Bones and Airbrushing

[Gargs]

I know a lot of you use airbrushes on your bones, but my question is how well does the liner method work? I figure it would have to be thinned, but does using airbrush thinner get around the hydrophobic tendencies of bones? What ratio do you use?

 

As always thanks in advance for your help!

[Ratmaster2000]

For me personally, I do not have to thin at all. I just use Badger Stynlrez straight from the bottle, works great.

[Gargs]

So you just use primer then instead of sat Brown liner, etc.? 

 

What about for base colors and such. Do you use reaper paints? How much do you tend to think those? 

[cmorse]

16 minutes ago, Gargs said:

So you just use primer then instead of sat Brown liner, etc.? 

 

What about for base colors and such. Do you use reaper paints? How much do you tend to think those? 

 

Using liner is a waste of money if you are using it more than occasionally. The price per oz is ridiculous compared to primer.

 

Once you prime them with Stynylrez you can use whatever paint you want. At that point you are painting on the primer rather than the PVC so the mini isn't any more hydrophobic than any other primed mini. 

[CorallineAlgae]

I also airbrush prime all my Bones figures with Stynylrez after washing and drying the minis. Works beautifully and looks much nicer than liner in my opinion. 

How much I thin Reaper paints (or any paint brand) depends on a number of factors. The needle size of the brush, how thick the paint is out of the bottle, how much or how little coverage I'm looking to get. It's different for base coating than it is for glazing or shading/highlighting. Thinning paint properly for the effect you're looking to achieve takes experimentation and practice, especially for brushes with really small needles, like the .2mm needle in the Badger Sotar. Air pressure is also part of the equation. It's fun to learn, but I continue to make mistakes and get minor splatter or spidering sometimes. It's a real skill. Just gotta earn the XP to get the various airbrushing feats. Priming with Stynylrez is a breeze though. It's just goes on so easy. It was an absolute priming game changer for me. 

[Cyradis]

I've been using Vallejo Airbrush Primer or the airbrush primer + Brown/Blue Liner. Works great. I like it a ton more than slathering a figure in just liner.

[Cygnwulf]

I've airbrushed liner straight once or twice. had to use higher pressure, 30 psi or so, but it sprayed without dillution.  

That said, I prefer priming with stynlrez for basically all the reasons given above.