Acrylic Latex ok for an airbrush?

[PiNPOiNT]

I have some acrylic Latex house paint that i was wondering if i could use for my Paasche Airbrush ? Will it work? And if so, do i have to water it down? Thanks

[tybrenis]

Yes, it should work, but make sure you thin it properly - to about the consistancy of milk. I'm not sure if water will work well as a thinner for this type of paint, I have never used it - give it a try. Just remember to clean your airbrush thoroughly.

[PiNPOiNT]

Ok i gave it a shot, and i had no luck

I even tried changing the tip to a larger spray one, and tried different consistancies of water to thin it, but still no luck. also different pressures... no luck.

[The Modfather]

No, latex won't work in an airbrush, it'll gunk it up terribly. Unfortunately you already used it but I do hope you cleaned the airbrush VERY thoroughly, take it all apart and soak it in cleaner. Latex will get like rubber in the works and ruin your airbrush.

[Aero]

Yeah, if you didn't clean it good you'll be introuble. Also when taking apart your airbrush, be carefull around those needle's. I didn't see one while cleaning my desk and it got stuck about 1/2 inch in my thumb, got stopped by the bone. But yeah even an airbrush can be dangerous.

[tybrenis]

You can thin acrylic latex paint with certain thinners, and you can spray it then... water won't work.

[The Modfather]

Even if you thin it down, it's dangerous, you could ruin the airbrush, I'd say the best thing is not to use it. Just use stuff like Badger airbrush paint or what I use all the time is AutoAir.

[detonabr]

I think the the answer to the question has been answered thoroughly, but just to beat it on the head once more to make sure it's dead.... no, you can't use Acrylic Latex. At least not reduced with water. I tried it once, got about a minute of juice out of it, then it spurted slightly, and stopped altogether. Was great fun to clean up.

[msl@lehv.com]

I've had a pretty good experience using an Aztec 470 to spray latex house paint. I was using a custom white, Benjamin Moore, Hi-Gloss latex house paint to spray a primed metal wall fixture plate. I thinned it down to about 50% water. I used the yellow, 1.02 mm tip at about 25-30 psi. It sprayed just fine but after drying, the paint failed to retain any glossiness. Lesser dilutions were difficult to spray.

With this water thinning there was no clogging but there was some post-soaking residue on the inside and outside of the spray tip although it wasn't very difficult to remove with a brush.

However, I had near perfect results thinning this rather thick latex paint with off-the-shelf blue discount store windshield washer fluid. This time, with a 40-50% thinning I was able to obtain a good gloss after drying. I tried to keep the air flow as low as possible and the paint flow high. Even with white paint, the thinner's blue color didn't seem to be an issue.

With the wiper fluid thinner, cleanup was a snap. There was essentially no paint residue at all after just a simple water rinse and soaking of the tip. After rinsing, the inside of the Aztec's empty barrel was spotless.

So, based on this experience with Benjamin Moore gloss latex paint, massive clogging of the airbrush isn't a danger.

[carol563]

I just bought an esclipse airbrush so I am new to using one.I need to spray latex interior house paint.I tried it and 3 times it clogged. I decided to try one more option..The cheap sponges that they sell in walmart,paint stores etc with the wooden handles.I took the sponge off the handle and sliced the sponge open..I put my latex paint into a cup mixed with water and strained it thru the sponge and then tried again..no problem at all anymore..I filled the bottle twice and no problem spraying, so if any of you need to use that type paint ...just make sure its not thick
carol