Hey Fellow Modelors,
I’m getting into airbrushing for the very first time, starting with my 1/48 B-17. I’m thinking about using acrylics, mainly for the easy clean-up feature, but I’m not sure about a coupla things: What do you all think of acrylics vs. enamels? Do acrylics need to be thinned like enamels do, i.e. 50/50? Are the results with acrylics as good as with enamels?
I’m VERY interested in your opinions, suggestions, comments, etc. They will definitely help this old boy with his transition to airbrushing, which frankly, has me very intimidated.
Thanks guys (and ladies), John
i’d pick acrylics all the way…especially Aeromaster or Testors Acryl line…they are every bit as good, just a little more sensitive to airbrush…
Scott Craig (MusicCity) of this forum has been very articulate and eloquent in his writings on airbrushing acrylics…
the bottom link below my sig pic will put you to his work and i think the guest book on his web site…
…& check out some of FSM’s “How to…” books
I’ve had good luck with Testors MM Acryl acrylics. I use the Testors thinner with them, but I only thin until the paint is the consitency of milk. That’s usually only four or five drops of thinner.
I’ve found that putting down a coat of enamel for a primer really helps the acrylic paint adhere. I use Testors spray can light grey for my primer. The MM Acryl paints can be sprayed directly onto plastic, but go with several light coats if you choose to do it that way. Let the primer dry for a day or two before putting down the acrylic paint.
I have had occasional problems with masking tape pealing off paint, but that’s been on unprimed surfaces when the acrylic paint wasn’t really dry.
One nice thing about the acrylics is that they respond well to accelerated drying. [:)] I use my wife’s hair dryer to speed things along. This is especially helpful when I want to paint both the upper and lower sides of wings or fuselages.
Testors puts out a very nice brochure on their MM Acryl line of paints. It has all the colors (although they’re slightly off on the brochure) and a ton of information on how to use them. You can probably find that brochure at your local hobby shop.
By the way, I don’t work for Testors. [;)]
Regards,
What I do with acrylics is heresy to purists, but once I found out that the VERY expensive acrylic thinners by the major model paint makers, both American and Japanese, are nothing more than watered down alcohol with a different chemical name on the bottle so you won’t know (pant, pant), I started experimenting. Now, I open a bottle of acrylic paint, maybe take a brush and test its coverage qualities and thickness on a sheet of scrap styrene, and then, most often, I’ll add enough water or rubbing alcohol (gasp! It’s true – it doesn’t make the earth shift on its axis!) to just below the rim of the bottle of paint, and slap the airbrush or airgun cap over the top and let 'er rip. Works with MM and Floquil acryl. Of course, Tamiya has to be transferred to another bottle, but it’s basically the same, except that, once for once, they have the most expensive thinner of all. I’ve never found an acrylic that required as much thinning as gloss enamels, for example. 10-15% is usually plenty. Or often, I use none.
In my opinion the “Aircraft colors” are the best. It was the Areomaster when it was gone. You get the RAF, USAAF and of course Luftwaffe. No need for thinner…Just use it from the bottle! I think youll like it.
For single color scheme I use acrylics like Tamiya or Gunze Sangyo and I dilute them with denatured alcohol. For camo work enamels work better. They do not clog the nozzle and can be sprayed at lower pressure so you get beter line with less overspray. Model Master enamels are great but their acrylics aren’t as good in my opinion.
Borislav
P.S. Congratulations for switching to airbrush! In additon to an airbrush you need a compressor. Really. Do not buy those cans, they are waste of money. Having gone through three compressors myself, I feel qualified to say something about them. First, get a comressor that has a tank (4gal. is fine) and do not need to run all the time. I also have a “quiet” compressor for airbrush but soon found that there is nothing more annoying and distracting (to me) than the constant humming while I am trying to steady my hand. The latest compressor I got at Checkers for under a hubndred, it’s lubricated with oil and it has been 2 years with no problems and I highly recommend it.
Now, the compressor is in the garage, my airbrushes are 100ft. away in another room and I really enjoy the quiet. Also, make sure that if you do not have a spray booth your airbrush is NEXT to a window.
Hope this helps.
I had bunches of problems at first with Model Master Acryl. When I tried to use the paint straight from the bottle, the coverage was good, but the paint clogged the airbrush. If I thinned the paint enough to stop the clogging, the paint was a little transparent, and I got poor coverage. To top it off, either way I had poor adhesion: When I used tape to mask off for hard lines, the paint pulled off, even with low-tack blue painters tape. There is hope, though. Recently, on another board, I read to dilute the paint about 1/4 to 1/3 with Future floor polish. I’ve only tried it once, but it worked fantastic. Great coverage, no clogs, better adhesion. Try it!
John,
I use acrylics right out of the bottle (Tamiya) and have done so for a long time. Even though I am not a grand master in modeling I have had good luck using them.
Richard