Air Brush Paint

I was looking at airbrush paint and was wondering if you have any experience with these...

Graftobian
LUX
Kryolan Air Stream

I am trying to figure out which kind to try and really don't want to waste money trying dif kinds... Especially at $25.00 a bottle.

Thanks for your responses in advance

If you find you don't like any of those brands, Trendy Tribals sells AB paints too. I only have experience with that brand.

Hey Suzy,

In my opinion Graftobian F/X Aire is superior by far....it's amazing at the smooth, opaque coverage you get and how quickly it dries. It has been micronized more than any other paint currently on the market which means you rarely get clogs in your gun...this alone is a huge reason as to why I prefer it ovet the other brands.

This isnt the final word on the paints, just my opinion having used all of the ones you asked about in your post, I'm positive others have their own favorites for their own set of reasons.

Airbrushing is often set in at higher rates than what I call "traditional" face painting, so don't let the $25.00 dollar a bottle price range worry you too much, although I do know that it adds up fast! I'd reccomend going with your primary colors first and then when money permits, start trying out the other ones. I've never been dissapointed in any of the Graftobian colors personally.

Black and white are great colors to use as color tests for products, I think you will be pleased with the results. (Let it be known that I am not funded by Graftobian in any way shape or form...I just love them).

SPECTRUM

Maybe I can convince my boss to switch over....bwahaahaaa.......meh, not really......sigh.

I've never used the trendy tribals paint jenjen, maybe I should give it a whirl. I've had such luck with the graftobian that I've just kinda stuck with it....don't mean I shouldnt try other things though. Heck trying new things is what got me started with the airbrush to begin with. Have I told you how cool you are lately? Just sayin'.
SPECTRUM

Here's the thing though - trendy paint can sometimes be too thick, and for that reason I would like to give other brands a try. I have heard others talk about Graftobian as well (in a good way). Honestly, I subscribe to the saying "if it ain't broke, don't fix it," so if Graftobian flips your skirt (in a manner of saying) stick with what you like. You know?
Be excellent Spectrum (insert Bill and Ted inflection here)!

Too cool - just too cool, all I'm sayin'.

What do you want to do with the airbrush makeup?

What brand you use makes (can) based on what you use it for different.
So choosing based on application is a good start.
After that what environment you use it can affect how it works and works for you. As all airbrush makeup like airbrushes are affected by environment (weather & working conditions) and your working style.

While many alcohol makeups some which are formulated for tattoos and are not really for use on the face - any of the brands work for tattoos, face art and body painting. Not that all should or would but they can...
So I'll just assume here we are discussing face and body applications.

All the brands you mentioned, while used for face art are primarily used in body art.
All have pros and cons.

For face art, most especially if painting children, water-based makeup is best.
Most gentle on the skin and easiest to remove yet durable.
So yes, Trendy Tribals is great - affordable, I have never had it clog on me in 9 yrs of use but sure, I can see it could seem thick. Dilute it with a bit of Mehron Mixing Liquid if that's an issue. I most likely if I ever have thinned it just used distilled water.

You can mix your own from Mehron Liquid, dilute with Mixing Liquid- the most affordable.

European Body Art has out now VIBE. I used it this morning. Vibrant colors very nice, great flow.
It I venture like some hybrids may feel sticky is some environments. The jury is out.

As for hybrids - they all spray at a pretty close to the same psi range so you can mix and match based on color. I always advocate trying some of all - to find what works for you.

Graftobian is good, extensive color range, good flow, but (not just my opinion) it does tend to be sticky in a good many environments. Many use it based on the color range. And it comes in UV neons.

Lux is the most affordable of the three listed. It was used as the tattoo paint at the Kids Choice Awards and did very well. Several I top artists know are using it for face art and love it. Has good flow. The color range is also very nice, very vibrant, and also has a UV neon. I think they will eventually expand the color line as it grows.

Kryolan Airstream (actually now surpassing Graftobian as the most micronized on the market) is not a good choice for tattoos if you want one all round choice. It has the best flow, the color range is less vibrant, but blends so well into each that a good artist can get such depth. They do have colors which work for gore. The pearl range is lovely. They are adding new colors and those are tending to be more vibrant.

Graftobian is used by many haunters because of the gore colors.

Both LUX and Airstream are top choices by the world's top body painters.

And there are other hybrids and all are great brands -
OCC and Temptu both have good flow, good color ranges and are popular with MUAs.

Great advice guys... I think I may try the Trendy Tribals just for the cheaper price... I didn't even know that was a brand!! I only have one gun so I am not by any means an air brush artist... But I wanted to start dabbling!

I know that you will be great at it...without a single doubt. Just dont let one paint discourage you from trying them all. You will find that the paint makes a HUGE difference. I've never used Trendy so I can't speak for that one. I like the fact that the Graftobian is available in around 66 different colors, I'm not certain if thats the exact number but it's somewhere around there.

I've heard good things about the Trendy Tribals paint, so be sure to let me know what you think. Oh, be sure to order yourself some cleaner also....you'll be needing it to keep thinks blowing along. You'll be spraying faces, giving super fast tattoos and maybe even giving some spray tans in no time. In the summer months I stay booked with spray tans.

SPECTRUM

SPECTRUM

hmmmmmm interesting Spectrum.....
I had been told that you need a different gun etc for spray tanning.... one that covers large areas thinly.......
I'm trying to think where I got this info from...... hmmmm can't remember.
Your post has made me curious.... I'm going to find out more about this.

** On Subject - I have been using a tattoo ink made by 'Airbrush Body Art'
they claim it's the best on the market....... pfft to that.
I haven't tried any others yet, but I won't be ordering from them again if I have an option. They are an Australian Company but I had to pay them in U.S Dollars????
I was going to try the liquid Mehron paints for airbrush face painting.
Can anyone tell me if the Graftobian brand is easy to remove?
Does it have a smell?

Thanks
Tash

I personally find graftobian to be very easy to remove, with any type of soap and water it just dissolves. I find that you have to scrub way more to remove DFX black and darker colors than you have to with any type of grafrobian F/X aire product. I can't say enough positive things about it, PERSONALLY...again, let me stress, PERSONALLY. Smell wise, it's a pleasing smell, nothing overwhelming, it's promoted as for face and body art although people sometimes state that it should be used only for body art or tattoos, not so. With proper handling and avoiding areas such as the eyes, mouth and nostrils, just like any face paint, it can be safely used. It does contain alcohol and while no one should sit and inhale alcohol, it's highly unlikely that any significant amount will be inhaled as long as you are in a well ventilated area (like you should be with all airbrushing). LUX contains no alcohol, is actually vitamin enriched and contains green-tea. You could almost promote that brand as being GOOD for you skin. I don't have any problems with other brands, I just know how well the graftobian works and the durability of it.

I've tried the liquid mehron products but I'm not one that wants to have to sit and mix paints to correct consistency....especially when there are top of the line products out there pre-mixed and ready to go. You can save money mixing them yourself though, absolutely.

I can't imagine for the life of me why anyone would tell you that you couldnt use the same airbrush gun for face/body art as well as tanning. I've been to so many classes on the subject and they all tell you the same thing, clean them properly, maintain them and they are versatile. I would never promote using hobby paint and then going back to skin paint, that would just seem odd to me. I just watched a training video last night as a matter of fact that was speaking of the possibilites air brushing provides, issued by Paashe. The Iwata guns I use are very veratile, it all has to do with PSI, user knowledge, even coverage, range, etc. Anyone can eventually get the hang of it...some quicker than others....just don't give up.

Its always good to hear from you my friend from down under,
SPECTRUM

Love this thread. So helpful!

I'd like to get a set of water-based airbrush paint colors to play around with for face and body art (not temp tattoos). I've seen the Mehron used by artists here and it seemed so drab and uneven. Without stepping up to Airstream would Trend Tribals be the next logical step in terms of paint-for-practice cost effectiveness?

I'm having trouble telling if it's like face paint, where it doesn't make sense to buy cheaper product because it just doesn't apply as nicely or if I'm going to blow through enough of it with practice that I shouldn't pay for the good stuff yet.

I have a decent airbrush and compressor that someone gave me and I have been playing around with water-based art colors on newsprint to develop my techniques.

Should I just bite the bullet and get a really good quality paint to begin with?

If so, it seems like SillyFarm is one of the more expensive routes to go. Any recommendations for less expensive online sources?

Thanks!

My opinions-

The only one water based paint I really love so far is EBA's VIBE. Amazingly opaque, smudge resistant, and goes a long way. I would only get it in the big bottles though.

I have not tried E flow, but it looks similar in coverage.

Hybrid- Graftobian is hands down my favorite in terms of how it sprays, color choices and so on. I wish they would offer it in larger bottles as a lower rate. It does have alcohol in it, but not much and it is SD 40 cosmetic grade alcohol. I like the fact that it truly is water resistant, BUT washes off with soap and water (The soap is the key). It is made in USA, and Grafotbian has been around for a LONG time. They have many other theatrical makeup products as well. It is VERY thin and meant to be sprayed at VERY low pressure.

Lux I have yet to try. Air stream I wanted to throw through the wall as it kept clogging, BUT that may have been the bottle I had or the fact that it was a metallic.

European Body Arts Endura tatoo paint is WONDERFUL but both the Endura and Vibe have odd scents. One is like cherry cough syrup, the other like bubble gum- and I wish they would stop it. But, good product and cheaper the more you buy.

Temptu is LOVELY- the Dura Inks and Pallets both. Pricey, but again, available in quantity cheaper. They also have an amazing selection of colors and so on. I have started using Ben Nye Bond Off for removing any alcohol based makeups. It may be harsher stuff, but off in seconds rather than minutes of alcohol fumes.

I do not use a compressor any more. Here in Florida, it seemed no matter what I did, there would be moisture in the system and it caused all kinds of issues. Since I switched to CO2 I am DELIGHTED with how they work.

I accept that I have to clean a brush at least once on a big project, and I carry lots of spare nozzles. One of the reasons I like the Eclipse, is the nozzles just drop in and are not as Tiny as on some of the others. This way I can pull the nozzle and needle, and swap them out in a few seconds, drop same into the ulstrasonic cleaner and keep going.

i love the e-flow from wolfe they come in water base and alcohol they are easy ready to go paint and dont clog

Here's another newbie question. My compressor does not have an adjustable pressure, and doesn't have a PSI guage, so I don't know if it would have low enough pressure to use Graftobian? The pressure feels comfortable to use on skin, and I have experimented using distilled water over skin surfaces to be sure. I probably wouldn't want to use it for foundation, but I can get pretty fine lines.

You can get an intermediate pressure control. But I think pressure control is really a must one way or another.

yes a controler is very important ... some paints wount spray right at a low pressure and you dont want to go over lik maybe 30 psi due to air in blood not saying it will but you never want to find out the hard way i never spray over 30 on skin usally 20 for the paint i use

Hmmm... I've got 3 iwata airbrushes in the basement and a compressor. Interesting idea. With a good cleaning this might be another thing to try.

I posted elsewhere the same question but seeing as some of you know about airbrushing I though I'd ask here too.
I am really keen to buy a near new airbrush system..It is a SoDu XL2000 airbrush system with a TC5000 compressor..Dont want to buy a dud first off...Can anyone help...Have you seen them..heard about them..Any good?? Please and thankyou..

I did a quick search and that said that it was $2,000- is that right? That seems crazy high

I would say buying a good single air brush and good compressore with hoses should run you under $500. If you get a co2 tank and forgo the compressor (My preference) it would be like $300. I SWEAR by Iwata but do make sure the nozles are at least .5 for face and body painting.

The guy bought it new for $1,200 and is selling for $500..They were going to start a temp tattoo business..Not sure what happened..but I thought $500 sounded good to me...
What is a co2 tank?

Compressed CO2 in a tank. Typically used by restaurants for making carbonated drinks.

Regulating your air pressure is very important in airbrushing if you are using air or co2 (gas). In order to control the varied weights of the makeup of paint product you are using combined with the type of airbrush, and for rendering certain effects you have to control airflow.

In re to ABA Airbrush Body Art - given you are in Australia and they are based there use it. Many of the long time airbrush tattoo and body painters used and have been happy with ABA for years. Here in the USA we have experienced supply issues, causing many to do to EBA, but those who can get it will use it.

Hello all! I have many questions regarding this thread... I Really want to start air brushing! Just for face art. What would you recommend to start with? Budget $500 thanks! Wished I had $1000 to start:/