my own experience using AB for Gunpla:

PAINT:
i use mr. hobby lacquer paints and thin it with industrial thinner which u can buy at hardware shops for rm 3.50 or so per bottle. zebra brand thinner works the best. you don't even need to use mr. retarder for the mr. surfacer to prevent 'webbing'. it will spray out consistently. mr. hobby plus industrial thinner gives a very smooth paint job. till the point that it looks like the plastic was molded in that color.

MASK:
try to get a double cartridge mask to protect your lungs, again u can get it at hardware shops. rm 45. worth every ringgit.

AB:
get double action AB. and if it's gravity feed, make sure the paint container on the AB is the biggest you can find. mine's really small hence i had to refill it many many times. if you're new, you don't really need to get an expensive one. just learn how to properly dismantle and clean your airbrush properly. oh, it's great if you can purchase one where the nozzle tip can be screwed out. cause that's the part that contribute to a lot of clogging.

COMPRESSOR:
for the compressor, make sure you have a moisture trap. it sucks when you got unwanted water mixing with your thinned paint. and also when purchasing a compressor, test how loud it is. mine's as loud as a running computer cooling fan. that would be most ideal

i'm using lacquer type.. indeed if you're using the acrylic type, you can't mix with it with thinner...

another good point of using the lacquer type is that it dries extremely fast the moment the paint hits the model surface

btw, when you purchase thinner, get the highest grade you could. i tried purchasing a RM2 cheap one and it wrecked the paint

Ah, i know what you mean.. try getting the zebra brand THINNER instead of the spirit.. err, is it the same thing?

So far im using the zebra brand thinner which works fine for airbrushing...