shrinking tissue works, but how do we keep it tight?

[scottbower]

using water and alcohol for shrinking tissue and it works well. How do I keep it tight when I airbrush it. It seems as soon as it gets wet with paint, it loosens.

[Arlo DiPasquale]

I'm not sure if you did this, but make sure to prime the tissue first. Pretty much any spray primer will work for this, though lots of people have their personal preferences. Also, make sure to apply paint in light coats, applying more coats if necessary. As the primer/paint drys, the tissue should tauten back up, but applying too thick coats can cause problems here.

[kittyfritters]

I airbrush with acrylic inks and acrylic paints. I shrink with rubbing alcohol, 70%, (30% water). When it is dry I mist twice with Krylon #1305 artist's fixative for a glossy finish or #1311 for a matt finish. After that is dry I do the airbrushing. The Krylon is water resistant, not waterproof, which creates an interesting situation. Acrylics, thinned for airbrushing, carry a heavy load of water. When you airbrush the tissue will sag but when dry will become tight again. This means that is you are using multiple colors you have to let one color dry completely, usually over night, before masking and applying the next color. If the first color is not absolutely dry you risk paint collecting in any sag in the tissue when you apply the next color creating painted on wrinkles.

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I learned this the hard way doing the Typhoon in the picture. I mask with Frog tape for delicate surfaces.

Hope this helps.

KF