Great Issue

Never used acrylics before. I kinda get the inpression that they tend to be more finicky and harder to deal with at times, along with being more pricey.

In my little bit of experiences i've always used enamels by Testors (MM and the basic stuff). My only complaint has been that at times the quantities in the bottles have been too little (especially on larger projects)

Aaron Skinner wrote:

I'm curious. How many Forum members use acrylic paints or prefer to use them over enamels?

I use Tamiya Acrylics exclusively. 

Too bad the forum software doesn't allow for polls.

I'm another Tamiya exclusive user, though I would probably supplement the color palette with Gunze if my LHS stocked it.

I'm curious. How many Forum members use acrylic paints or prefer to use them over enamels?

Primarily acrylics for me as well, however I'm not exclusive.  I prefer an enamel or lacquer primer,  I prefer an enamel base on instrument panels because of the way I paint them, and I use a good bit of Alclad in varying shades.   Top coats are virtually all acrylic though.

I airbrush everything but I'm not exclusive to one brand.  I frequently, if not always, have Tamiya, Model Master, and PolyScale on the same build. 

I also use artist acrylic for all of my washes.   Yeah, I know the rules say you can't use an acrylic wash on acrylic top coats but rules were meant to be broken.  I've been doing it that way for a long time and it's the method I prefer.

MusicCity wrote:

Yeah, I know the rules say you can't use an acrylic wash on acrylic top coats but rules were meant to be broken.

A man after my own heart! The best rules are the ones that can be bent for your own purposes, and then bent back for the next fellow to follow. 

Ok, now i'm curious here. I've stuck to MM enamels because that's all i know. But how come y'all are exclusively (or almost exclusively) partial to acrylics? How are they better than enamels?

For me it comes down to two things: Ease of use and health.

Enamels contain harsh chemicals, and require equally harsh solvents to clean up. They smell very bad, and my wife objects to that.

Acrylics contain less dangerous chemicals and can clean up with soap and water. They still smell, but not nearly so much, and my wife approves.

I also find them easier to airbrush, and they seem to have a much longer shelf life. I have some Tamiya Acrylics that go back to 1985! 

I use both acrylics and enamels... it pretty much boils down to what color I need. I've got quite the assortment of Tamiya acrylics. But as we all know, Tamiya only makes certain colors, and gives wacky mixing instructions for any others. My other acrylics are Model Master. I bought these because I wanted a full set of RLM colors. I have a few lacquers... all Alclad because they are the best metal paints I've used to date. My enamels are interior colors for US planes and exterior colors for cars and primers. I can use both well, and since I've got a spray booth in my basement and a respirator, I'm good to go with anything I want to spray.

Many people use acrylics because of health issues and clean up. You can clean most acrylics with windex (I myself use simple green)!!! And, they don't fume up the house so much. Many dry quicker than their enamel counterparts, as well.  

Ok, now i'm curious here. I've stuck to MM enamels because that's all i know. But how come y'all are exclusively (or almost exclusively) partial to acrylics? How are they better than enamels?

Even though this belongs in the "Painting and Airbrushing" area, I use acrylics simply because they dry to the touch so quickly.  I have no problems at all in spraying a different color over the top of acrylics after about 30 minutes of drying time. 

A man after my own heart! The best rules are the ones that can be bent for your own purposes, and then bent back for the next fellow to follow.

Bill, I like to break rules when the circumstances warrant them being broken.  Besides they are only "Rules" because some person decided to make them rules.

In this particular instance I use acrylic washes for the exact same reason, they are dry to the touch in a few minutes.  In fact, to break the rules even farther, I clean up excess wash using Windex on a Q-Tip!  AND to take things one step farther, I can paint a section, shoot a couple of coats of Future on top of it (another acrylic), and do whatever washing I want all inside a few hours.  

DesertRat wrote:

Ok, now i'm curious here. I've stuck to MM enamels because that's all i know. But how come y'all are exclusively (or almost exclusively) partial to acrylics? How are they better than enamels?

Thanks guys! For me, the smell doesn't bother me at all. Guess i actually enjoy the smell of the enamels, since it reminds me of modelling days gone by (i'm weird, i know). But the overall cure time is definately a big seeing point for me, and i'm thinking maybe i should give them a shot myself!

   Does anyone remember those water-based enamels from MM? I had some of those for a few years when i was a teenager, but i see they aren't around now. Not exactly the best paint i ever used, but i really had to appreciate the clean up factor...

Aaron Skinner wrote:

Does that count as a flashback from sniffing too mch paint?

Yes. Yes, it does.

We should probably have a forum strictly for discussing solvent abuse issues and addictive model behavior!

Bgrigg wrote:

We should probably have a forum strictly for discussing solvent abuse issues and addictive model behavior!

Aaron Skinner wrote:

Bgrigg wrote: We should probably have a forum strictly for discussing solvent abuse issues and addictive model behavior! Isn't "addictive model behavior" a bit of a redundancy?

I wonder if there is a 12 step program out there for "addicts" like us...

Aaron Skinner wrote:

Bgrigg wrote: We should probably have a forum strictly for discussing solvent abuse issues and addictive model behavior! Isn't "addictive model behavior" a bit of a redundancy?

True enough, but a "good" addict will grasp at any straw, in the search for denial

IE "I can quit anytime, not like those "addicted" modelers"! 

DesertRat wrote:

I wonder if there is a 12 step program out there for "addicts" like us...

Sure is- THE INSTRUCTIONS!

What are those?

I don't think i ever got a kit that came with instructions!!!!!!!!

But for some reason they always include a funny looking paper mat with some funny looking squiggly lines......

Hello, my name is Roger and i'm a modelholic

espins1 wrote:

Aaron Skinner wrote: I'm curious. How many Forum members use acrylic paints or prefer to use them over enamels? I use Tamiya Acrylics exclusively.