Createx Classic Colors and Wicked Colors

Application Guide for working with Airbrush colors

Createx Airbrush Colours are textile airbrush paints suited for a variety of substrates, both porous and non- porous surfaces. Createx Airbrush Colours are intended for interior application and require heat for final curing. Wicked Colours are intended for both interior and exterior applications.

table of contents:

Conditions
Set-Up
Preparation
Application
Curing
Cleaning
Safety
Colours and Additives

Conditions

70˚F or higher in a dry, dust-free environment. When painting in humid or colder conditions, allow for extended drying time. Use of air flow decreases drying time and is recommended as the primary means to dry paint. Air source should be free of contaminates, especially oil and water. Heat is best used to cure paint after paint dries. Refer to curing section for more.


Set-Up

Spray Gun Tip Size: Operate @ 40 PSI. 1.2mm:
Touch-Up Gun: 0.8mm-1.0mm tip size.
Pressure settings may vary. Adjust fluid-adjustment knob for
optimim atornization.
Airbrush Tip Size: 0.5mm @ 40-50+PSI; 0.35mm and smaller operate at lower PSI settings and reduce paint to desired viscosity best to atomize particular colour with particular airbrush type and tip size. Reduced paint generally has viscosity of milk.
Reducing: Mix 5608 Createx Illustration Base, Wicked W100 Reducer or Auto Air 4011 Flash Reducer in various ratios to achieve desired viscosity. Reduced colours best used 24 hours after mixing. Reducers greatly improve flow and decrease tip-dry. Reducing with water is not recommended as performance benefits are not achieved and tip-dry is increased.

Preparation

Proper preparation is crucial to ensuring a succesful paintjob. Prepare surface using a variety of methods including but not limited to cleaning, sanding or scuffing and applying primer. This is an important part of any paintjob; there is no short-cut.
Non-Porous Surfaces: Clean thoroughly using both soap & water and solvent-based scuff-pad at equivalent coarseness. Clean again after scuffing prior to paint. Best to start with Createx Opaque White & Black or Auto Air 4000 Series Sealer for initial coat with an even, uniform value over wich other colours with improved coverage and a brighter value.
Porous Surfaces & Fabrics: Best to paint onto clean fabric. A few very light coats of 5601 Transparent Base locks down lint or knap preventing interference and contamination when airbrushing. Over black and dark fabrics, applying a base of Opaque white before applying colours with lighter hues improves coverage and creates brighter values.
Stretching fabric or t-shirt over a board creates a flat, wrinkle-free surface which is much easier to paint on. For t-shirts, clamp down sleeves and loose ends.
Plastic Adhesion to plastics varies. With softer plastics, adhesion is possible after cleaning and lightly scuffing. With harder or oily plastics such as styrene and ABS, an adhesion promoter should be applied after cleaning and scuffing and before painting.

Application

Apply in light coats. A coating consisting of mutiple, light layers is much stronger than a coating of the same mil thickness wich is achieved in fewer, thicker layers. Chipping and flaking of paint is most often due to excess build-up of paint. Allow colours to air cure between coats and before curing with heat (see curing section for more). Working in light coats is especially important when painting flexible surfaces such as leather and vinyl.

Curing

Createx Airbrush Colours and Wicked Colours cure best when paint is thoroughly dried prior to application of heat. Curing times are decreased when coats are allowed to air cure prior to application of next coat. Use of 5608 Illustration Base, Wicked W100 Reducer and Auto Air 4011 Flash Reducer decrease drying rates and curing times.
Do not heat cure fresh paint before it air cures for a few minutes. Premature application of heat may skin over paint creating a latex film wich peels easily when taped and otherwise lacks proper adhesion.
Createx Airbrush Colours are not cured after drying, heat is required. Wicked Colours air dry to a durable film without heat curing although use of heat does achieve optimum film strength.
Heat Gun: apply heat at a low to mid-temperature setting no more than 300 F. Keep air moving to avoid blistering. Apply heat until paint is warm to the touch.
Shirt Press: 325 F for 15-20 seconds.
Iron: With a protective cloth over paint, set on high/cotton setting and iron for @ 2 minutes. A shirt press or iron is recommended for curing t-shirt artwork intended for washing.

Cleaning

After curing or thorough air drying, paint may be cleaned with odorless mineral spirits or a solvent-based, post-sanding degreaser. Do not clean with water.
Clean airbrush during use with water or Airbrush Cleaner.
Clean airbrush after use by soaking in Airbrush Restorer followed by brushing off partially-dissolved paint and rinsing with water.

Safety

Always spray in a well-ventilated area with access to fresh air. A NIOSH / MSHA approved respirator is recommended. See Material Saftey Data Sheets for complete safety and handling information.

CREATEX© - Colours and Additives

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Opaque Colours:

Opaque: Solid colours with excellent coverage for use as base colour. For most projects, starting with either Opaque White or Black works best, allowing for quicker coverage of top-coated colours with an even & consistent value compared to applying over the substrate direct.
Opaque Colours work best out-of-the-bottle with larger tip-sizes operated at higher PSI settings. For smaller tipsizes, reduce using Createx Illustration Base, Wicked W100 Reducer or Auto Air 4011 Flash Reducer.
Transparent: Bright, vibrant colours wich do not have fillers for opacity. Transparent Colours work best over a white base or other bright colour, blend well for smoooth colour transitions and are best suited for fine-lined, detailed airbrushing through small tip-sized airbrushes operated at lower PSI settings. Transparent Colours are the most common colour used over base colour.

Fluorescent Colours

Neon colours wich ernit a glow. Work best over a white base color. Fluorescent colours are NOT lightfast and are not intended for permanent fninishes.

Pearlized and Irisdescent Colours

Vivid pearl base colours with a shimmering effect especially when viewed in direkt light. Work best over Opaque White or Opaque Black.
Iridescent Colours have a shift from a lighter hue on direct views to a dark hue on sidecast views.


Additives

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5601 Transparent Base

Clear binder for extending colours, increasing transparency, use as a protective inter-coat and to lock down fabric knap before painting.

5608 Illustration Base

Reducer with binder and a mild sovent intended to improve flow and atomization, especially when using small-tip sizes at low PSI settings. Reduction may be in any ratio; reduced paint generally has viscosity of skim milk.

5619 Airbrush Restorer

Cleansing bath for airbrush after use wich dissolves dried paint.

Wicked W100 Reducer

High performance reducer with solvent for use with all Createx paints; dramatically improves flow and reduces tip-dry. Reduce in any ratio.

Do you have a question? E-Mail us at info@createx.de
You may download a version of this application guide here.

 


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