mixing tamiya with vallejo

I'm sure you meant .2 and .4 needles and nozzle sets. I just want to say Congrats on the airbrush and wish you many many happy years with it ! I've had my Badger 200 for about 45 years now, it feels like an old friend. That's how they can get to be when you get used to them.

FWIW, I personally wouldn't put acrylic varnish of any brand over lacquer. There may be good reasons to do that but when I use lacquer I do it for the look of lacquer.

Edit: Greg's post reminded me that I didn't address the nozzle situation in my reply. I too would use the .4 day in and day out and for painting in general.  I actually keep the .5 on my Badger as the resident nozzle combo. I have a .25 for that brush and use it now and then with very thinned down paint, it gives a very smooth/fine dot pattern which is good for some things. I'm sure all the more so a .2.

angie

i have a 2mm & a 4mm needle, which one would be best ?

I'd stick with the .4mm for now. I've yet to find a use for a .2mm needle/nozzle for the paints we use in model building. But if you do, by all means, mount 'er up.

angie

can i put vallejo gloss acrylic varnish on top of the TS-50 as a clear coat ?

Yes.

angie

if so, how long do i have to wait before i can apply it ?

Not sure. Hopefully somebody with more Tamiya lacquer experience will chime in. Until you're sure, I'd give it 2-3 days anyway. Since the blue lacquer and clear acrylic 'varnish' are dissimilar, you probably have a better margin for error.

BTW, like the poster above me, I can't say I would recommend a clear acrylic coat on top of a pretty lacquer finish either. But you didn't ask about that.

These are just my opinions, I'm not a resident expert.

oldermodelguy

I'm sure you meant .2 and .4 needles and nozzle sets. I just want to say Congrats on the airbrush and wish you many many happy years with it ! I've had my Badger 200 for about 45 years now, it feels like an old friend. That's how they can get to be when you get used to them.

FWIW, I personally wouldn't put acrylic varnish of any brand over lacquer. There may be good reasons to do that but when I use lacquer I do it for the look of lacquer.

Edit: Greg's post reminded me that I didn't address the nozzle situation in my reply. I too would use the .4 day in and day out and for painting in general.  I actually keep the .5 on my Badger as the resident nozzle combo. I have a .25 for that brush and use it now and then with very thinned down paint, it gives a very smooth/fine dot pattern which is good for some things. I'm sure all the more so a .2.

 

Oldermodelguy answered some earlier ab questions for me and he was spot on.  

I've noted this answer for future use. 

T e d

Putting acrylic over lacquer is generally a no no. I have heard that if you let it sit and "gas out" for a week or so it should be safe. Otherwise you risk cracking or what is termed orange peel effect from the trapped vapors of the lacquer paint trying to evaporate but unable to from the acrylic clear.

As stated above,  .4 needle is the way to go with general painting and clear coating. The smaller tips are for fine detailing such a tight mottling. 

As for clear coating, let it sit and air out at least 3-4 days or longer. As for a clearcoat, I like using Tamiya  X22 thinned with Mr. Color Leveling Thinner. It will give you a glass smooth finish. 

modelmaker66

Putting acrylic over lacquer is generally a no no. I have heard that if you let it sit and "gas out" for a week or so it should be safe. Otherwise you risk cracking or what is termed orange peel effect from the trapped vapors of the lacquer paint trying to evaporate but unable to from the acrylic clear.

 

I have found this to be true.  I have covered lacquer with just about every kind of paint, and as long as it is truly hardened it worked fine.

modelmaker66

Putting acrylic over lacquer is generally a no no. I have heard that if you let it sit and "gas out" for a week or so it should be safe. Otherwise you risk cracking or what is termed orange peel effect from the trapped vapors of the lacquer paint trying to evaporate but unable to from the acrylic clear.

 

I'd like to ammend my comment to add that I recently did have cracking occur which in my case was 'Future' (shame on me) over Alclad Gloss Black Base (which is a lacquer). I never realized the bit about the lacquer 'gassing out', so apologies for me less than accurate comment and thanks to mm66 for the enlightenment.

Thank you so much to everybody for your advice, it is much appreciated. i've learnt a lot from you guys, and the more i learn, the better i get, and the more fun i have doing my models.

can i be cheeky and ask you guys another question please ?

do i need to thin down my clear coats for my airbrush ?

i have vallejo 100% acrylic resin matt varnish plus the gloss, and mr hobby H 102 semi gloss clear. and i have tamiya x-20a thinner.

is it the same as paint - 2 parts clear to 1 part thinner ? if i have it right, i read it online somewhere.

sorry for rambling on, but i just want to get it right, and learn even more.

Thanks again guys

Angie