tamiya X-32 titanium silver, bad coverage or old?

I've never had that problem myself, but I think you just need to put it on in multiple thin coats. Trying to get complete coverage in one coat can lead to problems like you're having. Just brush on a thin coat (doesn't matter if it's see-through), wait til it dries and then brush on another coat.

Another tip is, try and brush it on with as few strokes as possible. The more brushstrokes you do, more brush marks will appear in the paint. Tamiya acrylics can also lift off if you try too many brushstrokes once it's semi-dry.

Hope that helps.

ditto what Daniel said... but I have had the same problem before with one or two specific bottles of Tamiya paint. (not the specific color, other bottles of it worked fine) the paint lumped in front of the brush and it had gaps as I was brushing it etc... I chalked it up to an old bottle the LHS didn't rotate out...

I have had other bottles do similar but not as bad, I just put Tamiya thinner right into the bottle until it has like a watery "chili con queso" texture, or maybe a watery ranch dip if you haven't had the pleasure of dipping your tortilla chip in an authentic bowl of that lovely concoction..

Then it is ready to be taken from the bottle and thinned for painting... I would venture to say thinning would help a lot.... I use Tamiya thinner specifically with Tamiya paints.. it has a retarder which slows drying time and allows the paint more time to settle over the surface for a smooth finish, some people say it's expensive, but the 750ml bottle (the big one) lasts forever and is only a dollar or two more than the 30ml one!!!

and once again like Daniel mentioned... sometimes for specific colors especially... several coats goes a LONG way to a nice finish! (silver, white and yellow, and some gloss colors)


Good luck!!

ah Im dieing here; I tried thin coats; but they dont settle. and if I thin them; they dont cover. they always seem to pool into the edges also. Im losing all the detail to the model cause I cant get the dang paint to coat at all.

heres pictures; I could keep going with the coats; and eventually get some thickness to it where itd cover.

but its not ever going to be smooth with this gloopy texture

http://img140.echo.cx/my.php?image=img33705fn.jpg
http://img140.echo.cx/my.php?image=img33723hw.jpg

this is straight out of the bottle; no thinning; but whys it all clumpy.

btw the paint is 6 months old; but never opened; and from tower hobbies so I doubt it was too old from them.

what is considered "old"?

hmmmm... you might want to get you some Tamiya thinner and see if that helps. It looks like it might be drying as you are brushing it. The thinner has a retarder in it. (takes it longer to dry) also art stores carry acrylic retarder as well... hope it helps!!!

---edit---

major typos

Get Tamiya thinner for it I had the same trouble for a time till I started using there thinner. The paint is much better on my kits now.

Ok here is my solution but your not gonna like it. Whenever I paint red any brand any type, I always put a basecoat of white down first. This goes for orange and some other colors too. To get a really true and even color, a white basecoat is a must. Being into armor I rarely have to paint anything red except occasional tail-lights but even then I paint the tail-light white or silver first.

any kind of white spraypaint will work.

EDIT: if you try this make sure the white fully cures at least a few days. otherwise you'll end up with pink. A very nice even pink but still pink

oh yeah.. I-beam has a good point... white and yellow both benefit from a white base coat! (and white itself benefits from a white primer coat. even Krylon primer works for that... spray it LIGHTLY over the model and you'll be surprised!)

alright; I masked all the stuff off; I give up on the brush lol; if its bigger than a dime its getting sprayed. but Im gonna put a white or gray base on everything lighter than silver.

to not start another thread Ill ask in here.

Ive read to use windex or water with a drop of soap to thin tamiya acrylics.

if I have tamiya thinner already; the big bottle. should I use this; or is windex/soap water better or just a cheaper alternative that works just as well..

I have used water for thinning but prefer the Tamiya thinner due to the consistent results with it. I found that buying the 750ml bottle wasn't too expensive for me since it gave good results (about $6.00 here in town) the 30ml bottle is RIGHT out because it is $4.50 a bottle!!!!

I do know some people here use windex and water to thin a lot with great results as displayed in their pics of their builds, for me after a similar incident to what happened with you I will stick with the branded stuff. (Model Master Acryl thinner also works well with Tamiya, and the reverse of Tamiya thinner working well with Model Master is true as well)

Good luck to you!

QUOTE: Originally posted by ares if I have tamiya thinner already; the big bottle. should I use this; or is windex/soap water better or just a cheaper alternative that works just as well..

I use 70% isopropyl alcohol or lacquer thinner to thin tamiya acrylic paint. I use lacquer thinner for everyghing though so that doesn't mean anything special. I've had great results everytime with both. Not trying to change your mind, just giving some more possibilities.

Hi,

I would suggest to spray Tamiya white primer for two main reasons:

1) Paint will better stick to primer
2) As others said - you need a white background for light colors (red, yellow etc)

It should help

Regards

Macio

Hi All,

just a quick one if I may....I have tried many techniques, but the one that works best for me is an undercoat of yellow on top of whatever primer one chooses to use. Yellow and red do complement one-another and the red stands out much more this way. You would have to apply several coats of red though.

In the hope that this is a bit of help,

regards


Gianni

I agree with adding Lacq. thinner to the tamiya paints, just amazing what the paint will do after thinned with lacq thinner