I had a thread on this before i think, but cant find it now… So ive use tamiya acrylics brused on some parts and dried for a long time. I then went to clear coat them by brushing on Model Master clear coat flat, 4636. It pulls the tamiya paint off. Why? I then remembered ive done this before. Can you not brush it w/o the paint pulling off? Or should these 2 never be used together? Are they not compatiable? I know (pretty sure) ive airbrushed the model master semi gloss over i believe tamiya scrylics w/o any issues. CONFUSED. Tks Wm
Any time you brush paint one color/clear coat over another, not only is the paint much wetter when it goes on the surface than it would be with an airbrush, but you’re also moving it around with the brush. The combination of the wetter paint (which will still have very active solvents in it) and the movement from the brush will start removing the paint underneath. This is going to be true of almost any combination of paints. Its always best to apply clear coats with either an airbrush, or out of a rattle can. If you absolutely have to brush a clear coat on for some reason, use something that is water-based.
Tamiya’s “acrylics” are alcohol-based enamels (the pigments are acrylic). Model Master clear coats are lacquers. Brushing lacquers over enamels is never a good idea.
tks. So even though they call it an acrylic it’s lacquer base? They say water clean up on the label… Tks much.
so even though the Tamiya is alcohol base and the model master who knows what, they are compatiable but just don’t brush? Model master has glycol something or another as an ingredient.
Didn’t realize you were using the Model Master Acryl flat clear. Its been my experience with their Acryl line so far that they are ammonia-based, and ammonia is about the worst thing ever. It takes off pretty much any kind of paint and can even make the plastic itself brittle. That’s why I always cringe a little bit when I see someone mention using things like Easy Off (which contains lots of ammonia) oven cleaner to strip paint from a model. That’s almost inevitably followed by “Wow! This plastic was really brittle and broke in a couple of places!”…it wasn’t that way before its bath in Easy Off. You could try airbrushing the Model Master clear coat, but Model Master Acryls don’t airbrush well at all…at least at the high altitude and low humidity where I live. They really have tip-dry and airbrush clogging issues. For airbrushing, about the best thing out there is the old standby, Testors Dull Cote and Gloss Cote, which are lacquers that thin/clean up with lacquer thinners. That’s getting harder to find though. I’ve been trying out the MRP clear coats lately, and they airbrush really nicely as well, straight out of the bottle. Tamiya also makes airbrushable clear coats, which I have heard are quite nice, but haven’t tried them yet.
ok, so this is the stuff. Can or cant or shouldnt be brushed/sprayed on Tamiya acrlics? Confused still. Anyone done it w/ Tamiya paints? Tks
Airbrushed, yes…brushed, no.
I presumed you were using Model Master spray can clear coats. Those ARE lacquers.
I have brushed Model Master Acryl flat clear and gloss clear over enamel and lacquer paints without a problem. I would think that an acrylic base coat will soften if you brush Model Master Acryl flat clear over it.