And todays learning curve concludes with the fact that Humbrol acrylics are not best thinned with isopropanol. Funny though as I've used it for all other types of acrylic paint for many years with no problems. However, this is the first time I've used Humbrol's new acrylic range and, in all honesty, it'll probably be the last. Firstly, whoever designed the pot it comes in seriously needs slapping. It has two ways to open it, either a screw off cap INSIDE one end, or a flip cap at the other end
. Unscrew the one end and try to put it back together? No chance. An airlock forms and you get paint everywhere
Then there's the thinner issue. It says "water-based" on the container, much like other acrylics, but gives no thinning recommendations apart from "can be thinned for airbrushing". Yep, I do believe it can,provided, of course,that you're good at alchemy. Thinning it with isopropanol resulted in this.
A gloopy, sludgy mess that forms a few minutes after mixing. Guess what this did to the inside of my airbrush
. i'm just glad it wasn't my new Aztek!
Luckily (I think), I bought 3 pots of this stuff so, after an hour of swearing, backflushing and treatment with some unspeakable chemicals, I managed to unclog the airbrush for a second go.
This time I tried thinning with plain ol' water. This worked... to a certain extent. The problem is that, even heavily thinned, the paint tends to thicken very quickly in the paint cup, sending little spits of paint down the brush and, inevitably, causing a blockage. The only way to overcome this was to add more water and play around with the spraying pressure. Not ideal but the only way to get any coverage at all.
Eventually I did manage to get the first thin coat on the Victor.
Trouble is that I got more on me at the same time. Of course, being this thin, more coats will be needed. I had hoped to get the grey on before bed tonight
but this wont be done until tomorrow night soonest.
At the moment my airbrush is having a spin in my ultrasonic cleaner after a thorough chemical scrub. With a bit of luck I'll be able to get one more coat on tonight.
Nice and simple and I'm surprised I've never given it thought before. I usually vent paint fumes to atmosphere via the open window technique, although I hasten to add that I do wear a decent mask! Overspray does, however, tend to land wherever so this might be an idea for nicking, it's certainly cheaper than those spray booths that can be bought out there! Whatever have I been thinking all these years 
) of a combination of Tamiya tape (for the accurate bits) and standard DIY masking tape as infill (for cost-effectiveness). Any gaps were filled with Maskol. I actually ran out of the paper masking tape and had to finish the last big patch with Maskol.
enjoy the bath and relax the Victor will be waiting tomorrow. 
