Paint types??!?!?!??!

hey man,
sorry to hear of your problems!
i'm no expert and frankly wouldn't go near rubbing alcohol (don't even know what it is!!), but i've seen it mentioned a few times here...
might i suggest going over to the techniques forum where they specialise in this kind of stuff?
asking stuff like that over here is fine but it's a bit off topic (not that i care) and you'll get your answer quicker in the relevant forum (you will care!).
regards,
nick

hah didnt even know there wa a techniques form..
i hate message boards they confuse me sometimes LOL ill post this over there too
Thanks!!

Tamiya Acrylics can be thinned down with rubbing alcohol! So when you put your india ink wash down, which was thinned down with rubbing alcohol, it sounds to me like the rubbing alcohol just basically reacted with the acrylic paint and removed it wherever your brush made contact! You need to try another medium to thin your india ink with. Maybe Mineral Spirits or Enamel paint thinner? Sounds like a little trial and error is in order. See what works and what doesn't! Oh and let us know what happens!

Glenn

Oh wow i didnt know u could use rubbing alcohol as a thinner for those paints!!! that explains everything! Thanks very much, but can anyone explain the differences between the lacquer and enamel and other types of paints? or show me a website that explains them?

I tried to move this to the technique forum but i didnt have much luck with that..

Thanks again
Joe

Glock232,

You should be using some sort of seal coat in between your paint layers and weathering techniques. It will help protect the coats underneath.

This might help

http://www.missing-lynx.com/articles/other/awpaint/awpaint.htm


Good luck

glock,

I'm certainly no expert on paints, but basically the difference in the types is what is used for a medium or carrier for the paint pigments (the ground up stuff that gives the paint it's color).

Acrylics are water soluable and can be thinned with water, alcohol, or the manufacturer's thinner.

Enamels and oil paints use paint thinner or turpintine. Model paint manufacturers again have their own brands of thinner. Some of the commercial paint thinners can be bought as "oderless", and while not truely oderless, they are certainly better than the regular types.

Lacquers are thinned with lacquer thinner. Which will also clean up (but I wouldn't use it for thinning) just about any other kind of paint. It's about the strongest smelling of all paints. Most lacquers will also eat or at least craze most styrene, so you need to use a primer of some sort.

Lacquers dry very fast. If airbrushing, it's actually possible to have the paint dry before it hits the model giving a kind of grainy surface.

Acrylics dry the next fastest, then enamels, and finally oils the slowest. Note that there are some agents you can add to your paint that will slow down the drying of the paint.

Lacquers should not be used over any other type of paint. Enamels can be used over lacquers but not acrylics, and acrylics can be used over either lacquers or enamels. Oils are usually used in such small amounts and thin layers that they don't have any problems over other paints.

No matter which paint type you use, you should let the paint dry for at least 24 to 48 hours before painting on another coat. Especially if switching to a different kind of paint (i.e. putting enamels over lacquers).

As was mentioned above, you should use a barrier layer between coats if you don't want the paints to interact. Others here can better tell you what to used for those.

Oh, one more thing that is especially true of acrylics, one manufactures thinner may not be compatable with another's paint. I use the manufacture's recommended thinner when thinning paints, and something more generic and cheeper for cleaning brushes, etc.

I hope all of this answers some of your questions. Good luck and welcome to the forum.

You can thin tamiya paints with rubbing alcohol, as their thinner is basically a very weak form of it. It contains a large part water, plus alcohol and various other things to help break up the paint and increas the flow.
I however just use water with a drop of soap

Wow!! im not a big fan of forums but i like this one, ive gotten so many answers to things that realy discouraged me from doing some of my kits i have.. but now that im slowly getting them answered one by one, im getting back into the swing of things.. I got the link for the missing-lynks and im going to try his technique on weathering, i loved the fact that it was done in step by step w/ recipies for the mixings etc.. only thing i dont know wether or not i wanna do is just try to remove the paint from the M2 i started to pain or just leave it alone and paint over it.. all i have down is a thin flat primer, and a coat of tamiya's buff color..

thanks again guys n gals!!

is there any difference with the outcome if i thin my acrylic paints with alcohol or manufacturer's thinner? i heard that thinning it with the manufacturer's thinner looks better than using alcohol... anyone has an insight on this? thanks!

I use methelated spirits.. Basically alcohol. Works great. Stupidly flammable though.

I have some 98% IPA (Isopropyl Alcohol, which is strong rubbing alcohol) that I use to thin my Tamiya acrylics. It works just fine. I believe Tamiya's thinner is just rubbing alcohol in a less concentrated form.

A lot of us use a coat of Future floor polish over our paint before weathering as it creates a good smooth protective coat. Future is acrylic based also so you can use oil paints and paint thinner or turpentine for washing. Don't use Alcohol on it though, it'll strip just like your paint did.

I also use Future with Tamiya's Flat Base for a flat clear coat after I do the weathering.

You can find lots more tips and suggestions in the Techniques forum as someone mentioned, so browse through there, but don't be afraid to ask questions either.

Welcome to the forum.

Eric

Ok someone posted a link to the Missing Lynx website, i followed it and I love the instructions on there!! I went to my local arts n crafts store, but i think i messed up..
The guy in the store told me i needed to buy acrylic paints instead of oil based.. not thinking and being in there 5 mins before they were closing, i got them so when i re-read the linx info, i followed the instructions and just used water instead of thinner or brush cleaner. It turned the water a grimy black color, I applied a little bit to the back ramp on the M2 but when it dried it isnt noticeable..

should i have gotten the Oil paints instead?

and If you were going to strip a model you painted, with acrylics.. specifically Tamiya acrylics, what would you use? I was thinking of just soaking it in alcohol for a few mins and then rinsing it off, but then i didnt know if that would affect the glue at all?
any ideas?

Glock, If you're going to use acrylic paints for your color coats then I would recommend oils for the washes. The main reason is after appying an oil wash and letting it dry a while you can use a q-tip dampened with paint thinner or turpentine to remove any excess and it won't remove your base color. Using an acrylic wash can cause problems because the only way to remove it can strip your base color.

Also, a wash should be on the subtle side and not real noticeable so you're ok with what you've got. You can apply another wash to build the effect until it's where you want it.

For stripping it, alcohol might work if the paint isn't cured too much, I think glass cleaners like Windex (ammonia based) will strip the acrylics and some others have been mentioned but I don't remember which ones. They've been mentioned in the techniques forum.

Good luck with it.

Eric

PolyS makes a stripper that's supposed to be real good. I've never tried it myself, so this is hearsay. Sorry.