I used to model quite a bit a few years ago and i have just returned. I have an airbrush a badger model 100 lg and am eagerly awaiting my 1st model completion. I have used testors model masters in the past, but, have read a lot about the advantages of acylics. I was hoping some of you knowledgable modelers could perhaps highlight the advantages and disadvantages of acrylic and enamel. I am most interested in painting aircraft, I am startingwith some WWII single prop airplanes. Also feel free to recommend a brand that you have had success with. Also, once I choose one must the whole model be painted using only that kind of paint? Thank you for your assistance.
First off…welcome to the forums!
When I paint, I usually start with enamels (MM is my preferred brand) because I like paint with a little ‘bite’ to it. IOW, one that bonds chemically with the styrene. So far I have encountered no problems spraying MM’s acryl over their enamels, and I like the way the acryl adheres to an enamel under-coat.
Welcome!
Which you use is largely a matter of personal preference, including which brands you prefer. Acrylics are all a little different, and the differences are likely to be more significant than with enamels. For one thing, there is no universal solvent for acrylics. Some are thinned with water, some with alcohol, and a few only with their own proprietary thinner. However, almost all acrylics can be cleaned with soap and water, Windex, Simple Green, or similar cleaners.
Acrylics have a much lower odor problem, and generally have a lower overall toxicity—but they are not necessarily nontoxic. A material may be labeled nontoxic until it is proven toxic, BTW.
Acrylics require a cleaner surface for good adhesion. Enamels contain solvents that will readily dissolve a small amount of skin oil left on the model surface—not so, acrylics. That said, I have never had an adhesion problem with fully cured acrylics applied to a properly prepared surface. I use Tamiya light grays as primers.
Acrylics dry and cure differently than enamels. This varies from brand to brand, but acrylics are generally dry to touch faster than enamels, but not fully cured for longer. There are exceptions, and acrylics are much more sensitive to temperature and humidity, especially low temperatures and high humidity.
The major pros of acrylics are: less toxicity & easy clean up, the cons are tip dry due to high “flash” drying since most are alcohol based, and problems with adhesion if you try to mask too soon after spraying the base coat. I use Tamiya Acrylics exclusively and “so far” have had no problems. Tamiya Acrylics are known for paint “roll up” when using a brush. Fore warned is fore armed, and again I have had no issues.
C-130 , just in case you dont know it “MM” is the abreviation for Model Master paints . Welcome to the forums [#welcome]
I personally prefer model master paints, but I have started using floquil and I like those as well. One big plus for me is that MM labels the paints with the FS number and the paint color, which helps! I like they way the MM paints spray, but tamiya sprays pretty nice to! I say experiament with different brands of acrylic and enamel and see which one you prefer!
I airbrush Tamiya acrylics almost exclusively. They do require that you pay attention because they will dry in a hurry, but I like the easy clean-up, and I prefer to avoid using turp/mineral spirit/lacquer thinners in my house as much as possible. Now that my wife is pregnant again, I only use them in very small quantities after using oil paints, and the waste is kept in sealed containers until I can get rid of them properly and safely. For brush work, I use Vallejo Model Colors. I haven’t found an acrylic that brushes better.
First off [#welcome] back to the hobby and to this Forum.
Has many have already mentioned, Acrylics ARE a LOT easier when it comes to clean-up & to the chemical smells that are produced.
The Tamiya line of paints I have used the longest, and have found them the easiest to spray with. Their bottles seem to stay air tight better and longer than the other bottles out there. The prior comment about Tamiya drying faster when sprayed does hold true. I have found that Tamiya’s paints also attract dust alot easier. Tamiya also thins nicely. My biggest complant about Tamiya is their paints require some extra work with the hand brush, and the colors don’t mix well together to make a different color. That, and Tamiya seems to be the most expensive of the paints that I have access to at my LHS.
Model Master I have had difficulty with the colors themselves. The lighter colors (yellow, red, green, and some blues) tend to be a bit transparent if not painted on a primed surface. I have even had this problem with some of the reds over a primed surface. This just might be me. For airbrushing, I have found MM to be reliable, and easy to work with. Thier thinner and cleaner I have found to be pretty universal in use. MM color selection is the best of Acrylics.
Polly Scale is another line that I have recently started using. I have not had a chance to airbrush with any of this line (hope to as soon as I get my spray booth made). But for brush painting, I have great admiration for. Polly Scale I have found to be a pleasure to work with when using the brush as it spreads evenly, and I have very little ‘brush lines’ to deal with after the second stroke of the brush.
I’d recommend that you pick up a few bottles of each, and experiment on a scrap of plastic to see what you like. As far as ‘mixing’ Acrylics & Enamels, that is a personal thing as well. I personally don’t like to do it, mainly due to the chemical orders from clean-up of the enamels. In fact, I probably use Acrylics about 90% of the time (again personal choice).