I don’t even think X-20 is available in the US since Tamiya didn’t export their enamel line here. X-20A does have a distinctive smell though. but it goes away quick as well unlike the MM enamel thinner. with that said, i still have a good assortment of MM enamels really because of the color choices (for aircrafts). i always find Tamiya to be a little darker in shades and i suk at mixing colors.
Yea I see what you mean. I’ve been doing so much armor that its been awhile since I did any other subjects. But I really do enjoy aircraft so I’m gonna run into this problem too.
Thanks Mike for that tip. [tup] I’ll give it a try next time and see how it does. X20A is rather expensive even though I usually buy the big bottle of it.
I’m using X-20A. I’ve never seen any X-20 Tamiya enamel thinner so far.
Yea thats true. I have a bunch of MM enamels too. I started out using them and doing aircraft. I guess the thing that even got me thinking about switching to acrylics was when I’d finish an aircraft and go to clear coat it. I couldn’t find any dullcote at the time so I was shooting flat lacquer (I think it was flat lacquer). Man did that stuff smell aweful. I’d put a huge box fan right next to me and turn it on turbo mode and the stuff still stunk like crazy. I started thinking there has to be something comparable but less invasive. When I took the plunge and started doing some armor I picked up some Tamiya acrylics from my LHS and gave them a try. I thought they would have very little smell and would be a less toxic type of paint to spray. Well the paints seem to be that way but the thinner… wow it stinks.
Btw I do wear a respirator. I picked a 3M one up from my local DIY store. It seemed like a decent one. This gets me wondering though. Are there any big differences between types of respirators or is there something specific that modelers should look for in a respirator? Mine covers my mouth and nose and has twin cartridge filters that are replaceable.
As long as it has charcoal filters it is fine.
If you can smell the lacquer or any other noxious substances you either have the wrong filters or the respirator is not sealing properly around the face.
Okies, sorry if I led anyone up the path with that one, as I wasn’t aware that Tamiya enamels were unavailable in the US. It’s not unusual here in Australia to find Tamiya acrylics and enamels side by side.
Sorry for the delay in response. Here is where I obtained the color matching reference:
This is the original post containing the chart, that I use from Uban himself, dated 1993. The current IPMS Stockholm chart is result of over 13 years of updates. The original post by Urban contains the mixing recomendations and approximations I provided from his chart. Hope this helps.
Ahhh. This is why I love this site! Greg