Acrylic Question

RabidScoobie,

Hi...I only shoot Tamiya acrylic paints and find that each paint needs its own thinning. Some do not need any thinning and some to be thinned 1:1. Somethimes it need a bit more thinning then 1:1. A good rule of thumb is that you want the same thickness as milk.

As far as thinning goes I use Tamiya's thinner X-20A thinner only.

It the acrylic paint is water based you can use water to thin.

dss902

Thx for the info,in my area theres not much to pick from.The 1 hobby store(Hobby Town) we have only stocks Model Master.It says water wash-up so im assuming its water based,I have always used used enamels,but the color i want they only had in Acrylic.Is there anything special I should know about using acrylics,like when rubbing out the paint is it easier to rubb through to the base coat...anything along those lines.

Thx again.

Rabidscoobie, I have used Tamiya acrylics with my airbrush and have not had to thin them to get good results. I have not tried any gloss colors though so I don't know if they are different from flats.

I use acrylics exclusively and use 99% isopropol alcohol to thin them down. (- rubbing alcohol from the local pharmacy ) the paint almost dries on contact depending on how thin the paint is - usually as thin as milk, and it's a heck of a lot cheaper than Tamiya acrillic thinner (I've never experienced ANY advantages in using Tamiya thinner!) Thinning with water on the other hand takes longer to dry and the paint doesn't 'stick' as nicely - it can be 'pushed' away easily with the airbrush..

I found that household ammonia is a great cleaner for air brushes etc. It's cheap and probably not as toxic as acetone or other popular cleaners. I just drop parts for cleaning into a small jelly jar filled with the stuff - use tweezers! Though household ammonia is strong, one can also use the weaker 'Windex' or any other glass cleaner with ammonia for quick spray and wipe cleanups - even as a thinner for paint, - but expect a bluish tint ;-)

For gloss-coating; Future acryllic floor polish also thins nicely with isopropol alcohol for airbrushing. Dipping parts in Future offers great glossy results. just wick away excess with a tissue along the edges.. Future seems to clean up best with household ammonia.

I understood that the Tamiya acylics were alcohol based rtaher than water based although they are compatible with both. Because its alcohol based the problems that doghousefunkblaster (how did he come up with this name??) describes (takes longer to dry, doesn't stick as well etc) are the result. I maybe wrong but I've always had the notion its better to use some alcohol based thinner or Tamiya's propreity stuff with their acrylics.

In addition to all this discussion, I have used Golden brand paint. Its pre-prepared acrylic airbrush paint. Every art store usually has a big selection (craft stores sometimes do too.) I don't think its designed so much for plastic, but I have had great success with it. I lay down a good primer coat, then the color, then clearcoat (of whatever sheen) The key is NO TOUCHY. If you touch the primer directly after washing it, the paint won't stick there...then, the color is fragile, so I coat it with the clearcoat. Its worked great for me. It always seemes that I can never get the balance quite right with the normal modeling paints. Tamiya has clogged my airbrush, but then stuff I've watered down just runnnnnnnns
Oh yeah...and test on plastic...just my hard learned lesson
Good luck!
-jonathan

I now use laquer thinner to thin down Tamiya Acrylics. The All Purpose laquer thinner from Home Depot is relatively cheap and mixes well with Tamiya acrylics. I think you can pretty much mix this with any type of paint. I know it works with Testers and Model Masters Enamels, and Tamiya laquers and acrylics. The stuff also is used to clean the airbrush. Try some experimentation with different brands on scrap bodies. This will determin your preferences. Good Luck.