Hay guys, tell me about Humbrol enamel paints

Anonymous

Member since
November 2005

Hay guys, tell me about Humbrol enamel paints

Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, January 7, 2004 6:57 PM

Hello. Up until now I've always worked with acrylic paints such as Tamiya and Gunze; these are fine all-modeling-purpose paints and go really well with my crappy Aztec airbrush (easy to clean).

However, my local distributor has ceased to import these in favour of some newfangled deal with Testors and Humbrol. Now whenever I visit my local hobby shops for paint I get these tiny Humbrol enamel tinlets which are just a pain in the butt to open, much more to operate. The plus side is there's a huge range of colours (metal, matt, gloss and even some varnishes)

Unfortunately since it's oil based I'm going to have to buy regularly 28ml bottles of "thinner" not only for painting but for cleaning as well. I can feel my wallet recoiling in fear already. Damn.

What do you guys know about these tinlets? Is there a good way to open up/handle them? What about adhesion. How's their solubility. Are there any replacement thinners (any wacky aliphatic compound or similar which I can get for cheap at a pharmacy or my faculty lab) Is it really worth all the trouble or should I just pay up BIG MONEY for a Tamiya import dealer?

Humbly ask for your advice. Sleepy [|)]

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Anonymous

Member since
November 2005

Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, January 7, 2004 7:04 PM

I grew up and spend a large part of my modeling using them, there was nothing else available back than and back home.
Now I use Gunze(mostly) and Tamiya, Humbrol is available over here but not in all shops.

No problems with the paint except it is way too thick, and you need to seal the tins tighly to prevent the thinner from evaporating.
For thinning & cleaning I have alwasy used Mineral Turpentine (evil smelling stuff).

Overall the paint is good and will cover well, very similar to the Revell colours. Their Metalcote paints are not too bad either.

At times I wills till buy a tin here and there for a specific colour that I want to use (Coal black, etc.).

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obiwan

Member since
May 2003
From: Malaysia

Posted by obiwan on Wednesday, January 7, 2004 7:23 PM

welcome to the forum and great nickname!
Sign - Ditto [#ditto]

with the advice there.

you can also use lacquer thinners(very much cheaper) from hardware shops to thin your paints and clean your airbrush.

What baby wants baby gets

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qmiester

Member since
May 2003
From: Central USA

Posted by qmiester on Wednesday, January 7, 2004 8:09 PM

I've used Humbrol for years and like it (although not as much as the old days before the factory burned down, when there was even a larger selection of colors). As far as the tinlets go, I keep a small straight blade screwdriver handy to pop the lid off. When I get a new tin I open it, put in a couple of drops of thinner and a 1/2 dozen bb's or lead shot. (make mixing easy). If I'm going to airbrush, I remove the paint from the tin with a large eyedropper, putting it into my mixing cup.
I don't buy thinner in the LHS anymore. I go to my automotive supply store and buy Dupont Enamel reducer 3812S by the gallon. A gallon will last me a year or more (even airbrushing) and costs about $13 (the last I bought). Has worked well for me with Humbrol, Testors, Model Master and even some old Pactra I have. In the long run, its cheaper than buying the small bottles

Quincy

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Anthony

Member since
February 2003

Posted by Anthony on Wednesday, January 7, 2004 8:25 PM

Pvt.Parts
First, welcome to the forum. I have been using Humbrol and Testors enamel paint for some years and have no problems. Like madmodelFactory mentioned, the paint is a little thick, and you may want to thin it, I use Testor thinners on Humbrol and it does not seems to have any problems. To avoid sealing problem, always scrap out paint residue on the cover and opening edge. One thing for warning:

ENAMEL PAINT IS MUCH MORE TOXIC THAN ACRYLIC. MAKE SURE YOU HAVE ENOUGH VENTALATION WHEN USING THEM ESPECIALLY WHEN USING IN AIRBRUSH
Hope that helps

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Anonymous

Member since
November 2005

Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, January 7, 2004 9:18 PM

Thank you all for the suggestions. I knew this forum was a great idea to have around. I'll try with that enamel reducer, tupertine and laquer thinner (nail polish remover if I'm not mistaken).

The active compound in laquer thinner should be acetone; should I just buy a gallon of it? I know from lab experience how corrosive it is but I can see it removing enamel coats off easily.

I'm also thinking of buying several glass flasks and use them as containers for my colours, so as to empty the tinlets and have a larger reserve which is easier to open. Would it be a good idea?

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Anonymous

Member since
November 2005

Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, January 7, 2004 9:20 PM

Nice tip with the ventilation, especially to someone used to acryllic, also the lead shot tip. You can use white spirit (also called turps substitute) to thin Humbrol enamels.
Always mix the paint in the tinlet well, I thin to brush paint about 1/3rd thinners. I also use an acryllic primer (meant for plastic bits on cars)
good Luck
Pete

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qmiester

Member since
May 2003
From: Central USA

Posted by qmiester on Wednesday, January 7, 2004 9:33 PM

Would throw something out I learned the hard way, don't use BB's with acrylics, they rust.

Quincy

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Anonymous

Member since
November 2005

Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, January 7, 2004 11:44 PM

Personally, I prefer Humbrol paints over any others I've used. They just seem to go on like butter and spray so much better than the other common paints I've used. Maybe it's just me. Can't say whether or not the actual paint is better, but for me, things got a LOT easier when I started using Humbrol. Unfortunately I have a drawer full of MM Enamels that I'm trying to use up. When a bottle goes empty, I replace it with Humbrol.

I use lacquer thinner to thin the paints for spraying. They brush on very nicely right out of the tin. Speaking of the 'tin', this is about the only thing I don't like about the paint. I'm planning on saving the MM jars and then just transfering the new paints (humbrols) into the jar and relabeling it.

Oh, and they are also about 30% cheaper than MM or Tamiya at my LHS.

Just one guy's opinion...

Murray

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U-96

Member since
February 2003
From: United Kingdom

Posted by U-96 on Thursday, January 8, 2004 4:02 AM

I use Humbrol's own enamel thinners for thinning paint, but use cheap turps substitute from the local hardware shop @ 40p/litre for cleaning brushes.

I found that the turps substitute tended to make the applied paint "greasy" when used as a thinner (more like oil paints) and took forever to dry. On the flip side, using it as a cleaner is far cheaper, and the solvent doesn't seem half as destructive on brushes as Humbrol thinners.

On the bench: 1/35 Dragon Sturmpanzer Late Recent: Academy 1/48 Bf-109D (Nov 06) Academy 1/72 A-37 (Oct 06) Revell 1/72 Merkava III (Aug 06) Italeri 1/35 T-26 (Aug 06)

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Ray Marotta

Member since
December 2002
From: Lyons Colorado, USA

Posted by Ray Marotta on Thursday, January 8, 2004 8:05 AM

I've always used laquer thinner with Humbrol, MM, Testors, and Pactra enamels both
for thinning and cleanup of my airbrush. The paints seem to dry faster and bond more
tightly with the plastic. I've never had any problem with the laquer thinner crazing the
plastic either. I thin the paints to the consistancy of milk using the TLAR (that looks about right) method. Like the others, I also drop a couple of BB's in the bottles or tins
to aid in mixing.
Ray

]

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djmodels1999

Member since
December 2002
From: United Kingdom / Belgium

Posted by djmodels1999 on Thursday, January 8, 2004 8:24 AM

Although I use a variety of brands and types for various uses, Humbrol's remain my favourite. I think they are very good with either brush or airbrush, cover very well. The range of colors is commendable. I use mineral spirit (white spirit here) to clean and thin. Much cheaper than Humbrol's own stuff!

I keep my tinlets upside down, and the liquid therefore acts as a seal. I have tinlets that are over 10 years old (some of those 'Authentic' ones, Qmiester ;-) ).

I also prime first with automotive acrylics (in cans).

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Anonymous

Member since
November 2005

Posted by Anonymous on Thursday, January 8, 2004 1:26 PM

Hi there, to thin Humbrol I use 'white spirirt' or 'turpentine substitue'. This (in the UK at least) is used to clean household paint brushes and available from hardware stores in large quantities for a few relativley low cost.

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TANGO 1

Member since
December 2002
From: A secret workshop somewhere in England

Posted by TANGO 1 on Thursday, January 8, 2004 2:24 PM

I've been using Humbrol for years now and much prefer them to anything else. I use turps for cleaning and thinning and I've never had any problems-apart from the smell! Keep you painting area well ventillated!

Regards, Darren. C.A.G. FAA/USNFAW GB

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Anonymous

Member since
November 2005

Posted by Anonymous on Thursday, January 8, 2004 5:48 PM

Thank you all for your help. I can get tupertine pretty cheap and in large quantities; I'll use this for cleaning up. I'll just have to make do with these uncomfortable tinlets Disapprove [V]

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