Waterborne Paints - M.O.B. Scene

Mike O'Brien (aka M.O.B.) has been airbrushing for the past 15 years and operates his own airbrush studio from his home in Southern Alberta, Canada. He specializes in custom automotive airbrush work as well as motorcycle art and helmets.   |   waterborne Paints dodge Ram Truck Check out his work at:
www.freewebs.com/airbrushmafia QUESTION
My custom paint question is about the new waterborne paint that's out there now. I have always used automotive urethanes for all my paintwork but am hearing some really great things about waterbased or waterborne paints and am wondering if they are suitable for custom artwork stuff. Or are they just good for base coats and color changes? Any advice or comments would be much appreciated! Thanks and keep up the great work!   |   waterborne Paints custom Artwork Rich Hansen
Ontario, Canada ANSWER
Yes, they are great for custom artwork and airbrush work alike. There are many companies out there offering airbrush kits with waterborne paints for just that purpose. I have to admit, over the years I have been pretty well set against waterbased paints for artwork, as I could never get them to spray as well as urethanes. That said, nowadays, there are some pretty advanced products on the market that actually contain a small amount of solvents in them, which, when combined with the nontoxic nature of waterbased paint, produce some pretty great performance results.   |   waterborne Paints custom Graphics Some things to remember when working with waterborne paints are that they need longer to flash off (or dry to the touch) and they cannot be cleaned or wiped with normal wax and grease remover. Trust me-I've learned this the hard way! The nice thing is you can spray them a little more freely in areas with less than perfect ventilation, and you can still use your favorite clearcoat finishing system over them! Hope you have good luck with your waterborne endeavors and don't hesitate to send in some pics of your results-we'd love to see 'em! Until next time, keep on sprayin' everyone! And keep on readin' 8-Lug! Later, M.O.B.