Acrylics vs Enamels

Tools, Techniques, and Reference Materials Painting and airbrushing
1

All;

I have recently returned to the hobby after about a 12 year hiatus. When I left enamal paints where really all there was, but now there are other choices such as the acrylics.

I will be airbrushing aircraft and was wondering what kind of results I can expect from the acrylics like those from Model Master and Tamiya? Has technology finally closed this gap or should I stay with the enamels?

I have a badger single action airbrush and a 180-1 compressor.

Thanks!

John

2

I would suggest checking these previous threads on the subject. If you have further questions, don’t hesitate to ask…

http://www.finescale.com/fsm/community/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=32005
http://www.finescale.com/fsm/community/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=28986
http://www.finescale.com/fsm/community/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=26746

3

Thanks Robert. So much good stuff here.

I have an indoor workroom as I live in Arizona and the heat with a garage is too much in the summer. Acrylics make sense from the smell, but the very dry air may make the needle issues discussed a problem.

I’ll have to try them both and see.

Thanks again.

John

4

Adding retarder will significantly help the main problem with airbrushing Acrylic - drying and clogging the tip.

5

John - if you are airbrushing acrylics, a needle lube for your airbrush helps 100% with acrylics. You can order it online at www.dixieart.com for about $5.00. It helps prevent the tip dry associated with acrylics and makes cleanup easier too! The bottle lasts forever… mine is almost all the way full and about a yr old.

just place a drop or two on the needle, lube it from the tip to about 1/2 way back and you are set!!!

6

I often use both on the same model. My biggest problem with acrylics is corners/edges, raised details, and maskiing. The acrylics will come off very easily in these areas. If I use an enamel base coat or enamel primer and then put acrylics on top that helps the problems with corners/edges and raised details. To fix masking issues, I usually put some kind of gloss coat down first before masking.

Welcome back to modeling. The biggest change IMO is the internet and forums like this that help us all out.

7

I use acrylics for everything, painting, washing, figures , drybrushing and I swear by them. Great to clean up. Humidity can be a problem in some locations though.

8

Thanks to everyone for the replies. I have more information than I can ever get through!

John