Preserving details - enamels, acrylics ... any difference in pigment size?

Don't worry about pigment size; that's not the issue.  The issue is laying down a thin coat of paint. I don't use enamels, but I can do this with MM acrylics. I haven't tried it with any of the gloss Acryls.

When I say 'thin coat', I'm not talking about paint consistency, but about the thickness of the coating. I have better results spraying a few _very_ light coats of paint (some might call these mist coats). If I try to cover in one coat, it is invariably too thick.

Chris

Pigment size DOES vary with brand.  At a model ship show there was a seminar about a new brand of paint (actually, a new vendor who had bought rights to old brand), and he went into much detail about the particle size of their pigments and how they were ground.  Unfortunately, I do not remember the brand name.  Pigment size is only one variable that affects how much the paint covers detail, but it is still an issue.  Application is probably more important, though.

Thanks for the replies and explanation, Chris and Don!

The old Floquil paints seemed to have very fine particles. I used some to paint a couple of 1/2400 scale aircraft carriers and there was no obscuring of details, even on the shutters segmented of the hangar doors. Unfortunately, they discontinued their military colors and are only doing railroad colors.