So having come back to the hobby and using my first air brush a few months back I have not used anything but acrylics (model air, Tamyia, and mostly Ammo by Mig), so I want to get folks opinion on using lacquers vs acrylics, why do you use one over the other. I have not used/or tried any lacquers and wondering if I should.
For me it boils down to color availability,overall availability,and ease of use.Some of the newer acrylics have a steep learning curve.
That being said,I basically use regular Tamiya thinned with lacquer thinner,almost foolproof,the AK-Real line is like Tamiya with more variety in colors,I also thin it with Lacquer thinner,and I use Vallejo Model Color, which surprisingly I have been able to unlock with no difficulty using their thinner and flow improver.I have also used Mission Model acrylic with their own thinner,not bad.
When something new comes out,I don’t go out and replace the whole line that I have,but I will experiment with something new if I don’t already have the color needed.
All you can do is try lacquer and see if you like it. If you do try it then make sure your airbrush is really clean of any acrylic residue because trhe lacquer will loosen that.
The plus for lacquer is super easy airbrush clean up. Lacquer thinner literally melts lacquer paint and dried residue. Also very strong adhesion, thinner coats will cover well. Most will thin to even 2x their volume with thinner and spray very well. And several brands have an extensive array of colors available. Finally they air dry rapidly. Lacquer makes for a durable hard coat finish.
The down side is stink, most smell obnoxious thus why many switch to acrylics.Of the acrylics you mention the Tamiya, especially if thinned with lacquer thinner sprays most like lacquer. But there is nothing wrong with any of the paints you currently use when put down over a good primer coat…
I am almost exclusively using lacquers now. They have been the most trouble-free and are the most reliable in a high (5,800’ above sea level) and dry (Average humidity less than 30%) climate. Smell isn’t much of a problem for me with the way I airbrush with low pressure, low volume, and working close-in to the pieces being painted. As OMG already said, lacquers also have the best adhesion and the best durability. The only time I use acrylics is when there is no other choice for a color I need. Other than that, they’re not worth the drawbacks.
Which lacquers are you using now?
I’m using pretty much all MRP lacquers. Great color selection for military aircraft, and the color accuracy is as good as the old Model Master Enamels were. Their line of airbrush ready lacquers require no thinning. They’re pricey, but they pay for themselves just in the lack of BS you have to deal with when using them.
Lacquer thinner with Tamiya acrylics,the best of both worlds.
YES!
And I’ve used various lacquers over the years, right now I’m using the Tamiya LP series in the little glass bottles. I use that because my local hobby store began stocking it. But I thin it with Mr Leveling thinner. I’m very used to thinning lacquers and enamels and now alcrylics. I use a bit of everything, even craft paints.
Soon I’ll be painting a pink Cadillac for someone else. I’ll either mix the color from enamel and shoot straight up to the finish or mix it from a combo of craft paint and artist acrylic as the base color coat then clear lacquer it. Artist acrylic is quite durable, the craft paint is just the tinting color to get from white to light pink.
Now lacquer air drying is rapid and enamel is not but to that end I use a paint dryer ( food dehydrator) so it levels the playing field a bit closer…
The only lacquer I’ve used is Alclad, I have a positive airflow spraybooth that exhausts air to the outside, so the smell and fumes are a non issue for me. I’ve used Model Air, but for years I’ve been exclusively using Tamiya acrylics.
Very simple and trouble free, dependably good results for the painting I do. I can thin it with lacquer thinner, alcohol or leveling thinner, all work very well.
Cleaning the airbrush is just a cinch, lacquer thinner is aggressive enough to immediately mostly dissolve it, with minor brushing to completely remove all traces. I don’t demand as much of paint finishes as others may, so for them maybe lacquer does offer better results.
I ordinarily use enamels because I frequently need a good glossy finish on a model, and have a hard time getting a good gloss on acrlyic without an overcoat. To me, overcoats are too glossy, a wet coat show car finish which is not really appropriate for most vehicles in daily service. I also use lacquer ocasionally when I need a color that is easily available in lacquers.
I use both, for various reasons.
I use acrylics mainly when I am painting parts. Because I usually paint smaller parts with a brush and you can clean up with water. Plus acrylic paints usually smell less.
Then I use lacquers mainly on car bodies. There are more custom colors available, and places that will mix up any color and they sell paints ready to shoot with an airbrush.
Lacquer paints seem to dry faster as well.
Lacquer paints offer a glossy finish and durability, making them ideal for high-traffic areas and surfaces like wood and metal. They dry quickly and can be easily repaired. Acrylic paints, water-based and versatile, work well on various surfaces including canvas and paper. They allow for layering, blending, and come in a wide range of colors. Acrylics are safer with low toxicity, have fast drying times, and are easy to clean up. Your choice depends on the project’s demands, surface type, desired finish, and personal preferences for longevity, application ease, and environmental impact.
Been using enamels since the early 1970s but with all this environmental silliness going on making enamels hard to get I have been switching to lacquers. I can dial down the psi in my airbrush and shoot hair thin lines all day without clogging, spitting or skipping.
[dto:] Started using the MRP lacquers when the old Model Master Enamels became almost impossible to get. Also love being able to do detail work with brush and Testor’s square bottle and if I slip with the brush on a lacquer basecoat, the errant brush mark cleans right up with mineral spirits without doing a thing to the lacquer basecoat. The less than one hour cure time of the lacquers is a game changer as well.
I have a stash of enamels and have also been using Tamiya (thinned with isopropyl alcohol), MRP and Mr Color (thinned with their leveling thinner) with great success. BTW the Revell eMail (stupid name) line of enamels is pretty nice. I’ve used a couple of them. They come in little tins like Humbrol (which is also a nice enamel)
I’ve had no luck with water based acrylics. What I like about them is you can produce a dead flat finish. I just struggle getting them to spray right.
Man, I’ve bounced around over the years (thanks ADHD) but I think I finally found a favorite. I started using the Mr. Color lacquers about a year ago after using Tamiya acrylics pretty exclusively and realized that a lot of my problems airbrushing are cleaning related. I switched to lacquers because I finally bought a spray booth and also because cleaning is just much easier between colors and also I just like the durability.
Anyways, I started using the AK Real Colors about a month ago on a recommendation from another builder at my LHS. I am hooked. The “scale” look is a wee bit better than other paint I’ve used. It also helps that I can mix it 2:1 thinner to paint and every time it’s perfect. Sold.
There is a nomenclature problem these days. You will find both real old=fashioned lacquer these days, and acrylic lacquer. They are similar but not the same.
Exactly. I think the world of model paints is mostly to blame for that. All this time, the conventional wisdom regarding enamel paints in the model world is that they’re going to be oil-based and thin/clean up with mineral spirits or paint thinner. At least, that’s what I thought. Then along came MCW paints a couple of weeks ago for me, and their enamels aren’t oil-based and don’t get along with mineral spirits or paint thinner. They thin and clean up with lacquer thinner though, and smell like lacquer thinner…even though they’re enamels.
The base in paint can be many things that hold and adhere the pigments, nitrocelulose in old lacquers, synthetic resin in alkyd enamels, uerathane resin, poly uethane, poly acrylic. Acrylic is the agent, some are waterborne, some solvent. I first shot solvent acrylic enamel and lacquer in the 1/1 refinishing business back in 1974 before the model industry even thought of solvent based acrylics. By late 70’s catalysts came out to further kick the acrylic enamels, harden them to make them more durable. In the 70’s waterborne base color coat came along this was the kick off of base coat clear coat systems we see today. Every production vehicle today is base coat clear coat, though I don’t think the color coat is water based these days. And 2K top coats were born.
The clinker in both art and models that messes with my head is the cross platform paints or what I term as hybrid. That is water or solvent thinning or clean up. Windsor Newton has oil artist paint with water clean up, an oximoron. I have oil stains, smell like oil stains, acts like oil stain but water clean up, that I use in washes often. Paints like Tamiya acrylics , again water or solvents work in them, water, alcohol or LT actually. And there are others like it. This is where the nomenclature thing comes in. And it’s crazy, because the next acrylic you try may be waterborne only. But for the hybrid I have no idea what the emulsifyer is. For oil and vinegar I get it, emulsifyers that can be used are well known. Not so much with these paints, so it’s a bit of a mystery.
MCW, both enamel and lacquer are automotive grade acrylic, solvent based. It’s not a new system at all. It is new that they are being bottled up as model paints. I forget off hand who manufactures the base paints and tints but it’s one of the auto paint manufacturers, I want to say RM or Ditzler. MCW has the whole system including a sptrometer camera. They can snap a photo of a color, feed it to a computer and the formula generated. As they gain more and more that then becomes a stocked formula that you can have made up. Many autobody shops have the same systems. Hardware stores have something similar for latex paints these days.