Help!

Tools, Techniques, and Reference Materials Painting and airbrushing
1

I could definitely use some advice here. I’ve been modeling for a number of years exclusively on aircraft. I’ve always loved using just the old “stick and hair” brushes to paint my models and have used enamels mostly. I’ve recently decided that l would love to try to use acrylic paints mainly because of the water wash up feature. The only thing that stands in my way is while I’m painting, the acrylics always seem to matt up both in my brush and on the model before l can finish my painting task turning a terrific fuselage into terrific garbage [xx(]. I’m always very careful to keep my brushes clean both during and after my painting. Does anyone have any advice for me? Should I start painting faster or stick with the old standby enamel?
Thank you,
Ted

“We’re surrounded. That simplifies the problem!”
Lewis “Chesty” Puller – USMC

2

Hey there, Ted.

I could be wrong, but I do believe that acrylics dry up a lot faster than enamels. This means that no matter how clean your brushes are, you’ll still experience paint drying up on your brush. You could paint a lot faster but that could mean brush marks. You may want to try out and airbrush. It should give you an even finish no matter what type of paint you use.

Hope this helps.

3

Use a retarder or levelling thinner to extend the drying time of the paint, this will also help prevent brush marks.
[;)]