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some ramblings about paint, and a couple of questions

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mgh
  • Member since
    May 2011
  • From: Utah County, Utah
some ramblings about paint, and a couple of questions
Posted by mgh on Saturday, September 15, 2012 9:08 PM

I have used exclusively artists acrylics thinned with Windex up to this point.  My budget is tight, and with buying tools and kits when I started, I was looking for an inexpensive way to learn how to airbrush.  It has worked very well for me, and I have had a lot of fun mixing up colors to try to match the color I had in my mind, and I have been painting that way for the last 1 ½ years since I have come back to the hobby.

There are some colors I really struggle mixing up, some of the desert yellows and tans.  Anyway, I picked up some Tamiya Deck Tan acrylic that I have been using for brush painting little stuff.  On the bench I have Revell’s ’32 Ford, which calls for a tan interior, so I thought what the heck, why not try this Tamiya I have sitting around, even though it is a little too light.  That stuff is nice!  I didn’t even thin it, which was a gamble, and it went on beautifully.  So maybe it is time for me to start buying a little bit of brand-name paint as I can.

So that brings me finally to a couple of questions.  Anyone have any experience thinning the Tamiya acrylics with some house-hold product like the Windex I have been using with the artist paints?  Anything other than ordering the Tamiya thinner?

After some of the paint has been used out of the bottle, can I thin it all down in the original bottle, or do you only thin what you need at the time?  My experience in storing paint has not been great, it seems to dry out too quickly in the mixing bottles I have bought (I now use old pill bottles, and they work surprisingly well).

Thanks for any suggestions.

  • Member since
    June 2010
  • From: Austin, TX
Posted by DoogsATX on Saturday, September 15, 2012 11:02 PM

I haven't used Windex for thinning Tamiya (it behaves best with lacquer thinner IMO), but I do use Windex for cleaning up after Tamiya and it works pretty well for that. Not as effective as "pure" acrylics like Vallejo, Lifecolor or your artist acrylics, but still...

On the Bench: 1/32 Trumpeter P-47 | 1/32 Hasegawa Bf 109G | 1/144 Eduard MiG-21MF x2

On Deck:  1/350 HMS Dreadnought

Blog/Completed Builds: doogsmodels.com

 

  • Member since
    August 2005
  • From: Los Angeles, CA
Posted by corvettemike on Saturday, September 15, 2012 11:08 PM

To be brutally honest I don't care for Tamiya bottle paints. I've never had any luck with them either airbrushing or hand brushing and nothing seems to want to cut them down except their own thinner. I much prefer Model Master Acryl and Poly Scale acrylics which I made a home brew of 1:4 ratio 90% rubbing alcohol and Windex that cuts them just fine. Those two lines have a far wider array of yellows and tans as well.

This is my Ferrari 458 interior painted in MM Acryl "Tan" which may be close to the kind of color you want for your 32 Ford.

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Arm yourselves the truth shall be revealed In my sword I trust...

Havoc Models

  • Member since
    February 2015
Posted by Bick on Sunday, September 16, 2012 7:37 AM

Hi mgh,

I've only used Tamiya X20A thinner with their acrylic paint because I don't use Tamiya acrylic very often of late. That said, I'm a bit surprised you're having difficulty mixing up a tan or yellow to your taste using Artist Acrylics. I've been using Craft acrylics from Michael's, WalMart etc and enjoy the mixing to match. You might try Golden's 'Virtural Paint Mixer" which you can find HERE. I do use a home brew AB thinner made from a formula I found on the web: contains Fantastic Glass cleaner, Denatured alcohol, water and glycerin. Also, there's a thread here about thinning Tamiya paint with other than their thinner: Thinning Tamiya Paint. Hope this is useful.

  • Member since
    September 2006
  • From: Australia
Posted by Blitzwing on Sunday, September 16, 2012 7:42 AM

I don't think it's been mentioned but you could just thin Tamiya acrylics with water.

URL=http://picasion.com/]

  • Member since
    August 2005
  • From: Sydney, Australia
Posted by Phil_H on Sunday, September 16, 2012 8:10 AM

Blitzwing

I don't think it's been mentioned but you could just thin Tamiya acrylics with water.

 
You can, and it does work to an extent, but it has a tendency to separate and give a chalky finish.
 
As an alternative to X-20A thinner, people also use Isopropyl alcohol or Denatured (Ethyl)) alcohol. Both work fine, but depending on how thin you like your paint, denatured alcohol will go further.
 
Windex works fine to clean up, but I would be hesitant to use it as a thinner.
mgh
  • Member since
    May 2011
  • From: Utah County, Utah
Posted by mgh on Sunday, September 16, 2012 8:41 AM

Many thanks for the feedback!

I tried alcohol with the artist acrylics and did not like it, but did not try it with the Tamiya paint.  I will give that a try.  Any issues with storing the paint after it has been thinned with alcohol?  

  • Member since
    December 2006
Posted by NvMike on Sunday, September 23, 2012 4:01 PM

Perhaps I am just lucky but I have never had a problem with Tamiya paints when thinned with water. I did try thinning with alcohol but saw no advantage in the finish so why pay for somethng I do no neede.Cleanup is easy with water and a few drops of Dawn. I do store mixed/thinned paints in mixing bottles; they last forever and seal well.

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