Problems painting white.

Can't offer a remedy with MM's as I'm not very familiar with them.

I use Tamiya acrylics & have found their white to be pretty good, Tamiya is reputed to be one of the better covering white's (along with Floquil Reefer White) & irregardless of weather I need a flat or gloss coat I will use flat white & then clear coat to get the desired finish.

Coverage is usually the problem with white & using a flat acrylic lets you get down a few coats in a relatively short time, chances are that in comparison with an enamel you'll be able to lay down a few coats of acrylic flat & finish with a clear before the enamel would be dry. Even gloss acrylics can take some time to dry, hence I don't gloss much if I can avoid it, preferring to use a gloss clear when required.

Unless your painting something thats pretty light or has a light primer on it, chances are that you'll need more than one coat of white - how many coats are you laying down?

You know come to think of it, I have heard that Tamiya white was pretty good. Maybe I should just get some and try it. I am not familiar with using Tamiya paints though.

Wolfram von Sturmwolke

I am not familiar with using Tamiya paints though.

I would advise (certainly for starting out) using Tamiya X-20A thinners & thin somewhere in the region of 50/50 to start with & play about until you have a ratio that you're happy with.

If you don't use primer, be sure go give your model a good wipe down with alcohol or likes to get rid of any grease / dirt & when you get round to painting, build up a few lighter coats as opposed to trying to get complete coverage in one go (If you're used to enamels, you will notice how quickly Tamiya acrylics dry, so a few coats wont take that long).

Like said before, I would strongly advise using Tamiya flat white and clear coating as required afterwords as the gloss colours take considerably longer to dry.

Milairjunkie

Like said before, I would strongly advise using Tamiya flat white and clear coating as required afterwords as the gloss colours take considerably longer to dry.

+1 - Tamiya's flat white acrylic has a higher pigment load than the corresponding gloss white and lays down more evenly. The gloss white also has a tendency to "creep" toward edges and pool around moulded protrusions.

I use a higher thinning ratio than 50/50, but that's just my preference.

i hate airbrushing MM whites. when it comes to whites, i always go to tamiya. white is a color you have to build up. 

I use MM enamels exclusively and have no trouble with white. As Randy said, you have to build it up. I'll just mist the part first, give it a minute, slightly heavier mist, give it a minute, then a medium coat to cover good.

Thank you very much everybody. I'll keep working with MM and see if I can get it to work better. I will also try Tamiya as well in the interim. I really appreciate all your feedback.

remember, thin layers at a time. 

White is the only color I still use rattle cans for.  I don't do that much white though.  Just the occasional vehicle in U.N. White.

I battled with white on my last build too.....MM just didnt cover well.....I was using semi gloss...

When possible use a primer first.....I like Tamiya primer grey...they also have a white primer...both available in rattle can, they go on nice a thin and cover well. I ended up  using a white rattle can...Testors... and that stuff was terrible, splattered and went on real thick and took forever to dry ...maybe tamiya's rattle is better...I just couldnt get a hold of one.

Good luck, white and yellows are always tough to work with.

Carlos

Oddly enough I haven't had any real trouble with yellow. Whether from the old square Testors bottle or any of the MM yellows. Airbrushed of course, brush painting is another story...oy vey! Just the white I've been struggling with. I hear you Carlos on the white rattle can...spit sputter and all manner of disasters. Like spraying concrete.

Testors flat white primer in the rattler.

Primer will help if the underlying plastic is very dark, or you want a glossy white finish. Otherwise flat white sprays on better (or any white that dries fast out of the nozzle, gloss sufficiently thinned will do the same), with lighter coats if gloss.

Not a big fan of white out of cans because they are typically gloss/semi gloss which means out of can you don't get the thin even coat that you want and can pool easily.

I only use the MM white for priming. I think that is what it was meant for to be honest. I recently painted my Lexus LFA Tamiya kit with Tamiya White with 50/50 testors acryl thinner and it worked well. Each paint brand has its great paint and its not so great paint so sometimes if it just doesn't want to work , try another brand.

got a can of tams gray primer. so far, i love mr. surfacer from the can. glass smooth when hit with two thousand grit. 

I normally use MM enamel gray primer on almost everything to check seams and as a base for subsequent colors.  I then use MM flat white on top of the gray primer as an undercoat on anything that is going to be finished in gloss white, yellow, red, or other light colors.

Mark

I really do wonder how many coast of white they have to use on a real aircraft, like the Vickers bomber that took me at least 6 coats and patch-ups. White is unforgiving, esp. glossy.