I’m struggling with my first attempts at weathering and I’m hoping someone can help.
I primed a 1/72 Airfix Spitfire with Tamiya Fine Surface Primer and then applied a layer of Tamiya acrylics, then X-22 Clear, decals and then another coat of X-22. I then added some Tamiya Panel Line Accent but when I tried to remove the excess using Testors 1148 Thinner (because I couldn’t get Tamiya X-20) it removed EVERY layer of paint.
I’ve spent quite a bit of time repairing the damage and decided to try again on a scrap bit of plastic. This time I airbrushed two coats of Revive (Klear) instead of using X-22 but the results were exactly the same.
I’ve watched YouTube videos, read articles and forum posts but can’t figure out what I’m doing wrong. My understanding is that enamel thinners shouldn’t affect acrylic paints especially if protected with a clear coat. I’ve also applied two coats of Revive to the Spitfire but the Testors thinner isn’t get anywhere near it until I’ve sorted this out.
This is the first model I’ve built in 30 years and I’m enjoying getting back into the hobby. Thanks for any help you can provide.
Looks to me you got the products and order correct. Acrylic color coat, then two acrylic clear coats for the decal work, then enamel products for panel line accents and cleanup.
All I can think of is how long did you let the acrylic clear coats cure?
Sorry you have having this trouble. Don’t worry, somebody will help figure this out if I’m on the wrong track here.
Thanks Greg. The first time around I left the X-22 to cure overnight but for yesterday’s test (with the two fine coats of Klear) I only waited a couple of hours so perhaps I was jumping the gun.
I’ve primed and painted two other scraps with panel lines and was planning on Klear-coating them this evening. Any suggestions on how long I should wait before applying enamel washes? Thanks again.
I’m thinking mineral spirits might be milder and also don’t soak your cleaning cloth or what ever you are using. You just want it damp but not soaking wet. I’m not sure what Testors has in their thinner blend these days but it may have some lacquer thinner in it, thus the problem.
Thanks, I will try the mineral spirits. The Testors bottle contains a lot of warnings but is only described as “Thinner”. It was recommended to me by someone in a hobby store however it was also the only one they had in stock.
Thanks for the suggestion, I will try to use less wash. I’m filling in panel lines and so there always seems to be a bit that pools near the point of contact.
Two thoughts come to mind. 1, how long did you allow for the acrylics to dry and cure? 2, what method are you using to remove the excess wash? Too much pressure on acrylic paints that have not had enough time to dry and cure will remove them. Simple handling of uncured paints will remove them from handled areas.
Thanks … my replies to everyone’s responses are being moderated and so the answer to the first question (which was asked earlier today) hasn’t appeared yet. I’m in the process of doing another test where I left the Tamiya Fine Scale Primer to dry for 30 minutes before applying a layer of Tamiya acrylic. I left that for several hours before applying two coats of Klear which I’m leaving to cure for at least 24 hours. I’ve been using a cotton bud lightly soaked in thinner. I may have pressed too hard the first time I attempted to remove the excess pin wash (from the 1/72 Spitfire) but on my second test I was very careful not to apply too much pressure but obviously not careful enough (unless the Testors is to blame). On the current test I will use mineral spirits and go easy on the cotton bud. Thanks again.
That seems like a lot of paint coats in a short time to me, but then I am a very slow builder so my opinion might be skewed. If your paint coats are thin, maybe you are ok but it you are heavy-handed with the airbrush like me, I think you might want to consider longer dry times.
In your OP you mentioned using Tamiya clear coat, in your last post you typed “Klear”. I’m a little confused.
The is the second post here in 2 days regarding a solvent-based thinner damaging an underlying Tamiya acrylic coat. I don’t use a lot of Tamiya, and I hope somebody with Tamiya experience will chime in. I regularly use home made enamal wash made with Testors enamels and Testors enamel thinner over acrylic clear coats without problems, but I’ve never done it over the top of any Tamiya acrylic product.
Thanks Greg. Originally I used Tamiya X-22 on the Spitfire but after encountering the problem I decided to try Klear as so many others rave about it (I’m actually using “Revive” which is newer version of it).
The good news is that the mineral spirits worked much better. I let the two coats of Klear (Revive) dry for over 24 hours and none of the underlying paint layers were affected when I removed the excess Tamiya Panel Line Accent. The only negative was that the capillary action on the panel lines was not as good as it was when using the X-22. I suspect my two coats may have been a little heavy for the tiny panel lines on a 1/72 aircraft. This made the clean up a bit tricky and the results aren’t quite as good as I had hoped but good enough. When I do the topside of the aircraft I’m only going to use a single coat of Klear and let it dry over the weekend.
I think it’s safe to say go back to X 22 now that you see mineral spirits works and doesn’t hurt acrylic clears. You can always test it on a sprue if you’re unsure. I already know it’s safe but you may need to prove that to yourself. To me testing is more fun than building lol !
I have found x-22 is not a good clear coat if you use enamel washes. It will do just what happened to you… I suggest mr. hobby GX100 Super Clear III, Alclad clear coat or johnson’s klear.
Testing can be fun … this afternoon I experimented with what happens when you forget to replace the nozzle after cleaning an airbrush. [:O] Luckily I use a spray booth and so the collatoral damage was minimal. Lesson learned!
I like to let any primer coat dry and cure overnite before any next colors are applied on top of the primer. If you’re only waiting at most a couple of hours, that does not give anything time to cure, only time to be surface dry.
I’d have left the primer for 12 hours before applying the colour coat, then another 12 hours before applying the clear coat, which then should be left for 12-18 hours.
As Stik said, Tamiya acrylics are touch-dry in minutes when airbrushed, but are still soft for some hours before they’re fully cured.
Applying the clear coat over it all further increases the curing time as it adds a more or less impermeable layer which blocks exposure to oxygen, which is required for the curing process.