What To Use To Thin Airbrush Paint!

Written by Colt in Micsellaneous

Given that an airbrush requires such thin paint, its important that you know what to use for thinning airbrush paint, and how to do so properly…

Today we will be discussing the options you have to thin your airbrush paint with. Specifically your water-based acrylic airbrush paints, given that water-based paints are what the majority of airbrush artists use…

Though we will discuss briefly a few of the options you have for reducing solvent based airbrush paint as well. 

Anyway, below is a short breakdown of what you can use to thin your airbrush paints, we will go into further detail below.

You can use one or multiple of the following when thinning water-based airbrush paints:

  • The Manufactured Reducer (Water-Based)
  • Homemade Airbrush Thinner
  • Distilled Water (But don’t use a lot)
  • Airbrush Acrylic Medium (Ether by itself, or along side the others listed above)

You can use one of the following when reducing solvent-based airbrush paints:

  • The Manufactured Reducer (Solvent-Based)
  • Mineral Spirits / White Spirits (UK)
  • Turpentine
  • Lacquer Thinner

What To Use For Thinning Water-Based Airbrush Paint

Water-based airbrush paint allows for a significant amount of versatility when it comes to the options you have for reducing your paints.

For instance, you can use anything from the store bought airbrush paint thinner down to just straight water. 

Let’s discuss in greater detail a few of the options you have for thinning your paint.

The Manufactured Reducer (Water-Based)

Virtually every paint manufacturer out there makes their own paint thinner that is formulated to work well with their specific paint. If you want the utmost best results out of your paint, I’d recommend you go with the thinner that is made by, & recommended by the same company of the paint you use.

This will ensure no problems come from the paint, assuming you thin it to the manufactured specs.

For example, I paint with Createx Airbrush Colors and they recommend the use of their product “4012 High Performance Reducer” for thinning down the paint.

You’ll likely have to look up the exact thinner manufactured for the paint you intend on using. To which can be found in the “TDS” (technical data sheet) provided by the manufacturer of the paint. However, below are a few common options:

Note: Typically when I’m working on High value projects I’ll use the “4012” reducer to thin my Createx paints. However when I’m simply practicing, or working on lower value projects I’ll use a homemade airbrush thinner…

Homemade Airbrush Thinner

The cool thing about water-based airbrush paint is that the ingredients commonly found within the manufactured thinners are easy to find and or mimic.

Homemade airbrush paint thinner has likely been made since the airbrush was first conceived. Making your own thinner gives you both versatility in the ingredients to which you add, and is much easier on the wallet. Though you do need to understand the paint before making your own recipe…

It’s quite common to be able to make triple or even quadruple the amount of homemade airbrush thinner at the same cost as a bottle of store-bought airbrush thinner.

In the past, I use to purchase and use the paint thinner that was designed specifically for the paint I use. However, It got expensive… Nowadays I prefer to go with a homebrewed recipe for the most part, given just how much money I can save. Plus it also doubles as an airbrush cleaner.

If you’d like to start making your own homemade airbrush thinner do check out my post titled: how to make your own homemade airbrush thinner / cleaner. There you will find a couple of recipes that I personally use and have found to work very well.

Distilled Water

Given that water based paint is just that (Paint with water as the base…), it allows you to use water to thin out the paint. However, thinning your paint using water won’t be as effective as using a store bought reducer, or homemade reducer.

Simply because, water alone does not include the added ingredients that aid in the fluidity and dry times of airbrush paint thinned using alternative options than just simply water.

However, if you’re really on a tight budget water alone can work as airbrush paint thinner. But ensure you are using distilled water instead of regular tap water.

Regular tap water commonly has a lot of impurities in it that will mess with the paint…

Airbrush Acrylic Medium

Airbrush acrylic medium can work great for thinning your airbrush paint. It can be used stand alone, or incorporated in with one of the following options listed above.

Acrylic medium is commonly much thinner than acrylic paint by itself. However, acrylic medium will not breakdown the paint like water or regular thinner will.  

Let me explain, 

Simply adding reducer by itself, whether it be water alone or store-bought, can result in what is known as under binding of the paint.

Under binding simply means the binder within the paint has been over thin to the point it struggles to do its job: that being bind the pigment particles together. 

Paint that is under bound will commonly present itself by not adhering properly to the surface being painted, by flaking off, or by easily being wiped off.

By simply adding an acrylic medium to your paint after adding a reducer, you can prevent the paint from becoming under bound.

But acrylic medium can also be used standalone as a paint thinner. I have heard of many people using straight acrylic medium to thin down their airbrush paint.

I can’t personally say how well it works simply because I don’t use acrylic medium by itself to thin down my paints. However, I have found a large subset of people that do, and say it works well. That being said, acrylic medium has a lot of the ingredients in it that can be found in most airbrush paint reducers that are labeled as such…

Which basically makes acrylic medium nearly the same as most manufactured reducers…

A few commonly used airbrush mediums:

What To Use For Thinning Solvent-Based Airbrush Paint

When it comes to using solvent based paints, otherwise known as oil based paints, its ideal for you to use the reducer recommended for the paint your using. There is simply a lot more risk involved when it comes to using mismatched chemicals as your reducer…

However, there are some alternative options available, depending on the type of solvent based paint your using… But given the large variety of paints available on the market today, its difficult to say exactly what chemical you should be using to reduce your solvent based paints.

So, extensive research on the paint your using is vitally important before using one of the alternative reducer options listed shortly down this page.

To find a complete breakdown of the paint your using, or intend on using. I recommend you take a look at the “SDS” (Safety data sheet) on the paint, and / or the “TDS” (Technical data sheet). Typically a simple web search will provide a few results.

The Manufactured Reducer (Solvent Based)

When it comes to using solvent-based (or oil-based) paints in your airbrush, its ideal to use the thinner that is recommended, or manufactured for the specific paint your using.

When your working with solvents your working with chemicals. And some chemicals can work against each other making them very dangerous to your health, and the finish of your paint…

For example, If your gonna be using urethanes, then its ideal to use the reducer recommended for it / manufactured for it. Using something that is not recommended can, and likely will, damage the structural integrity of the paint. Making it react in strange ways, and resulting in a finish you won’t be satisfied with.

However, if your gonna be using enamels, lacquers and so forth in your airbrush… Then you can likely get away with using the following alternatives to reduce your paint… But be sure to do your research on the paint your using before doing so.

Solvent Based Alternatives

  • Mineral Spirits / White Spirits
  • Turpentine
  • Lacquer Thinner

Conclusion

I can basically guarantee you will get the best results with your airbrush paint by using the reducer that is manufactured & labeled specifically for the paint your using. However, depending on the paint your using, some of the alternative options listed above can prove to act quite similar to the manufactured reducer (at least when discussing water-based airbrush paint)

Solvent-based paints should always be heavily researched before using an alternative option from that which is recommended.

But do note, a lot of solvent based paints actually call for either mineral spirits / white spirits, turpentine, or lacquer thinner for reduction purposes… But not all…

Nonetheless, given that most who read this will be using water-based airbrush paint,

It’s not as crucial that you use the manufactured reducer for your chosen paint, as it is when using solvent-based paints. I personally only use water-based paints, and have found that a few of my favorite home brewed thinner recipes work very similarly to the reducer that is manufactured for the paint I use… But testing an alternative is always a must before application to a final piece…

Anyway, I hope you were able to find some value here! If you have any further questions regarding the airbrush do be sure to take a look around the website. Airbrush Insider is dedicated to helping all in the airbrush community!

This is Colt signing off!

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Colt

Hello, My Name Is Colt. I have always had an interest in the artistic, and creative side of things. But personally, I enjoy the process of shading and using gradients in order to achieve a photo realistic, 3D image of my choosing! That is the why I employ the airbrush every time I work! I have found the process of Airbrushing to be very therapeutic, and allows me to utilize the creative side of my brain to a greater extent! If you'd like to learn more about me, be sure to check me out over on my About Page

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