Need some paint advice

Hi Shane,

First off, welcome back to the hobby. I don't know what your preferred genre is, but there have been some great kits released over the last 15 years or so.

A lot of people here use Tamiya and (Testors) Model Master acrylic paints. While both types a re "water soluble" water should really only be used for cleanup as both are actually alcohol based. Tamiya's acrylics are better suited to airbrushing and many people have difficulties brush painting with these paints. Tamiya acrylics cure pretty hard and are pretty scratch resistent once cured.

I am unfamiliar with the properties of MM acrylics, as they aren't available here in Australia.

For brush painting, Vallejo acrylics are highly recommended. The Model Color range brushes very well and can be cleaned up and thinned with water. With sufficient thinning, the Model Color paints can also be airbrushed Vallejo also have a "Model Air" range which is "airbrush ready" - in many cases it can be sprayed without thinning.

What I usually do with unfamiliar paints is buy one or two pots to start with and see how they perform before committing to larger quantities.

Phil H. ; Myself I prefer Model Master enamel or Floquil Poly S acrylics and I use Tamyia once in a while but only if I dont't have any other choise.              Aceses5 

Addendum to my previous post.

Keep it clean

When using acrylic paints, a clean surface is essential. Any oils (even oils from your skin) or sanding dust will reduce the adhesion of the paint. If your kit has any mould-release oils on the parts (not very common, but can often occur with Eastern European made kits), wash them in warm soapy water before assembly (actually, washing the parts before assembly is not a bad idea for any kit). If practical, gently wash the assembled kit and allow to air dry in a dust-free place before painting. As an alternative to washing, you can wipe it down with a cloth or paper towel dampened with denatured or Isopropyl alcohol and allow to dry. Enamel and lacquer type paints are less sensitive to surface contaminants but they will also benefit from this preparation.

Do I need a primer?

Tamiya acrylic paints adhere fairly well to bare plastic and don't usually require a primer.

As mentioned, I haven't used ModelMster acrylics, but there are many posts on these forums which suggest that they have less adhesion and can lift when masked over. A primer may help reduce the risk of this happening.

A primer coat is strongly recommended for Vallejo paints (both Model Color and Model Air ranges) Being water based, they seem to have less "bite" and a nice flat primer coat definitely helps.

First off welcome back! I personally use a variety of paints that I have picked up along the way. I use almost exclusively acrylics as the fumes are better than enamels. Model Master acrylics are pretty easy to come by online and relatively cheap. You can even buy straight off the Testors website! The Polly Scale brand is being fased out.....at least that is what I have heard through the grape vine. Tamiya makes great paint as well. Both of these can be thinned with good old Rubbing Alcohol, which also helps with drying time when used with an Airbrush. The same can be said for Gunze Aqueous paints (harder to find), don't be confused with Gunze Mr. Color, way different and requires a nasty thinner. I think I even have a few Vallejos on the paint collection and they are pretty easy to work with.

A lot of my decision on which brand comes down to what I am modelling at the time. The MM has more modern colors, the Polly scale has most of the Luftwaffe, USN, USAAF, and Japanese WW2 colors you might need. Tamiya can be kinda dicey with choices.

With your son being involved I would lean to the Acrylics for the "Clean" factor. Good luck with whatever your choice is.

Travis/STFD637

Acrylic paints sound great at first because of the so called ease of cleanup.  But the reality is a little less than the hype.  First of all, everyone I know who uses acrylic paint extensively does not use water only for cleanup. It is not good enough.  So you still have to buy something other than water.

The other problem is the fast drying. If you get distracted, and do not clean up an airbrush immediately, the paint dries inside and you have a real mess.  You must put all distractions aside, make sure the phone answering machine is on, and concentrate on cleaning immediately after spraying.

If you have a Michaels craft store in the area, most of them carry the basic Testors enamels (the square bottle line).

Don is right on a couple of things here. The "water wash-up" factor is really only good for brushes and even then I might put some cleaning type material (windex, dish soap, etc) in with the water. Lucky for me I have all of these things already around the house. I use windex to clean out my airbrush between paint jobs. Even if there is some remaining on the next paint session it will not effect the paint. I have heard of some guys using windex and 409 to thin paint even!

As far as the fast drying...I guess that is why I like it so much. I live in Florida (SW)...picture a swamp with houses built on top and you are there! There are only a few months (2) when the humidity is none existant. The rest of the time it is anywhere from 70-100%. The acrylic still dries and cures faster for me in this climate. I am pretty dilagent in the cleaning of my Airbrush and usually plan out my "shoot" times when I know I can focus solely on that task.  (I don't worry too much about the phone ringing.....I am one of those pesky ""txtng"" guys)

I guess for me the biggest factor is that enamel smell....especially the thinner.

Travis

Just another quick note on "water cleanup".

Depending on your geographic location, I would suggest not using tap water to clean your airbrush as water quality is variable and may contain dissolved minerals which may, over time, accumulate in yuor airbrush. If you must use water, either for cleaning or thinning, always use distilled or demineralised water if it is going to go in your airbrush.

PS: Windex, particularly if it contains ammonia (some formulations don't) and your airbrush can be an unfriendly mix. Ammonia is corrosive and can cause an effect known as "dezincification" in brass. Dezincification attacks the zinc in the brass and over time, may cause it to become brittle.  

PS: Windex, particularly if it contains ammonia (some formulations don't) and your airbrush can be an unfriendly mix. Ammonia is corrosive and can cause an effect known as "dezincification" in brass. Dezincification attacks the zinc in the brass and over time, may cause it to become brittle.  

Phil: That is something that is good to know. I had never heard of that. The Windex/409 was something I picked up from a guys who ran a LHS in the town I grew up in. I will have to make sure my Windex is amonia free......I am pretty sure it is as I really don't like making toxic gases when cleaning the house!

Travis

Hi Travis,

Actually, I'm probably being overly cautious about the Windex. I suspect it takes prolonged exposure with a higher concentration of ammonia than present in Windex. I think Windex is mostly water with about 10% isopropyl and something like 3%(?) ammonia when it's present. Though it has been reported to corrode the chrome plating on some members' airbrushes, so maybe there's something to it.

The ammonia in Windex is the active ingredient that removes dried paint, otherwise it's just blue colored isopropyl. It's only 3% total, so isn't a health concern, but if you are in the habit of soaking overnight, it can become an issue as Phil points out. I rinse using distilled water.

Water cleanup works with wet acrylic, and for any you get on your hands, otherwise you'll want to use a more aggressive material, like isopropyl or Windex.

I use acrylics exclusively, and find that they are a little easier to clean up than enamels, but only just. Certainly easier to get off skin!

It has never been the cleanup ofter painting that drew me to acrylics.  It is the ability to thin with water, or alcohol, as opposed to more caustic thinners needed for enamels.  I know that acrylics are "less-toxic", not NON toxic, but still, not having my whole workspace stink after I spray is a plus!

Chris