Metallic airbrush paint

[S-tier Adam]

Greetings forum,

So I recently got my airbrush and have started getting the hang of it. I definitely am liking the clean look it gives figures. I felt I really needed it for the figure I'm currently sculpting, as he has some large metallic areas that are very smooth and clean. I am getting really close to being ready for paint...I should have all 9 resin parts finished and primed by wednesday!

In my airbrush kit, I got mostly just basic colors; Mostly opaque or transparent, and I got a white pearlescent. I'm wondering the best route to go to get the metallic look I'm going for. I need metallic purple, silver, and gold. Now I originally had went out and bought some metallic acrylics to use on him before I decided to get an airbrush...

My question is can I dilute those in a way that they are useable in the airbrush? Or am I much better off buying airbrush ready metallic paints? Painting isn't my area of expertise so I'm not sure if the acrylics would mess up the airbrush or anything like that. Also if getting new paints is the way to go, does anyone have any product recommendations for metallic airbrush paint?

[Vince-Vell]

you can thin down any acrylics for airbrush, just some metallic have thicker metallic bits so if your using a fine detail airbrush it can get clogged.

I always use a bigger nozzle airbrush for metallics and the fine detail brush for thinned down paints.

[S-tier Adam]

Oh I have no idea the specifics... It's an Iwata Eclipse HP-CS. I'm not sure if its for fine detail but I think its more of an all-purpose airbrush.

[Vince-Vell]

ya i hace a HP-CS and its good for fine detail and decent spraying. But i never push metallics thru it, nozzle is to small.

Look into getting a Iwata Revolution CR, they are not that expensive and good for thick paints and coating a statue in metallics or pearls. Nice work horse brush for big areas.

[S-tier Adam]

So you wouldn't even use airbrush ready metallic paints in the HP-CS? Doesn't Createx have a line of metallics?

[Vince-Vell]

for me nope, not worth wasting time cleaning a fine airbrush all the time cause thicker paints or metallics clogged it.

Ya createx makes pearls and metallics but their paint is thick as hell too, so you will see they don't flow unless thinned for a fine airbrush.

[S-tier Adam]

I've been having a great time with the airbrush, but as I am not ready to spend more money on a new one for metallic, I've been playing around with other options for applying the metallic colors. I never knew they were such a pain to work with. I've been having some difficulty, and I have this really big cape with gold trim that I'm going to have to do soon.

I was wondering if anyone ever uses gold leaf or foils? I was thinking this might be an easier way to deal with the gold trim on my figure. I've never worked with it though so I have no concept of how well it would work or not. Any thoughts?

[Astounding]

Gold leaf is pretty thick. I have not used it for years. When I did, I had the most luck trying to draw a smooth bead along an edge, perhaps what you intend to do with your cape. As I recall, once it's on you don't want to clear coat over. I believe this kills the finish if I'm not mistaken (it has been a long time).

Foils can have an impressive appearance, but they do not work well in every instance, depending on the area you are trying to treat. It's a touchy business, but I have seen some nice results. I don't know how durable they would be to handling.

As far as metallic hand paints, I do like Palmer Acrylics Pure Silver. I've wanted to try other metallics in the line but have yet to track them down. Createx has some nice metallic colors but I've never been thrilled with the way the paint goes down.

I mix and spray all my own metallic colors using lacquer paints. I get my pearlescent powders from EMD. I use a #3 needle and tip in my airbrush and have no issues with clogging unless using a particularly large flake.

[S-tier Adam]

Originally Posted by Astounding

I mix and spray all my own metallic colors using lacquer paints. I get my pearlescent powders from EMD. I use a #3 needle and tip in my airbrush and have no issues with clogging unless using a particularly large flake.

I'm usually down with DIY stuff; most of my studio equipment and sculpting processes are pretty DIY. I would have no idea how to do that though. It might be worth it though because I also have been quite unsatisfied with different metal paints I've gotten. I'm gonna try experimenting with the gold leaf stuff I picked up tonight and see how it goes. I got a special sealer for it, so I'll probably clear coat the rest of the part before applying the leaf.