Mission Model Paints - Model Paint Solutions Recommendations

From your description it sounds almost as though you use the flow aid as thinner or a good portion of the thinning agent anyway. Interesting.

I've been using those products in acrylics in General for years. My own thinners I mix up has them in it already, put in at the time of mixing a new batch of thinner. Although I will say I use the flow aid less these days in favor of a trace element of Dawn dish soap in the thinner ( works as well and in some cases better) and 25% or so of Createx 4030 intercoat/balancing clear in the paint before thinning ( this includes in craft paints, pretty much busting the myth craft paints don't airbrush well, to which when people make that claim I grit my teeth)..

I'm glad the Liquitex additives works on Mission Models paint, it should since it works in every other acrylic as well that I've put it in. So far I've been about 8 years testing and perfecting acrylic airbrushing and Liquitex has been there all along, since I already used it in my wifes art work varnishing. Especially that retarder and too from time to time, the soft body paints. And liquid body ( available only at Micheals stores) on models. My specialty products are only Liquitex and Createx. Well, and my couple of thinners I make up.

Nice response, acrylics need a lot of work at times but still doable...I even get Vallejo Model Air to behave in our dry and high altitude with a concoction of 70% Vallejo Flow Improver, 20% Vallejo Airbrush Thinner and 10% Vallejo Retarder mixture...40/60 mixture to paint for base coats and 70/30 mixture to paint for details.

The key to Vallejo in my world is Liquitex retarder in my thinner then heat setting between coats with a hair dryer. Then dehydrate at the end for 30 min to an hour. Some here have found 2 hours to be better. Whatever the plastic in the model can take, I find most have no issue with 112f, even 115f. This gets rid of that tacky or so called rubber  feel to the surface of Vallejo paints. It improves bond and wear proofs quite a bit as well ( the heat setting and dehydrating). This is the same approach I take with Createx paints but I add the 4030 which converted the Createx to a poly acrylic for spraying onto hard surfaces. But between the heat and 4030 Createx too loses that tacky feel.

Craft paints get the Createx treatment, 25-30% 4030, thin to sprayable consistence, heat set each coat, dehydrate 30 minutes to an hour. Often because of the retarder in my thinner an hour dehydration is best, especially in our humid summer weather.

I use the Liquitex Slow Dry because it's compatible to airbrushing, the Vallejo retarder was intended for brush painting and is a bit thick in consistency. Liquitex is like water. Vallejo flow aid is intended for airbrushing. And by the way in Model air the bit of alcohol that is in my own thinner seems not to bother it at all. Model air doesn't need much thinning anyway, just a touch for my .25 tip when I use that. But a bit of my thinner is good anyway, it improves flow and because of the retarder in it all but stops tip dry.

This discussion simply reinforces the fact that one must be a paint chemist in order to get "acrylics" to work. Why bother? A hobby is supposed to be fun, and I see no fun in the responses of users of acrylics. That's why I have stuck with conventional enamels (Humbrol, Colourcoats, Xtracolor, True North). Thin them with their proprietary thinner (preferred) or a 50-50 mix of mineral spirits and lacquer thinner and spray. Easy peasy. Works every time! And the time saved can be used for actual building.

Yup.  No interest in needing a chemistry set to make my paint work either.  I use conventional enamels for airbrushing and brush painting (mostly for brush painting), and lacquers for airbrushing.  I use hardware store mineral spirits for those, unless I'll be returning paint to the bottle.  I have tried lacquer thinners with enamels, but I like the results I get with the mineral spirits better.  MRP lacquers don't even require thinner.  They spray like a dream, right out of the bottle.  The best part about airbrushing your main colors with a lacquer like MRP is that detail painting can be done with enamels afterward, and any errant brush strokes can be totally removed with mineral spirits, with no damage whatsoever to the lacquer base color.

Space Ranger

This discussion simply reinforces the fact that one must be a paint chemist in order to get "acrylics" to work. Why bother? A hobby is supposed to be fun, and I see no fun in the responses of users of acrylics. That's why I have stuck with conventional enamels (Humbrol, Colourcoats, Xtracolor, True North). Thin them with their proprietary thinner (preferred) or a 50-50 mix of mineral spirits and lacquer thinner and spray. Easy peasy. Works every time! And the time saved can be used for actual building.

 

Same for Testors or any enamel. Or decanted Rustoleum 2X additionally thinned with lacquer thinner. Tamiya acrylic or Tamiya LP lacquers are very similar, both mix and shoot.

But wait, mixing paint and thinner or mineral spirits and lacquer thinner together ( which works great I agree) then thinning with that: isn't that chemistry ? Just chemicals you're familiar with ? I shot 1/1 for 35 years, added reducer, hardener and a product from Marson called Smoothie. That's chemistry as well.

I've shot solvent paints for more than 60 years. Acrylics became a kind of side hobby, now I shoot more acrylic than solvents, especially with an asthmatic acrylic painting wife in the house. Acrylic paints in tubes and bottles seemingly grow out of the walls around here. Might just as well learn to airbrush them.

Space Ranger

This discussion simply reinforces the fact that one must be a paint chemist in order to get "acrylics" to work... 

Not at all.  I'm not a chemist, and I use acrylics without all the fuss that others describe.

I use water-based acrylics, thinned with water or with isopropyl, for airbrushing or for hand-brushing.

I use Tamiya's acrylics, too, with Tamiya's proprietary thinner.  I have no problems.

But I also do not use retarders, flow enhancers, and other adjuncts.  I've never had a need to use anything but paint and thinner.

It's as complicated as a painter chooses to make it.

People should understand that from my first time shooting acrylic it worked. My efforts were to improve on that. And also if it were not mostly auto finishes I paint then it wouldn't matter much. There is a big difference between aiming for a nice flat finish vs for a classic car or custom.. Added to that mix there were certain non modeling paints I had the desire to get to perform well in base color coating, which I've done. This really has been a hobby in itself for me which I've enjoyed. If it's not someone elses thing I fully understand.. Anything I wrote is not a must do list to just simply get models painted in acrylic. At the same time some of these things nul and void problems in certain conditions.

As long as you prime first, there are several acrylics you can just pick up and shoot, given average conditions. Tamiya being one, it goes on much like their LP lacquers do. If you can mix enamel or lacquer to spray well in your airbrush then the same person should have no issue with Tamiya acrylic and other acrylics designed like theirs..

Mission Model Paints are unique.

So I almost always thin acrylic paints with water. It doesn't matter what the acrylic paint is actually made of, I usually thin with water and I get great results.

However Mission Models Paints don't play well with water.  I mean water works, it thins the paint enough so I can airbrush it. BUT thinning Mission Models paints with water almost makes them translucent. When I tried thinning them with water it took nearly a dozen coats to get full, even coverage.

When I looked up how to use Mission Models Paints, the manufacturer recommends 10 parts paint, 1 part poly additive, and 1 part thinner. All sold by Mission Models.

This mixture was too thick for my taste. So I mixed 10 parts paint, 3 parts poly additive, and 4 parts thinner. And this mixture yielded great results. The paint laid down nice and even and I was able to achieve full, even coverage in 2 coats.

Then I applied my normal clearcoat and it turned out great.

I use Mission Models Paint 10-2-2 with their stuff,works well for base coat or one color paint jobs,I've had trouble getting the right mix for the camo coat,where you thin way down and lower the pressure for fine work.

What has worked for tight camo painting for you.

Tojo72

I use Mission Models Paint 10-2-2 with their stuff,works well for base coat or one color paint jobs,I've had trouble getting the right mix for the camo coat,where you thin way down and lower the pressure for fine work.

What has worked for tight camo painting for you.

 

In Mission Models demo they show you the products and methods. Here is the link, this is their official video supposedly: https://youtu.be/FXbcC4qV6sI

oldermodelguy

 

 

Tojo72

I use Mission Models Paint 10-2-2 with their stuff,works well for base coat or one color paint jobs,I've had trouble getting the right mix for the camo coat,where you thin way down and lower the pressure for fine work.

What has worked for tight camo painting for you.

 

 

 

 

In Mission Models demo they show you the products and methods. Here is the link, this is their official video supposedly: https://youtu.be/FXbcC4qV6sI

 

Yes I've been there,I've emailed support and they wrote right back,but sometimes you just can't get right but as I've said,when I have used them they lay down the one coat nicely.

Tojo72

 

 

oldermodelguy

 

 

 

 

 

In Mission Models demo they show you the products and methods. Here is the link, this is their official video supposedly: https://youtu.be/FXbcC4qV6sI

 

 

 

 

Yes I've been there,I've emailed support and they wrote right back,but sometimes you just can't get right but as I've said,when I have used them they lay down the one coat nicely.

 

IDK, the guy in the video did 3 or 4 colors. Thinned them all the same and used the poly intercoat in them all. I can't really say much though since I don't use the stuff personally.  But it seems to work much like Createx and that I do use.