Adieu Acrylics

I'b be one of those people cbreeze... especially with Tamiya paints... I only use Tamiya thinner, use it for my MM Acrylics too... I go both ways, enamel and acrylic. I prefer acrylics though once I got used to them like Scott said.

the only thing I really go out of my way to use enamel on now is a higher gloss finish like the HH-65 Coast Gaurd chopper sitting on my shelf I need to finish... everything else is acrylic.

Recently I got turned on to Vallejo acrylics and I am trying them out but I seem to like them more than the Tamiya, about the same as the MM... they do clean up a lot better and are easier to measure as they are in squeeze bottles you can put out paint by the drop from. Same with the thinner... so it's easy to calculate a ratio.

I suggest the primer as well, a nice clean model, and at LEAST 24 hours drying time before masking...

Ok, might be on to something.

I was trying to repair the areas of my Corsair where the paint lifted off with the tape. Got it cleaned up, sanded the area a little bit and was ready to shoot more paint. I had a bottle of Tamiya thinner that was just sitting there and I said to myself, what the heck and used that as a thinner. What a difference, it made the paint go on real smooth with no "bumps". I shot the area that needed touching up and was really impressed with how it turned out. I have to shoot another color around what I just painted so I am waiting to see if the Tamiya thinner will make a difference with the adhesion. Gonna give it a day to dry then put it to the tape test. I do seem to recall someone out there in one of these forums saying that he used the Tamiya thinner and it worked really well for him. We'll see, maybe there is hop yet.

QUOTE: In addition to better drying properties ...

Depends on your definition of "Better Drying Properties". Personally I like acrylics, and I like using paint that dries to the touch in about 5 minutes. I agree that acrylics take some getting used to, and you have to change some of the ways you've done things in the past, but like I said: I'll never go back to enamels.

If you'd screwed up the paint on the turret or hull of a tank model you can dunk the whole thing in brake fluid, strip the paint and start over.

But forget about stripping if it's an airplane with beautifuly painted cocpit that you can't repaint without ripping the fuselage halfs apart. That model is likely wasted.

In addition to better drying properties, enamel finish is like armor, much more resistant to physical and especially chemical damage.

Chuck,

Try priming the model first with a good primer such as Floquil and then your paint will adhere better.
You can also just scuff the surface of the model with a Scotchbrite pad and it will leave fine scratches that will give the paint some tooth to adhere to.

Mike

Monster Zero,

I think I will second that. I am getting back into modeling after 12 years of other interests and thought I would give acrylics a try. This is after spending countless hours reading the various threads, pros and cons, trying to absorb it all and come up with a system that will work for me.

I started on a 1/48 Corsair and things have been going well until it came time to paint the fuse. Basically, after washing the model, and painting, I have the same old adhesion problems. I am using model master thinned with Golden retarder. In masking off the different sections to do the camo job, I have the tape lifting off sections of previously applied color. I am using both Tamiya and also blue painters tape. So far I have a lot of time invested in this model and it is pretty upsetting to have this happen at such a late stage. I hope I can salvage it but I really dont like having to go over previously painted areas and trying to get them to blend and look good.

So I feel your pain and frustration, this is probably it for me with acrylics as the exterior paint. I might stick with them for interior sections.

Chuck B.

Gunze also makes a thinner with a retarder added in, plus they also sell the retarder seperate.

I use a retarder even for brush painting as it helps eliminate brush strokes.

I've tried acrylics, but I've been using enamels & lacquers for so long, I just can't get comfortable with them. I'll stay with what I know best.

Regards, Rick

Acrylic retarder, available at most art supply stores, will slow down the drying time significantly. Also, if you use Tamiya acrylics their thinner apparently has some retarder in it since it also dramatically slows down the drying time.

I like acrylics, once I got accustomed to them, and there is no way in the world I'd ever go back to enamel again.