Tamiya X-19 Smoke

Tools, Techniques, and Reference Materials Painting and airbrushing
1

I was tinting the sun roof on a car. I’m not a great airbrusher, but this was one of my poorer attempts. I did mix it with X-20 thinner. Is there a difference when spray the Tamiya clear paints?

2

http://cs.finescale.com/fsm/tools_techniques_and_reference_materials/f/18/t/139759.aspx

3

Thank you. That is one zombie thread. And back to the “where are they now” thread.

4

I’ve only sprayed smoke for a couple purposes. Exhaust trails on a Skyraider and post shading on bare metal aircraft. I thin smoke just as I do with all Tamiya paints -50:50 with Isopropyl alcohol.

Here’s the exhaust on the Skyraider applied with multiple coats

And a lighter touch for post shading on bare metal - still learning here

5

It worked for you. Very well, I might add.

6

Hey keavdog, nice job on the airbrushing of Tamiya X-19 Smoke. I bought a bottle but have yet to use it, because before Tamiya came out with that, I used to mix a 50:50 mix of Flat Black & Flat Brown, and I still do. I called it ‘Soot’. I also thin the ‘Soot’ with alcohol. It works very well and it all depends on the amount you are going to apply.

7

The transparent colours are meant to be used for tinting clear parts, but this can be a little tricky.

I’d suggest airbrushing it in thin layers, allowing each layer to dry before applying the next. If applied too heavily, surface tension will pull the paint towards the edges of the part, leaving a gradated appearance (ie will be darker around the edges.)

Now the problem is that when painting with gloss paints, which the transparent colours are, you need a decent wet coat to get a good gloss. Applying the tint coat in thin layers may not give you a good gloss.

What you can do i::
(a) hit it with a good coat of clear gloss after it’s dry;
or
(b) apply the tint coat to the inside of the clear part and let the plastic itself provide the gloss. This is the same principle used for painting clear R/C and slot car bodies.

8

Obviously doesn’t work for canopies- I put this kind of paint down over silver.

Here’s Tamiya green. I did six coats to get this.

9

Thanks for the tips. I’ll try putting a clear coat on.

10

Silver first? or the green then silver to give shine?