Yesterday, I decanted some Krylon color maxx Pistachio for airbrushing the turret interior on my M109A2. Went easily enough using the straw method and I left it overnight 12 hours to off gas. Today Ive followed some advice on how to thin it and it’s turning into a gloppy mess! I used distilled water and this process forms black stringy gunk in the paint. I’ve made a real mess of my airbrush in the process and am reluctant to try it again. Should I dump the decanted paint and start over?
Shorter off gassing period? different medium as thinner?
Help folks!
Just my .02
I would just dump it and start over…
I know Tamiya makes a solid interior color for modern American AFVs… XF-71 Cockpit Green; AK Interactive also makes one in their Real Color series, RC078 APC Interior Green.
This is how Tamiya XF-71 looks on my M2A2 Somalia build.
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Thanks for that info. My LHS has XF71 in stock and I’ll pick some up tomorrow.
Your build looks great btw.
Thanks. One of three M2 Bradleys I’ve built over the years. With the newest one in my build stash.
M2A1 Bradley (1991 Gulf War)
M2A2 (1993 Somalia)
M2A3 BUSK (Operation Iraqi Freedom)
And soon…
M2A4 Bradley IFV.
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The above color is too dark for Seafoam Green which is used on most US AFV interiors. It is more of the color used on open top interiors like the M106 and M1064 Mortar Carriers. The Krylon pistachio is a perfect match for Seafoam Green. We used to use it for touchup on the interiors of our actual vehicles. I find it just fine from the spray can with no need to decant, thin, and use in an airbrush.
Also, US M109A2 interior color is semi-gloss white, not seafoam green.
This is an M109A6 Paladin, but the same color on an M109A2 interior.
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My daughter being the Nazi about the environment that she is, I’ve tried to dispense with using any aerosol paint if I can. Not always possible, I know. I’ve found that plain old Testors white mixed with a tiny bit of their “Crayola” green works perfectly.
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Thanks Gino, I goofed that research. Any way to make Tamiya gloss white into semi gloss? Also, do you think the Tamiya cockpit green is OK for (the relevant) modern vehicles?
To the original question, isn’t Krylon an enamel paint? Krylon website says use mineral spirits for cleanup so that seems to me the answer on how to thin it. A gloppy mess is exactly what I would expect to get adding water to Krylon. But I could be missing the point on something.
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It claims its a hybrid of acrylic and enamel. An earlier post, on the old site, recommended distilled water.
All of this could be wrong, of course. 
Personally, I try to avoid using anything but 100% acrylic. Means a simple fan/filter system is good enough for painting indoors and saves me having to figure out how to deal with used thinner and flammable rags. I’m lazy…
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To change gloss to semigloss?
I’ve been decanting spray paint for years and have never thinned it, just let it off gas and shot it straight through the airbrush with no issues
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I would just spray it gloss white, add any interior decals (or not), then spray it with a clear semi-gloss.
The Tamiya Cockpit Green looks about right and I have heard of others using it as well. It should work fine too.
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How long do you allow for offgassing?
1 to 1 for making matt, so I’d guess 2 paint to 1 flat for semigloss?
Straight 1:1 ratio for matt. DIal it accordingly for semi-gloss.
All day, at least. I’ll do a very slight stir with a wooden skewer, if it’s still bubbling it’s still gassy. I’ve stored bottles of it over the winter and it’s still good for summer garage spraying
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I’ve never heard of thinning Krylon aerosol paint with water. Did I read the OP correctly? Like others said, no need to thin decanted aerosol can paint. Then I clean my AB with lacquer thinner.
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