New to airbrushing. Which paints to use?

I'm new to this airbrush thing, but I'm trying to get into it. I was just wondering what paints you guys use on your models and why. Thanks for your input. Kevin

I'd also like to know too.

I have a NJ Custom N6A transfer caboose coming soon and will be painting it Conrail Blue.

Should I prime it? Not prime it? What is a good brand paint to use on brass?

I use acrylics almost exclusuively because they're fast-drying, easy to thin and clean up, and nontoxic. My brand of choice is Polly Scale, mainly because the local shop carries the largest variety of railroad colours in this brand. I have also used Testors, Modelflex and Tamiya acrylics with good results.

Polly Scale works best for me when thinned with Polly S Airbrush Thinner, but when a bottle of Polly Scale gets to a certain age it reacts poorly to this thinner - at that point I switch to distilled water to use up the bottle.

Washing the model and priming it are always a good idea, the latter especially if covering existing paint or painting a model with more than one colour of base material. A light coat of primer will show up any surface imperfections, so you can fix these before applying colour coats. I prime with Polly Scale Undercoat Light Grey.

I use mostly solvent based paint - Floquil has a large selection of Model Railroad colors and Scalecoat is another brand of solvent based. As with any airbrushing, but especially true with solvent based paints - you need to have good ventilation. The fumes are heavy and toxic, so I also use a respirator and goggles and I wear latex gloves.

I use solvent based paints because I think the color is more true and coats better. It does take slightly longer to dry, but the finish is excellent. I also recommend priming before you paint. This has two purposes. First, I have seen paint attack plastic and decals - if it is primed, then it places a barrier between the plastic and the actual paint. Second - the primer coat will give you a very nice clean base to paint on and yield a more true color. I use Floquil Primer mixed 70 % primer to 30% thinner and about 15-18 psi if you are using a compressor - which I would also recommend if you aren't using already.

You have to use thinner to clean up Floquil or Scalecoat and other solvent paints versus soap and water with acrylics. I have found as well that acrylics are more prone to clogging your airbrush because they dry faster. This can be a real mess to clean out your airbrush. With the drying time on solvent based longer, you can clean your airbrush by simply running thinner through it.

I have used both and like all things, each has pros and cons. The good thing is that Testors makes both Floquil and Polly Scale and are readily available in most Hobby shops. Good Luck

HO Junction Custom Models
http://home.stny.rr.com/hojct