Gonne ask this question again, I know it has been posted adnauseum time and time again. How do people decide on using an acrylic vs enamel. Model calls for interior green and you have a Model master enamel and say a Tamiya Arylic. How do you make your choice? Secondly, does anyone notice that some colors seem to coat better as enamels than acrylics and third, do people mix them on the same project. Enlighten us Prop Heads where-ever you are.
This might sound really bumb, but since Testor’s has paints made up to FS and RLM numbers already, that beats mixing colors anyday! I really don’t think I have the skill or patience to create colors correctly, let alone spending the time on it. I’ve got other problems already!
That’s just what works for me.
With me, it’s not a matter of One or the Other… sometimes it’s a combination of the two! (just let one dry good before letting the other touch it)[:)] Using Future as a sealing agent, one doesn’t have to worry about a chemical reaction wrinkling the paint/melting silver, as would occur with an enamel/lacquer base over acrylic, or visa-versa.
There are no set, standard rules, just a collaboration of trial & error results. [:)]
Take care,
Frank
imo…it’s like everything else in this hobby of hobbies…it’s personal preference…
enamal:
takes too long to dry and cure
spray fumes are more toxic
less easy to correct mistakes
acrylic:
dries and cures quickly (almost too much so)
spray fumes are less toxic
easier to correct mistakes
choices now for acrylics are almost on par with enamals…
[2c] + [2c] = less than my nickel’s worth…
Well, it is a matter of personal preference. I use enamels almost exclusively because that’s what I am most comfortable with. Younger/newer modelers tend to go with acrylics, but us old timers had so many problems with the early acrylics, we got soured for life. Some of the new breed of acrylics are very good, but there are still some adhesion issues if you do masking, especially over NMF. Enamels offer better coverage but do take longer to cure.
Regards, Rick
The only choice I ever make is do I use Tamiya or MM acrylic? For me it’s the only game in town.
Dean
I generally use enamals for the same reason as RJK - it’s what I am used to and have alot invested in bottles hangin’ around. I do have some acrylics - white, flat black and polyscale rlm66 for those quick touches and small parts.
experiment a little to see what you like.
I’m like Rick and wibhi2 - the early acrylics were a real pain in the posterior so I stuck with the enamels (or oils when working on figures). The newer acrylics work very well but I’ve got too much invested in enamels to walk away from them. Plus the fact that after fifty years of modeling, I feel very comfortable with them.
I think what he was refering to was using acrylics and enamels together, not actually mixing different colors to get a new shade.
I usually use a combination of the two. I prefer using enamels for airbrushing because they don’t clog up the tip and they tend to clean up better. I have found that acrylics make a nicer finish when I airbrush, but I’m constantly cleaning the airbrush during sessions.
When it comes to using hand brushes, I usually will stick with my enamels, but I have found some acrylics that work better for certain things. As an example, I like the Polly-S black over the ModelMaster enamel. The MM black is really thick and the bottle tends to dry up quickly. The PS back seems to flow better and creates fewer brush strokes.
Sometimes it just comes down to what colors are availible. For my space shuttle model, I plan to use acrylics to paint the external tank and enamels to pain the orbiter and boosters. Every situation is different. Just go with what you are comfortable.
[#ditto]
I agree with Rick’s assessment. I used to use enamels exclusively but lately I have been using MM Acryl and have had pretty good luck with it.
It does come off easier than enamels if masked over with some colors but overall I like it as it is much easier to clean eye droppers and such with water and cleaner than having to use lacquer on everything.
I do still use Floquil enamel primer and Reefer White because of their superior adhesion and coverage.
Mike
For me, I use both enamel and acrylic depending on how I paint. I mostly use enamel for hand brush because it has a better viscosity and more unlikely to leave bruah trace. Therefore for aircraft interior I always use enamel, especially for the sidewall, then I apply as coat of gloss clear acrylic on it, do the waching then apply a coat of flat enamel. For the exterior, I always use the acrylic for airbrushing. Only for the final clear flat finishing I use Humbol flat clear enamel because I STILL cannot find a satisfactory acrylic flat clear(Tamiya, Gurze and MicroScale they all failed)[V] .
The only situation when I use hand brush enamel for exterior is in the case for very small scale aircraft especially a monotone plane. Say a 1/144 F-4F wWldcat, I will paint it with enamel by brush. To remove brush trace, try drybrush pure thinner. BTW, make sure you have enough ventilation and a respirator.
nsclcctl,
what I do is use both, I use the Enamel as a base coat and use Acrylic to dry brush & wash with but the key thing is to wait a couple of days for the Enamel to cure out to get the perfect touch, and the Acrylics are far better to clean up then the old Enamels