I have heard that one way or the other is a no-no, but I can’t remember which. Can I spray Model Master Enamel over Hataka Orange Line lacquer without causing a problem ? Incidently, this was my first time using the Hataka paint. I thinned it approx. 50-50 with their thinner, sprayed it at 20 psi using a Grex TG brush. It sprayed beautifully, covered well with about 3 light coats, and dried almost dead flat very quickly. It seems to be good stuff. With MM enamels becoming harder to get, it may be a good alternative.
Lacquer over almost any paint is a problem- but that refers to real lacquer. There are now acrylic lacquers, and I don’t know whether those are okay over other paints. Real lacquer thinner is really hot.
It doesn’t matter much what the lacquer is under the enamel top coat as long as the lacquer was well cured. As lacquer ( any paint) dries it shrinks. You want that process done. They have different cure rates/dry times.
On another note, lacquer over enamel can be a problem because lacquer can chemically attack the enamel causing wrinkles ( especially if the enamel is fairly fresh) , eaten paint etc, or just soft spots. Hot lacquer is tough stuff. Hobby lacquer less so. Enamel is mild by comparison. Hot lacquer will eat plastic parts if it doesn’t dry quick enough, enamel won’t for instance.
Thanks to all . I’m going to let it cure thoroughly and then give it a whirl. In the future, I’ll stick with one or the other, but the MM couldn’t be found at the time and the Hataka was readily available.
Not only Testor’s Dull and Glosscote, but also all the flavors of Alclad Klear (lacquers, not the aqua acrylic). Sprayed them all over just about everything.
What you say makes perfect sense, now you have me wondering why the above has NOT attacked my underlying paints.
True, and I don’t know why. My speculation is that it dries so fast it doesn’t have time to affect undercoats. But that is speculation. I often spray Dullcoat or Glosscoat over enamel, and have even done it over acrylics, but I try to avoid the latter unless it has dried for many days.
I sprayed a test panel last night, MM RAF dark green over Hataka dark earth. I sprayed it on heavy and wet and it worked just fine. No bubbling, crazing, or etchng at all. Thanks again to all who responded.
You’re very welcome. So far, I’ve sprayed two of their colors, RAF sky type S and RAF dark earth. Both sprayed beautifully. They remind me a lot of the original, pre-Testor Floquil, but with much less smell. I’m very pleased with them so far.
Testors clearcoats are exceptions. As I have stated previously, I do not know why they work over enamels, but they do. Testors enamels are my go-to, as are the clearcoats. I am thankful for the compatibility even if I don’t understand it.
BTW, I hear so frequently that Testors paints are out of business, or that they have dropped all enamels. Neither is true- they have just repositioned the MM line and dropped the military colors. Both the MM and the plain enamels are more general colors, though they are seeming to cater a little more with MM towards model cars.
Also, I often use glosscoat as a sealer to use something really hot, like non-testors lacquers, over the Testors enamels.