Tamiya Smoke, do you thin it?

My preference would be pastels....          in my opinion - much easier and less fuss / cleanup

In any event,,, good luck with it Bill...  hope it turns out well

Bill

billy2cold

Thank you everyone! I think I'm going use Tamiya smoke (thinned) with X-21 for my WW2 bird and Alclad 2 Jet exhaust for the Jets. I'll post how it comes out.

Bill

Bill,

Go light on the X-21 flat base, as it's known to go cloudy/hazy when you use too much when added to X-22 (Clear) One part X-21 to four parts X-19 (Smoke) should be about enough.

Thank you everyone! I think I'm going use Tamiya smoke (thinned) with X-21 for my WW2 bird and Alclad 2 Jet exhaust for the Jets. I'll post how it comes out.

Bill

Phil_H

cml:

My only gripe is that it's gloss.  I normally leave it to the very very end, which means i then have to do a matte coat over it.  Would be happier if it was matte.

Chris,

Just mix a  llittle X-21 Flat Base into it.

Can't believe i've never thought of that before.

Will pick some up tonight.

Chris.

The first time I used it I totally blew it by not thinning; talk about a mess! Now I thin it in the ratio already mentioned but also try to dab it on a paper towel before applying I found it's real easy to add too much so this way I can more gradually build it up.

cml

My only gripe is that it's gloss.  I normally leave it to the very very end, which means i then have to do a matte coat over it.  Would be happier if it was matte.

Chris,

Just mix a  llittle X-21 Flat Base into it.

Yes, thin it.

Like the others say, depends how you want to use it.

I've only used it a few times and just thinned it like i do normal paint.  However, reading the other suggestions, might be better to thin more than normal and build up the effect slowly.

My only gripe is that it's gloss.  I normally leave it to the very very end, which means i then have to do a matte coat over it.  Would be happier if it was matte.

Chris.

Well, it's definitely not acrylic. Not sure if it's lacquer or enamel-based though. I know all their metal finishes are lacquers, but all of their clear coats are enamel...will try to remember to look when I'm at the bench tonight.

Doogs, I didn't know that about the Alclad Smoke...  is it an enamel/lacquer or acrylic base?

I thin it down pretty far, too. 10/90 sounds about right, then it gets build up over successive passes.

Depending on what you're going for, you may also want to give Alclad's Smoke a try.

I've found Tamiya Smoke leans more toward the warm side of the spectrum, with a redder/browner cast. Alclad's Smoke goes in the opposite direction, cooler and more blue-ish. Both have their place and I think could even be used very well in conjunction to create more complex staining and shading effects. 

I use it for post-paint panel shading, so I dilute it a lot with the Tamiya thinner so I can build up the effect.  Something around 10% Smoke to 90% thinner...

I've never tried using it as you've described, but I have used highly diluted black and brown paints to build up exhaust stains and gun smoke stains.

You might find a different ratio to be more effective, so experiment.