Decanted paint safer on plastic?

[jmwallac]

I've been experimenting with decanting paint lately and wondered if it is safer for plastic. What is it that eats the plastic? The solvent? Propellant? Paint itself? Since the paint has to gas out before it can be ABed, does this reduce the risk of etching plastic?

The immediate benefit, for me at least, is how much better the finish is vs. the spray can. I almost don't need to even polish it!

[MPWR]

It's the solvent that's dangerous to plastic. And no, it isn't likely to be any safer out of an airbrush than out of a can- with the possible exception of the fact that the paint can be airbrushed on thinner than it can be sprayed out of a can. (This isn't really a practical advantage, and there are of course additional benefits to priming other than just protecting the plastic.)

One of the terrific things about airbrushing lacquers is that they can be very highly reduced (thinned) when sprayed with much less danger of running or pooling. Properly reduced and sprayed at low pressure, this means that lacquers can go on extremely smooth. It makes micromesh entirely unnecessary.