I airbrush my lures with Createx paints thinned 10%-20% with 4011 fast dry reducer. My airbrush is an Iwata Revolution BR with a .3 mm needle. I'm having problems with the paint drying on the needle tip and then not spraying unless the PSI is over 35. I notice this mainly with Transparent Black because I do a lot of lures with vertical stripes. Is it the paint or am I not thinning it correctly?

Are you stirring the paint after adding reducer?  If not, some createx paints are really thick and do not spray well.  So if you're not stirring in the reducer you will clog up the airbrush.  I use Paasche Talon's and the only time I have this problem is when (1) I do not stir the paint/reducer well enough or (2) when I let the brush sit for more than 5 minutes.  I do all of my painting in my garage and when it is hot outside I will get more clogs due to the paint drying.  As long as you keep a brush handy and pull the needle our every now and then to clean it you should be good.  

 

In regards to thinning out the paint,  I over reduce sometimes when fading colors and do not have an issue with paint drying, unless one of the situations listed above occurs. 

 

 

 

1 hour ago, YUT18 said:

Are you stirring the paint after adding reducer?  If not, some createx paints are really thick and do not spray well.  So if you're not stirring in the reducer you will clog up the airbrush.  I use Paasche Talon's and the only time I have this problem is when (1) I do not stir the paint/reducer well enough or (2) when I let the brush sit for more than 5 minutes.  I do all of my painting in my garage and when it is hot outside I will get more clogs due to the paint drying.  As long as you keep a brush handy and pull the needle our every now and then to clean it you should be good.  

 

In regards to thinning out the paint,  I over reduce sometimes when fading colors and do not have an issue with paint drying, unless one of the situations listed above occurs. 

 

 

 

I mix my paint and thinner in a small bath cup. I try to mix it well before pouring into the airbrush but it seems the paint does not mix well with reducer because it will barely come out at 15 psi. If I overreduce it will run all over the place. I'm thinking about trying the Wicked paints for my black detail work.

1 hour ago, nighthawk25 said:

I mix my paint and thinner in a small bath cup. I try to mix it well before pouring into the airbrush but it seems the paint does not mix well with reducer because it will barely come out at 15 psi. If I overreduce it will run all over the place. I'm thinking about trying the Wicked paints for my black detail work.

I use both Wicked and regular Createx and do not see a difference in how they spray. 

I dont use Createx black but their opaque white is thick and terrible. I switched to Golden's titanium white and it is great

 

Wicked is made by Createx

You might try a slower reducer.   An airbrush has a large relative air volume so the "fast" reducer maybe flashing out and leaving the paint.  

You might also be in too close and getting splashback/overspray on the tip.

Always test spray to make sure the gun is working right before applying.   That'll tell you if the reducer level is right for the humidity and temperature, guns clean, etc.  

On 10/27/2017 at 8:08 AM, Comfortably Numb said:

I dont use Createx black but their opaque white is thick and terrible.

preach on brother.

 

I bought a quart of Createx opaque white and I painted 3 houses and the pentagon with half the bottle and 3 gallons of reducer.

I use the same airbrush and Createx.  One thing I recommend is to soak your airbrush occasionally overnight in a dedicated airbrush cleaning solution to remove stubborn paint deposits, in addition to regular cleaning.  It contains emulsifiers that regular solvent cleaners can’t dissolve and can really help to make the brush work like new.

5 hours ago, BobP said:

I use the same airbrush and Createx.  One thing I recommend is to soak your airbrush occasionally overnight in a dedicated airbrush cleaning solution to remove stubborn paint deposits, in addition to regular cleaning.  It contains emulsifiers that regular solvent cleaners can’t dissolve and can really help to make the brush work like new.

Yes, I have done that but not since a seal went bad in the trigger stem. The guy I talked to at Iwata said he doesn't recommend doing that but I'll just be more careful if I do it again.