UK Importers ,wholesalers and distributors of plastic model kits, jisaw puzzles, board games, embroidery, paints, tools and glues. I cant answer to your question as i've never tried to spray XF-16 (but i'm interested as i have several between the war aircraft in project which might need some XF-16 in the paint mix).

Tamiya Acrylics 10ml - XF-16 Flat Aluminium - SnM Stuff

Glad we were able to help. I've found that when shooting acrylics, thinner is so much better and working with low air pressure helps a tremendous amount. No matter what I've tried, the results always end up with an uneven, grainy, and overall poor appearance.The Tamiya Mini XF-16 Flat Aluminum 10ml Acrylic Acrylic Paints come in 10ml bottles and are water-soluble and non-toxic. They are suitable to paint plastic model kits and come in three finishes, gloss, flat and translucent. The Tamiya Acrylic Paint range can be brushed straight from the tub, or thinned to be used in an airbrush. I know all this is not really answering your original question, so my apologies for that. But if you're looking for an alternative as a workhorse silver paint, I can't recommend it highly enough.

Convert From Tamiya-General - ModelShade Convert From Tamiya-General - ModelShade

I've found that it is very difficult to get a completly smooth finish with it even if you thin it more than 50%. I will usually just use X-11 Chrome Silver instead. It's not very chrome like at all and the metallic flakes are a bit finer.

GENERAL

Items 81521 and 81021 (Tamiya X-21 Flat Base) can be used as a flattening agent on Tamiya Gloss bottle paints. Simply add any X-gloss color then add flat base. Mixing ratio: 1:1 XF-16 is probably the grainiest metallic paint that Tamiya makes so it's probably more the paint than your technique. Tamiya acrylic paints are made from water-soluble acrylic resins and are excellent for either brush painting or airbrushing. These paints can be used on styrene resins, Styrofoam, wood, plus all the common model plastics. The paint covers well, flows smoothly, and can be blended easily. Prior to curing, paint can be washed away with plain water.