Model Master Acryl issue!!!!!!!!

If you don't normally use it, it does behave different from enamels. You do need to thin it a bit with either alcohol or Windex. It does airbrush well when you get used to it. It's a little more "high maintenance" than enamels. Just have to practice with it.

Andy

For brushing, I would thin it either with the MM Acryl thinner, or distilled water. I have always found that the water will lengthen its drying time, and that is usually desirable when hand brushing.

Rich

I've never had a problem dry brushing acrylics.

Don't thin the paint, that's the opposite of what you're aiming for. Build up your layers a very small amount at a time, i.e., wipe off almost all the paint form your brush. I've also never had a problem with paint lifting during dry brushing with any type of paint. Your base color should have already cured and there should be virtually no carrier/solvent left on the brush to weaken the base layer. In fact Tamiya (current formula) is the only paint I've ever had lifting issue with.

Re: Thinning MM acrylics.  I have some I'm about to try to use for the first time through my airbrush and was wondering if it should be thinned to the consistency of milk as I do with enamels.  If so, what household liquid would be best for this if I don't have access to MM acrylic thinner?  Would it be alcohol, windex or distilled water?

MM Acryl doesn't normally need to be thinned at all, BUT, that said, I would use the alcohol. A word of caution though. If you use too high a pressure, or spray from too great a distance, you will get that issue where the paint dries in the air or partially dries and will not 'stick' well. If you are going to use alcohol, I recommend adding just a drop of retarder to the paint cup - it will help a lot with the adhesion problem. I have never tried thinning Acryl (for airbrushing) with water. If you try that I suggest distilled water which you can get at anydrug store for very reasonable prices. Bottom line - get an old shiny plastic container to use as a test bed before spraying your model....

Rich

Boy, Model Master Acryls.....The jury is still out on these as far as I'm concerned.  I absolutely love how well they airbrush without thinning and, of course, the easy cleanup.  Also, I discovered that the ghost grays (light and dark) brush paint extremely well.  For the first time, I brush painted a model (1/72 Italeri A-6E) using only MM Acryls and I was amazed at the result.  I'm not sure if I can get these results with the other colors.

Once I solve the issue of the masking tape pulling up the acrylic paint, then I will love these to no end!!  I'm gonna' try spraying an enamel primer coat from a rattle can (probably Testors Flat Light Aircraft Gray, which I found works very well as a primer) and then spraying the acrylics over that. 

We'll see....

Yeah...as others have said, the key for good adhesion with the MM Acryl line is priming. I have found that a coat of Tamiya Primer makes the MM Acryl hold really well.

These are not my favorite paints. I only use them if I have no other choice. I only use acrylics by the way and these are my least favorite. They are not the easiest to brush paint with....they aren't the easiest to do anything with. lol But it is doable. Very inconsistent paint. If you are brush painting with them make sure that you have a good primer on your subject, make sure the paint is well stired, If the paint looks too thick thin with water, alcohol, or winddex window cleaner and paint in thin coats and build up your paint.

If dry brushing you shouldn't have to thin it. Just wipe all the paint off your brush on a paper towel then hit the high areas on your subject.

If you are going to airbrush them, again shouldn't have to thin too much. Normally I am able to just take it from the bottle and drop it straight into my airbrush. I keep a wet q-tip around to dab off any paint build up on the tip of the airbrush. But this isn't alway the case. Hope this helps.

ajlafleche wrote:

I've never had a problem dry brushing acrylics. Don't thin the paint, that's the opposite of what you're aiming for. Build up your layers a very small amount at a time, i.e., wipe off almost all the paint form your brush. I've also never had a problem with paint lifting during dry brushing with any type of paint. Your base color should have already cured and there should be virtually no carrier/solvent left on the brush to weaken the base layer. In fact Tamiya (current formula) is the only paint I've ever had lifting issue with.

[ditto#] Maybe I'm alone, but I hate Tamya acrylics. I only use MM acryl. Never had a problem with it to this day. My only gripe is the metallics arn't very good. For metal, I always use enamel.

rrmmodeler wrote:

They are not the easiest to brush paint with....they aren't the easiest to do anything with. lol But it is doable. Very inconsistent paint.

Guess I've been lucky.....

Hand brushed from nose to tail with Model Master acrylic.