# cheap airbrush paint



## Jacobiv (May 23, 2015)

My first paints set I got from hobby lobby in Sacramento were around $5 for 2oz. I happened to be walking thru Walmart today and noticed this huge section of .50 cent 2oz acrylic paint that is water soluble. The brand is called apple barrel. You can find a bunch of threads around and on RC groups.I got every color I ever wanted aND some ammonia free windex for less than $20.


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## djnick66 (May 2, 2008)

I personally find that stuff to be largely useless but that is just my opinion of it. I have tried some Apple Barrel, Plaid, etc. paints and just found that for modeling they are not as good as good quality model paints. For one, they do not adhere well to bare plastic, and can flake or rub off easily. Coverage by brush is usually pretty poor too. I thinned down a brown for airbrushing, and it was mediocre compared to say Tamiya's solvent based acrylics. I do use these for things like groundcover on dioramas that is usually porous and absorbs a lot of paint. There has been a lot of discussion of the merits (or lack of) of these paints in the general modelling group here too.


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## debrartin (Mar 19, 2015)

Jacobiv said:


> My first paints set I got from hobby lobby in Sacramento were around $5 for 2oz. I happened to be walking thru Walmart today and noticed this huge section of .50 cent 2oz acrylic paint that is water soluble. The brand is called apple barrel. You can find a bunch of threads around and on RC groups.I got every color I ever wanted aND some ammonia free windex for less than $20.


 I have used apple barrel paints from walmart and acrylic craft paint and best acrylic brushes from artist supply source through an airbrush to paint planes made out of dollar tree foam with good results. Always seal the plane with minwax first unless you want the paper to get ruined and peel off! You do have to thin the paint alot with windex. About 50/50 but it will also depend on the airbrush being used and the pressure you are running it at. It also dries very fast after you spray it down. Clean out your airbrush immediately after spraying it or it will get clogged and be more difficult to clean.


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## MightyMax (Jan 21, 2000)

Thin it with Future and it airbrushes phenomenally and becomes very durable.
Max Bryant


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## Faust (Dec 1, 2012)

MightyMax said:


> Thin it with Future and it airbrushes phenomenally and becomes very durable.
> Max Bryant


That's true for everything.

I use a mix of 1/3 Future : 2/3 Isopropyl alcohol (99%) as my airbrush thinner. It's the only way, I've found, to airbrush Model Master Acrylics, and it's a cheap thinner!

Adding Future to a thinner will make any paint or finish extremely hard and durable, not to mention that the gloss it imparts is good for decalling.

HOWEVER: you do have to make sure the paint is quite dry before coating or sealing it. Future takes a while to dry, and if you can smell it, it's not quite there. 

I use a dehydrator to 'force' the drying much faster; Future does well under heat, but can absorb A LOT of heat, becoming too hot to handle, actually. I never expose something Futured or Future-based to more than 47°C (that's about 117°F).

There's my two cents!


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