As in south africa tamiiya acrilic is the main brand I have found that the colors do not spray on as even as enamals.I used jap green on a plane and found the tone varied to such a degree that the plane appeared patchy.Same happend on a tank,dispite further coatings.I will stick to enamels.Harry
Wow, my head is swimming. A lot of good information and it seems both paints have pros and cons.
Question:
Should you use a primer like “Poly S Plastic Prep” , which Mike mentioned in another post, before you apply acrylic paints or any paint? Also, has anyone tried the acrylic paints like they use for ceramics or crafts? You know the kind you can pick up at Wal-Mart or are they totally different?
Thanks [tup]
Keeg,
The Poly S Plastic Prep I mentioned is NOT a primer, it is a cleaning solution that you wipe the plastic with to remove oils, fingerprints, and static.
You let it air dry and then you can airbrush the model.
A coat of primer after the Plastic prep would be a good idea to reveal any flaws in your work and to give the paint a little more tooth to adhere to.
Those other paints you mentioned I am not familiar with, but I have heard a few people using them with some success. Most water-based acrylics like that were designed for textile and craft uses and usually do not adhere really well to hard surfaces, although some may. If you are not going to mask over them then they may work fine.
Mike
Hey Mike,
Thanks for the reply, and from reading other post in this forum may I say you seem very diligent in helping people like me out and I for one appreciate it. Ok enough of the warm and fuzzy [censored].
So would there be any advantage of using the Poly S Plastic Prep over Dish soap and water? One thing I’m thinking is water contaminate residue like minerals. I feel I’m going a little overboard with the question but to me and other things I do prep is an important thing. “Measure twice, cut once”
Also, after a coat of primer and you do find a flaw, are there any best practices to repair it? I mean do you just put the putty right over the primer? This may be to general of a question and also covered in another location.
If you couldn’t tell I don’t know much about all this and I’m dieing to start working on two models I purchased two weeks ago but I don’t want to rush into them and make it a disaster.
Thanks for the help in advance. [tup]
I use Acrylic, primarily, because I live in a small apartment.
If there is a need to handbrush, then I will use enamels.
keeg:I use Walmart Acrylics on ground work but I haven’t tried it on a model. Might try to use them to blend my figs. into the ground work.
Thanks cassibill,
I need to check on the brand name, but I’m sure there was an acrylic paint at Wal-Mart that said it was for smooth hard surfaces. I was thinking of giving some of them a try. If they work, they are much cheaper than what you will pick up at the hobby store. Also you may have to blend the colors together to get color you want. And If they don’t work, like you said, they would be good for the ground work.
I’m glad to be able to help if I can, as are all of the other great modelers here. [;)]
Probably not. Some people use isopropyl rubbing alcohol also as it does a good job of cleaning oils and dirt and you don’t have to risk getting water in somewhere that you don’t want it. [;)]
I am not positive but I believe you can just put putty right over the primer and it will work.
Correct me if I’m wrong guys. [%-)]
I have never done any priming and repairing so I am unsure.
Mike
Thanks Mike [tup]
I’m a rare enamel paint fan. I’ve tried to use acrylic paints but I didn’t like the coverage that I got out of enamel. My enamel paints seems, after an air brush session, to smooth over and stick better. While I agree it is easier to clean acrylic paints out of an air brush I found that eventually there would be an acrylic paint build up in the brush. I almost cried when I had to do a through cleaning to get the acrylic binder off the air brush parts. There were small acrylic bits that could clog the small and expensive air brush parts. I’m very through about having a clean and well-maintained air brush. With enamel paints I like being able to spray or wipe solvent through the air brush and have it easily come clean.
I’ve used enamels forever and got used to their painting properties and quirks. They ‘stick’ better on models and are softer than the hard shell acrylic paints. Softer enamel paint is good for me as the more resilient paint will absorb inevitable bumps that a model gets with out chipping off like hard shell acrylics would.
I think I’m going to be an amateur enamel painter forever.
Thanks Roosterfish,
Seems like everyone has a good arguement over one or the other. For my first project or until I get use to an air brush, which have never used, I think I will go with the acrylics the first time around. Just sounds like the clean up will be a little easier.[tup]
Hi all,
I started out using the Testors Model Master Enamel line. Using this paint I had nothing but head and heart ache. It was hard to use and harder to spay and even harder to clean up.
Then I was given a bottler of Tamiya Acrylic paint and every thing improved. All was easier to do and was more fun to do it…
It is now a joy to paint.
I do use Enamels, Tamiya, to wash.
In short I will never go back and always suggest to new modelers and veterans a like to use or make the switch to Tamiya acrylics. Say what you want about Tamiya. However, when I open the box or bottle, I know that I will always receive a top notch quality product not found in any other manufacturer in the business.
dss902
amen to that dss902!!!
I use Tamiya acrylics on my armor and aircraft. I do not use any primer before airbrushing.
I usally ruff-up the surface (lightly) with a green Scotch Brite pad. Seems to give the acryic paint… something to grab.
Acrylics for me… flow better on airbrushes!!..(enamels wear them out) …Sorry boys[^]
I’ve used both enamels and acrylics, and would go with acrylics for the bulk of painting, with enamels reserved for weathering etc, as they take longer to dry and therefore remain workable for longer. Useful when blending colours.
I primarilly use Gunze and Lifecolour acrylics, with some Tamiya. In my experience they all spray well, but the lifecolour seems to have a slightly rougher finish than the Gunze and the Tamiya, making it good for armour and scenery.
I used to airbrush enamels years ago, and when I returned to modelling, and bought an airbrush did not want to risk knackering my airbrush with enamels.
As for primer, some manufacturers kits seem to require it, otherwise the paint doesn’t adhere properly, but as Mike said a primer coat is useful for identifying those areas which require further work, prior to final coating. There is nothing worse than putting on a top coat only to discover there is a visible seam line on the model!
Sorry to go on, but I hope it helps.
Karl
Funny thing for me is that I’m starting to use enamels again after moving to acrylics. My best brush painting paint are acrylics too. There are a couple of reasons I started using enamels again. I seem to keep aquiring paints even old stock or new paint with interesting colors. I just got a bunch of White Ensign paints because of their excellent color matches. I learned about lacquer thinner so I can clean my airbrush well and also get an extra bite with the spraying. I got a respirator. But still, if I could get all the colors I want in Polly Scale I would not be getting any other paints.
Generally, I have found that I get better coverage with lighter colors if I use enamels. I’ve thrown out my white acrylics, just took too many coats toget decent uniform coverage.
How do enamels wear out an airbrush? [%-)]
Mike