# Spray Ceramcoat Paints?



## kit-junkie (Apr 8, 2005)

Has anyone ever tried to thin and spray Delta Ceramcoat?


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## Facto2 (Nov 16, 2010)

All the time. All you have to do is thin them with water. Don’t try to thin them with anything else, results won’t be good. The trick is to get the right consistency to pass through the air brush. It’s also a good idea to have an airbrush bottle filled with rubbing alcohol to run through the airbrush after spraying the paint which will help keep the brush from clogging.


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## Aurora-brat (Oct 23, 2002)

Facto2 said:


> All the time. All you have to do is thin them with water. Don’t try to thin them with anything else, results won’t be good. The trick is to get the right consistency to pass through the air brush. It’s also a good idea to have an airbrush bottle filled with rubbing alcohol to run through the airbrush after spraying the paint which will help keep the brush from clogging.


Ditto. I will occasionally add a drop or two of rubbing alcohol to the thinned paint to act as a whetting agent to help prevent it from beading up. Also helps it to dry a little faster.


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## kit-junkie (Apr 8, 2005)

Great! Thanks guys!

I hadn't expected to get such a fast email response from Delta Creative. They answered within an hour of my email: "Using Delta Acrylic Thinner with Ceramcoat Acrylic is ideal for airbrushing. To use, mix equal parts of Delta Acrylic Thinner & Ceramcoat Acrylic Paint . Add additional Thinner until desired consistency is achieved".


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## Capt. Krik (May 26, 2001)

I have also sprayed Ceramcoat. I actually have used Windex to thin for spraying with excellent results.


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## kit-junkie (Apr 8, 2005)

Capt. Krik said:


> I have also sprayed Ceramcoat. I actually have used Windex to thin for spraying with excellent results.


Cool. I think I'll go buy a gallon of windshield washer fluid. If it doesn't work well, I'll dump it in the car.


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## spawndude (Nov 28, 2007)

kit-junkie said:


> Great! Thanks guys!
> 
> I hadn't expected to get such a fast email response from Delta Creative. They answered within an hour of my email: "Using Delta Acrylic Thinner with Ceramcoat Acrylic is ideal for airbrushing. To use, mix equal parts of Delta Acrylic Thinner & Ceramcoat Acrylic Paint . Add additional Thinner until desired consistency is achieved".


Unless I looked in the wrong place (around the paint racks) I've never seen "Delta Acrylic Thinner" or any other brand of craft paint thinner. I've looked in Hobby Lobby, Michaels, Walmart, and Joanns.


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## derric1968 (Jun 13, 2003)

I had never heard of it before, either. However, a quick Google search revealed that the product does indeed exist.



Huh. Ya' learn somethin' new every day! Although, not a lot of places carry it, so it's not surprising that we've never seen it on the store shelves. Delta's website is not very helpful, either.

Oh well, I've always used Windex with very good results.


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## btbrush (Sep 20, 2010)

I've used Delta almost exclusively for many years. I thin with auto windshield washer fluid I buy at Lowes for about $5 a gallon. I thin this about 50/50 with water and thin the Delta 50/50 with this. Works great. I have an old PollyS bottle (before I noticed what the ingrediants were) that I fill with the thinner and always have some on hand.
Bruce


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## kit-junkie (Apr 8, 2005)

btbrush said:


> I thin with auto windshield washer fluid. I thin this about 50/50 with water and thin the Delta 50/50 with this.


This is the exact method I used, with really nice results. The paint covered very well and dried nice and flat.


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## paulhelfrich (May 11, 2009)

I've thinned craft store paints like Delta with Future and had fairly good results. Have to try the windshield washer fluid thing.


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## clark_savage (Jan 24, 2003)

Hi Kit junkie:

Welcome to the board!

Been using Ceram for years... both hand-brush and spray using Ceram's own airbrush thinner according to bottle instructions. Recommend it highly, paint in bottle lasts for years if not decades. I have built and painted award-winning models (figures, dioramas and vehicles) with this brand. It's available at Michael's.

Just make sure you coat your paint with Future once dry as it can be delicate once dry.


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## kit-junkie (Apr 8, 2005)

Thanks for the welcome, Clark! (even though I've been here, off and on, since 2005) 

The paints cover well. I'm still a bit frustrated with my double action airbrush. I'm sure I'll get it, eventually.


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## MightyMax (Jan 21, 2000)

I experimented a few years back and thinned them with window washer solvent. I sprayed them through a Paasche H3 airbrush. They continually clogged the brush so I would have to backflush to get it going again. The results were okay but I found the paint scratched off the model kit if I was not careful. I shelved the idea to use craft paints. Then one day a guy in my model club brought in a beautifully finished F-4 Phantom. He used craft paint but here is the secret. He thinned it with Future.
So I tried it on a Car kit. Mixed up some Apple Barrel with Future and it shot like a dream. The finish was exceptional and the Future gave it durability so it would not scratch off. To be honest it turned out to be one of the best gloss coats I ever achieved on a car kit!!!

So just one thinner IMO. Future which is now labeled Pledge Acrylic Floor Polish with Future Shine. The only thing is that it will be a gloss finish so if you need it flat you will have to clear coat it with a flat clear.

Max Bryant


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## kit-junkie (Apr 8, 2005)

MightyMax said:


> The results were okay but I found the paint scratched off the model kit if I was not careful.


The paint scraped off with the kit primed or was the paint prayed straight onto the plastic?


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## clark_savage (Jan 24, 2003)

kit-junkie said:


> The paint scraped off with the kit primed or was the paint prayed straight onto the plastic?


I understand that craft paint does scrape off easily even with the kit primed, so a clear coat is essential.


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## spawndude (Nov 28, 2007)

MightyMax said:


> I experimented a few years back and thinned them with window washer solvent. I sprayed them through a Paasche H3 airbrush. They continually clogged the brush so I would have to backflush to get it going again. The results were okay but I found the paint scratched off the model kit if I was not careful. I shelved the idea to use craft paints. Then one day a guy in my model club brought in a beautifully finished F-4 Phantom. He used craft paint but here is the secret. He thinned it with Future.
> So I tried it on a Car kit. Mixed up some Apple Barrel with Future and it shot like a dream. The finish was exceptional and the Future gave it durability so it would not scratch off. To be honest it turned out to be one of the best gloss coats I ever achieved on a car kit!!!
> 
> So just one thinner IMO. Future which is now labeled Pledge Acrylic Floor Polish with Future Shine. The only thing is that it will be a gloss finish so if you need it flat you will have to clear coat it with a flat clear.
> ...


What paint/Future ratio did you use? 50/50?

Thanks


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## Disco58 (Apr 10, 2011)

Through a lot of experimenting, I figured out the Future trick too. I think it has something to do with various alcohols (rubbing acohol, windshield solvent, Windex) breaking down, or at least diluting the acrylic binder in the craft paint. Future on the other hand, I think is nothing but that acrylic binder. I've also used Liquitex airbrush medium with mixed results, and Winsor & Newton has a 'flow improver' in their Galeria line (yellow 8oz jar). The airbrush medium and W&N flow enhancer seem to work even better with the Liquitex and Amsterdam artist's tube acrylic paint I also use. All this was very much worth it. I couldn't tell you the last time I bought a $2-$3 1/2oz bottle of "model paint". I always prime everything, with either Rustoleum or Krylon. Recently I had to strip a couple pieces; one was resin primed with Rustoleum, the other was whitemetal primed with Krylon. The Rustoleum primed resin piece was a genuine nightmare (3 coats of EZ Off, 7 applications of stripper, and still wasn't clean) and ended up getting tossed. The Krylon primed metal piece sat in stripper for almost two weeks before I had a chance to work on it, but the paint came off very easily with very little scrubbing. I'm not sure what all that told me, other than the acrylic paint sticks to Rustoleum primer incredibly well (a very good thing), just don't try to strip it. As a FWIW, I also make up my own clear colors, including gray and brown toned smokes, with food coloring and Future. The smoke clear work perfectly for tinting aircraft canopies (which you need to dip in Future anyway, might as well be tinted!) and with a drop of a fleshtone you can paint sheer stockings on figures. Future with a drop or two of white makes some rather sexy and sheer white stockings too!


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## Mccruzer59 (Mar 27, 2020)

I don't know if I'll get a reply to this , since the thread is so old, but I was wondering if you can wet sand Ceramcoat paints before applying the clearcoat, to smooth out the surface?


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## Milton Fox Racing (May 27, 2014)

You may want to thin your paint a bit more as it should be a matte looking finish when dried. And it would not be a smooth finish.

The clear coat on top should also give a smooth finish to the touch on top of the paint.

I think sanding it would remove the matte/pearl look but try it out on a test buck and see what happens! And be sure to let us know how it worked out for you.


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## irishtrek (Sep 17, 2005)

spawndude said:


> Unless I looked in the wrong place (around the paint racks) I've never seen "Delta Acrylic Thinner" or any other brand of craft paint thinner. I've looked in Hobby Lobby, Michaels, Walmart, and Joanns.


Michaels use to carry Delta Ceram coat but not any more. If you have a craft Wearhouse try there. I was told by someone who worked at craft Wearhouse to thin craft store paints to the consistency of milk, if that helps.


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## Milton Fox Racing (May 27, 2014)

The last time I saw any was at JoAnn's Fabric store.


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