Wal-mart acrylics - 44 cents

bad pigment. avoid.

"bad" meaning what?

too coarse

I blew some through my airbrush to finish the kid's Halloween costume, but that's about all I'd use it for. Maybe it is OK for diorama ground work, since I use cheap as dirt tempera paint on mine and they work just fine.

you'll most likely get sputtering because of the coarse pigment, remind me of somebody who had a little problem withb appl-barrel craft paints. But I'd avoid using them, you'll probably get a coarse grain on your carefully assembled models.

Make sure it will stick to plastic. My guess is that the first time you let some masking tape look at it hard it will pull up. Most of those craft paints are for paper or fabric and don't adhere to plastic at all.

yup I am proof positive on Scott's little note.. back when I got back into modeling I had my trusty Aztek and was thinking if acrylic from MM is good, then Acryilic from the craft store must be at least passable...

it looked like I ran this PT-109 through a mud puddle after the first second of spraying, and dried like that... picked it to see the damage and all these "leaves" of paint came tumbling down...

tankmaster, that's me

As usual - I'm always the (friendly) dissenter here! What can I say - but that I've had fine results with the cheapy craft paints.

I *always* prime, and that is how I ensure good adhesion. But priming is good for any number of other reasons, so it's good practice no matter what type of paint you use. I typically mask at least a couple of layers, and lifting has not been a problem - good sharp lines. Besides show models, I also spray this sort of paint on on plastic parts of actual flying models. With a good primer and a good clear coat, they stand up to a lot of real world abuse (fuel, crash landings, etc...). Much better than the crappy durability one gets from a can a Krylon.

I find sputtering to not be a problem and I can easily see all the fine detail and/or flaws of the substrate, so the pigment is not all that coarse. With a few coats, I get nice, smooth finishes, albeit they dry *dead* flat. If you want any gloss at all you'll need to use a gloss clear of some sort.

I've got nothing against standard model paints like Tamiya. I've used many of them and my paint selection includes them, as well as house paints, automotive paints (yes, the nasty two-part urethanes, included) and artist colors. Given all that, the cheapy craft paints have a solid home in my paint selection, and they can give good results if you're willing to experiment and work with their limitations. This is part of the beauty of airbrushing - the variety of media you can choose is just about limitless!

I just purchased 4 bottles of the paint Sunday, to let my grandson brush paint a wooden model of a helicopter he put together. Like most everything, it has it's good and bad qualitys. At 44 cents, it is great for the grand kid

I havn't used the Acrylics , but I have sprayed the Wal-mart enamel from the paint dept.
it sprays fine.

I can't understand why someone would spend $20-$50 on a good model kit and then try to cut costs by buying cheap paint.
High-quality paints are not that much money and will give you much better results with a lot less headaches. My $.02 at least.

Mike

QUOTE: Originally posted by MikeV I can't understand why someone would spend $20-$50 on a good model kit and then try to cut costs by buying cheap paint. High-quality paints are not that much money and will give you much better results with a lot less headaches. My $.02 at least. Mike

Given that I shoot a wide variety of paints - including automotive paints which exceed the cost of hobby paints by an order of magnitude, at least, cost is only one part of the picture.

I've proven to myself that I can get fine results with the craft paints - good appearance, good durability. That is ultimately all that matters. That they are inexpensive is nice, but that's a side benefit. If they didn't do the job, I wouldn't use them even if they were free.

That said, cost can still be a real factor. Custom mixed color is one of my standard practices that I do in just about all my work. It's very costly to toss a failed batch of DuPont urethane, which is why I try not to experiment much with those products, unless it's just not that critical. With less expensive paints, I can mix to my hearts content and not give a second thought to a color that didn't come out right. Toss it and try again. I've learned a lot about mixing colors this way.

Some modeling work requires the finest, highest grade paints to give the right effect. Other modeling work is perfectly well suited to other media - I see no reason to not use them if they serve the purpose at hand.

I've tried using these cheaper paints before, but I just couldn't get the thinning ratio right. Either they were way too thick, and clogged my airbrush, or sprayed tinted water, which was just as useless. However, I do use these paints for dio groundwork and other little things like that.

Limd21,

When I said that quality paints were not that expensive I was referring to paints we use for model aircraft such as MM, Tamiya, etc. The ones you are using such as Dupont and HOK uros are very expensive and are not what are considered standard modeling paints.

Mike

600+ a gallon?

QUOTE: Originally posted by MikeV Limd21, When I said that quality paints were not that expensive I was referring to paints we use for model aircraft such as MM, Tamiya, etc. The ones you are using such as Dupont and HOK uros are very expensive and are not what are considered standard modeling paints. Mike

Mike,

I understand your point. My case is that using craft paints isn't one based primarily on cost, though cost *effectiveness* is a factor. I point out the auto-grade paints to show I won't hesitate to spend more money if it's suits my purposes. There are a lot more color offerings in the craft paints that allow me to freely experiment in mixes. I can mix a ounce or two of custom craft paint - which is about the mininum needed for some of the larger model work I do, and if I don't like it, I can toss it with little concern. If I start tossing away an ounce or two of custom-blended Tamiya/MM every time I don't like the color result, it makes me hesitate a bit more.

I've learned to seek out alternative paint choices because not all of my work is small-scale, where a few cc's of paint is all that's needed. I often work on large-scale projects where I need to use several ounces of paint per coat shot shot from a detail gun. In those cases, I would blow through multiple bottles of hobby-store tamiya per coat. This is why I, and others, have found good, cost-effective, results using other media like craft paints, housepaints, etc...

Tamiya/MM are great products, for sure.

Here is a little funny i made up that might be found interesting.. in it I have the various popular model building paints listed by the price per gallon... (based on the costs at my local hobby store... ) gives some insight.... on the price of model building..

[img.nr]http://home.dejazzd.com/delbert3/funnys/priceless.jpg[/img.nr]

Delbert,

That is too funny! I never thought about calculating the cost per gallon of the model paints.

Even when I sometimes see the Tamiya 23ml (.77oz) bottle on sale for $2 each, that comes out to close to $330/gallon! This is even more than some high-end automotive urethanes! (Not couting the special effect, color-shifting paints, of course) Yikes!

Hrmm this is a first post for me, this thread seemed to hit a nerve. I use just about every type of acylic paint I can find. In fact part of the hobby for me is with playing with the paints and mixing colours. I tend to not rely on premixed colours from ModelMaster Tamiya etc. Nothing wrong with them, but to me for a couple of reasons they dont do all the jobs I want them to.

I have found that a lot of craft or art paints can be used in our hobby and they can add some fun to the hobby. I have heard "the why ruin a valuable model with unreliable paint" theory and yes I agree, dont experiment on that model, try it on scrap plastic first.

One of the things I love about art or craft acrylic paints is they are in containers that tend to allow the paint to last longer. They are not prethinned so you can thin to the right consistency for all types of painting both brush and airbrush and all the special effects we go for. Most model use paints always have a preffered method of use, either airbrush or bristle brush. More and more nowadays this typically is airbrush and doesnt work as well with a paint brush. I love my airbrush, but I dont ever want to give up on using a bristle brush too.

Some things to remember for all paints;
Wash the model before painting, the oils used as release agents tend to make even primer not want to stick.
Always prime, this allows something for acrylics to grip on too. Acylics are by nature fragile. priming really helps.
Always really well mix your paint, 30 seconds is not usually enough.
Once thinned to the correct consistency for airbushing you must strain the paint through old hose or some fine mesh. All paints have lumps of pigment or just dust or crud from the top of the paint container in them. This alone can cure a lot of problems with finish.
Warm the paint if you can, this does wonders with paint flow and consistency.

As far as I am concerned, the problem with good or bad paint is more often than not down to lack of preparation for the paint type.

I am with limd21 I have fooled half of the people at the local IPMS shows with some of my car paintjobs. All of them have been done totally with craft paints from A.C. Moore and Wal-Mart.

The secret ingredient? Windex!! Use it as a thinner. Then you can use the cheapo glass cleaner (that you inevitably buy instead of windex at first, to save even more money) as a cleaning solution for the airbrush!!

What did you use as a thinner limd21?

Good Luck everyone. I insist you guys try it. For a few bucks, it's worth a shot right? Not bashing tamiya or testors or anything. Gotta save the big bills for my 1:1 project.

610$ a gallon?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I REALLY prefer to think of it as 2 bucks a bottle. sheesh. this stuff is expenisve!!!!!!!

QUOTE: Originally posted by Alan Z I am with limd21 I have fooled half of the people at the local IPMS shows with some of my car paintjobs. All of them have been done totally with craft paints from A.C. Moore and Wal-Mart. The secret ingredient? Windex!! Use it as a thinner. What did you use as a thinner limd21?

Whew! I'm glad I've got a little company here!

Yes - I've used Windex as a thinner with fine results. The ammonia content helps keep a nice smooth dispersion of paint. It's often used as an ingredient in lots of latex/acrylic paint formulations to help flow. I wouldn't be surprised to see a number of acrylic paint thinner have ammonia in them.

I also use windshield wiper fluid (basically a dilute water / methanol solution) with good results. I can't honestly tell you if it's worse or better than windex, but both result in smoother results than plain distilled water.

windex results are by far, a million times better than with alcohol, the only gripe is I have to use more paint from my stash, since the windex thins it down so nicely! I guess for 44 cents I can't complain much....

oh, yeah.

APPLE BARREL ACRYLICS = $14.08 per gallon. lolz