Paint Factor:Making the BIG switch..

I use enamels but that is only because I am afraid of learning a new system of painting and airbrushing if I switch to acrylics.

Dave

thanks guys!

I made the switch to acrylic (actually the old PolyS brand, which, as I understand it, was technically latex) about 25 years ago. I still use enamels for metallics and various other specific applications, but I'm a confirmed acrylic enthusiast.

Maybe I should emphasize that I'm primarily a ship modeler and brush by hand about 90 percent of the time. I've got an airbrush, but I don't use it often.

I was working in a hobby shop when the PolyS brand appeared, and initially I didn't think much of it. I'd been using enamels and, occasionally, laquers for about 20 years (my memory goes back to paint brands like Aurora, Revell, and Ulrich), and the water-based stuff just didn't seem to handle right. But when I took the trouble to practice a little with it and develop a slightly different brush technique, I came to the conclusion that this new stuff was great. Once I got a little practice with it, it left virtually no brushmarks, it was easy to clean up mistakes, it dried fast, and techniques like washes and dry-brushing worked superbly with it. The clincher came, though, when I realized that I was spending five or six hours at a stretch in the workshop, where I'd previously been getting tired after three or four. The fumes from the enamel and thinner had been giving me mild headaches without my knowing it.

My current favorite brand is PolyScale, which is a variant on the old PolyS. (I actually liked the consistency of the old stuff a little better, but the new brand works fine.) The nearest hobby shop that carries PolyScale is about 35 miles away; the local Hungate's chain store sells Testor's Acryl, so if I get in a jam and need a particular color in a hurry I use that. But I don't care fas much or the texture of Testor's. It's got a tendency to act like syrup, and occasionally dries with a slightly glossy sheen.

My biggest complaint about PolyScale is that in some applications it dries too fast for my taste. I've read suggestions about slowing it down with various artist acrylic mediums; one of these days I'll try that.

I urge anybody who's never done so to give acrylics a try. They handle a little differently than enamels, and take a little practice. But the results can be excellent.

QUOTE: i have a respirator and exhaust fan with a spray both but sometimes the fumes are just too much. thanks for all the help guys!

Keep in mind that if you fill the room with vapor and then take your respirator off you are still breathing vapors. They take time to dissipate and without some outside ventilation that makes them take even longer.

Also keep in mind that while acrylics may be non-toxic if you ingest them, that it doesn't mean they are safe to breathe. A layer of plastic on the inside of your lungs is never a good thing. Using a respirator or an outside-vented spray booth is always the smart thing to do regardless of the type of paint.

Our friend Styrene (Gip Winecoff) made an excellent post on this subject a while back and I have put a copy of it on my web site (with his permission). Here is a link to it, and it makes for very interesting reading on the subject of toxicity.
http://www.craigcentral.com/models/toxicity.asp

thanks for the advice and ive made my decision to switch to acrylics, for most of my painting jobs. enamels are good for metallics i've heard so i'll consider that. but what really made me switch was the Factor of Fumes and Cleanup. i paint in my room you see. i have a respirator and exhaust fan with a spray both but sometimes the fumes are just too much. thanks for all the help guys!

acrylics 90% enamels 10% of the time although it depends on the project

Acrylic lacquer primers, lacquer or enamel metallics, some "square bottle" Testors detail colors, artists' oils for washes & drybrushing, artists' acrylics for gound cover and sea water, hobby acrylics for everything else (that's 99%).

I recently made the switch from enamels to acrylics. I feel that the toxicity is less with acrylics. We have to be concerned with what our bodies are taking in through breathing and absorption through the skin. Protect yourself!

Enamels. Its what I started with when I was a kid, and I stuck with it. I have been thinking about experimenting with laquers on body finishes, though. There is a better selection of colours, and some people are able to get an awesome finish with the stuff.

Acrylics, almost exclusively. You just can't beat the ease of clean-up and the lack of odor. I do miss enamels, from time to time -- the selection of colors, the ease of use -- but I keep coming back to that easy cleanup and lack of odor . . . .

-Jonathan

Acrylics for me most of the time.

I'm on acrylics- Gunze- the flat surface of acrylics is light years ahead of the quality of enamels.

I started out using enamels but switched to airbrushing acrylics because I got tired of hearing the squirrels thinking. I do use enamels and artist oil paints for detail work.

I use enamels for practically everything. The only acrylics I use are some Tamiya ones I had to buy for my upcoming FW24.

The only time I use enamels is for metallic paints. For regular colors I use acrylics.

Of course, Games Workshop's metallic paints cover magnificently, so I may just start using those even though there isn't a big selection.

I couldn't vote, because I use enamels and acrylics almost equally. I rarely use lacquers, however.

Enamels for me. I think they cover smoother and give a better finish.

enamels just cover better in my view, and they seem to stand up to work on the model better. ill switch between acrylics and enamels to keep one's solvent from breaking down two different colors, but Ill primarily use enamels

QUOTE: Originally posted by nathaniel Acrylics just because of ease of clean up and the lack of a nasty smell.

Acrylics just because of ease of clean up and the lack of a nasty smell.