CAN YOU USE ACRYLIC OVER ENAMEL OR IS IT THE OTHER WAY?
THANK YOU
RANDY COX
Randy,
acrylic over enamel is fine, just not the other way around.
There isn’t any problem with enamel on acrylic provided the acrylicis completely cured.I always use enamel filters and washes over Tamiya and Vallejo acrylics
Short compatibility matrix (thanks to Masataka Narita)
| ____________ Over coat Under Coat___________ |
Acrylic | Enamel | Lacquer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Acrylic | OK | Maybe | NO |
| Enamel | OK | OK | NO |
| Lacquer | OK | OK | OK |
The L E A (Lacquer Enamel Acrylic) Rule:
Lacquers, enamels & acrylics can safety cover base lacquers. Enamels & acrylics can cover enamels (but not lacquers!).
Base coat acrylics can only be covered by more acrylics.
- B * U * T *
R e a d t h e i n g r e d i e n t s.
There are so-called “acrylic lacquers” and “acrylic enamels”.
I say again that I have had no problem covering Tamiya acrylics with Modelmaster Lacquer Clear
It is getting hard to make any blanket statements as new chemistries are popping up all the time. Complicating the problem is that there are now both acrylic lacquers and acrylic enamels. Best bet is test pieces from scrap plastic. Some paints of a type these days can react even to other brands of the same type.