I bought a badger 105 airbrush, and I also decided to make the switch to Tamiya acrylics because of all the good things people say about them. So for the last 3 months, I’m still struggling to get results from Tamiya that makes modelling worth it. The finish is rough, dusty, grainy, and orange peels on occasion. For some reason I cant seem to find Tamiya’s thinner anywhere.So…for thinning, i have tried 91% iso alcohol with retarder mixed in, and also windshield wiper fluid. My running psi is always between 15-20 and ive tried around 25ish…I feel like im holding the brush the right distance from the model, and i still get a dusty finish and the works. Any help?
I had previously used a Aztek a320 with mm acrylics, and I would be able to get nice, smooth finishes.
Your problems are most likely caused by one of, or a combination of the following:
Air pressure too high - try somewhere in the region of 12-15 PSI. 20-25 PSI is way too high.
Insufficient thinning - Tamiya likes to be airbrushed very thin, maybe thinner than you’re used to with other paints. With the thinner you’re using now, try 2 parts thinner to one part paint.
Airbrushing from too great a distance, causing the paint to dry before it hits the surface you’re painting, causing a dusty/gritty finish. My personal preference is to airbrush within 4 inches or so from the subject, perhaps 6 inches maximum.
I’ve been using Tamiya acrylics for almost 2 years and I’m happy with the results. I originally started with the thinner 'till I found out that 70% rubbing alcohol does the same job for 7x less $$. There is no formula for tinning, some colors might require more thinner than others. I stick to the milk consistency rule with favorable results. As another poster mentioned, I guess you’re spraying from afar and the paint is getting dry before reaching your subject.
i agree…try using the alcohol without the retarder…could also be a reaction to that…I ve used Tamiyas for years and have had good results…even used good ol h2o…cheap…always availabe…got hard water…by a gallon jug of distilled…
I use Tamiya Acrylics also (Testors Acrylics too) and I use 91% Alcohol for thinning on both…nothing else.
Make sure you aren’t too far away, from the object you’re airbrushing, or it does tend to get that “dusty” effect. I normally use between 15-25 PSI, depending on overall spray or detail spray.
I think I have solved my problems with Tamiya acrylics…
I realized i wasn’t thinning them enough, I thinned them about 2:1 thinner to paint, which greatly improved everything.
My psi needed a little tweeking aswell, Phil had suggested between 12-15, I tried that and it just didn’t work for me, so i settled on about 17-18 psi.
I was also probably holding the brush a bit far from the piece i was working on, i moved in a couple inches, and am training myself to hold it about 4 inches away minimum.
Luckily all of my mistakes were made on scrap models or scrap plastic, so nothing happened on the piece I was currently working on. Thank you for all the help! I now understand why people give so much praise to these paints, if you do everything right with them, they do wonders.
the trick is to never spray from a far distance because acrylics will dry and cause it to dry before its on the painted surface. tamiya doesn’t need to be thinned a lot.
has anyone tried thinning with testors/model master acrylic thinner?
I have, by accident / distraction. Nothing either positive or negative happened. It worked as usual. Also by distraction, thinned Model Master Acryl with their AB cleaner. That one I didn’t want to risk the model it was going to be used on and threw it away. I just can’t start mixing paints when the %$#@& phone starts ringing.