ModelRailroadForums.com is a free
Model Railroad Discussion Forum and
photo gallery. We cover all scales and sizes of model railroads. Online since 2002, it's one of the oldest and largest model railroad forums on the web. Whether you're a master model railroader or just getting started, you'll find something of interest here.
I am new to all of this so I have no experience. I just picked up an airbrush and I want to get started but I want to make sure I am being safe. I have a 2 year old and a wife that's 8 months pregnant. What paints/solvents should I stay away from?
MXD, Make sure you have either a paint booth or ventilation to the outside with a fan. Not only for your families health, but for your own. I have a 20" X 20" box fan in my window with a furnace filter in front of it. That is where I do all of my painting. I've never gotten a complaint from the Mrs.
Just me in the house these days, but I spray 95% acrylics (PollyScale & Model Master) and use a fan vented out of a window. No solvent fumes, and particulates can't accumulate. If I close the door on the room and run the fan for a half hour after I'm done, there's little to no odor.
The stuff I want to do with Floquil or Scalecoat I tend to save for warm weather and spray it outside.
You probably don't need to be told about locking all of this stuff away from a 2-year-old.
GL,
do you mix acrylics with water or alcohol?
Water vs. alcohol

Both. Mostly I use Pollyscale and ModelMaster.
Mix the paint thoroughly with a stirring rod.
Put paint in the sprayer bottle or color cup through a #80 screen to keep the particles out (art stores sell screened funnels)
Start with about a 4:1 ratio of paint to distilled/filtered water, so the paint is as thin as 1% milk.
Add a drop of airbrush thinner/alcohol. Blue automotive windshield washer fluid works, too.
Thinning with alcohol only makes the paint dry too fast for me. Too much thinning with anything means the paint won't cover well and may crack when it dries.
Solvent based paints contain chemicals "known in the state of California to cause cancer, birth defects or other reproductive harm"...
So I guess I am in the clear with acrylics? I am still going to take precautions either way but I want to be as safe as possible.
Solvent based paints contain chemicals "known in the state of California to cause cancer, birth defects or other reproductive harm"...
That stupid proposition 65 is on everything in california, even cars

Spraying solvent paints does indeed have known health risks. The ideal setup is a good piant booth, vented to the outside, and to wear an industrial quality respirator while spraying. Jerome's method is a quick and dirty solution to a paint booth. I use mostly acylics now, thinning them with a 70% alcohol/30% water mixture. Acrylics present much less of a health risk than solvent based paints, although you should still wear at least a paper mask and have some kind of booth to catch the overspray.
That stupid proposition 65 is on everything in california, even cars
I'm just going to mention here that thousands of people die in car crashes every year. So cars aren't exactly safe either.

I'm just going to mention here that thousands of people die in car crashes every year. So cars aren't exactly safe either.
You'd think the warning would say "This vehicle may contain a driver, known in the state of California, to cause death or serious bodily harm"
Affiliate Disclosure: We may receive a commision from some of the links and ads shown on this website
(Learn More Here)