing you could also look at the Harder and Steenbeck range but to be fair, none of the high end ones should need to come into the equation. As Iwata ones go, look at the Eclipse or Revolution ranges https://www.graphicair.co.uk/product-category/airbrush/iwata-airbrush/iwata-revolution-airbrushes/ https://www.graphicair.co.uk/product-category/airbrush/iwata-airbrush/iwata-eclipse-airbrushes/. Gravity feed will run on lower air pressures than the suction feed ones but if you want to run a relatively large nozzle and a decent volume of paint then a suction feed one might be better.