Stupid paint question

There are no stupid paint questions, only stupid paints!

I use only acrylics and that is for health reasons. I can't stand the smell of enamels, and the cleanup is a real bother. Acrylics, though still toxic, require only water for cleanup. Tip drying is a problem, but not a serious problem as a simple wipe with a wet Q-tip fixes it up. I've yet to meet a paint that won't orange peel.

I think acrylics are more troublesome to our southern friends who live in high humidity regions (that would include you!). I have had zero problems with acrylics, in fact I find them delightfully easy to deal with. I only use primers on pieces that I'm am going to paint white or yellow, as it helps with the coverage issues.

One other consideration that sways me to the acrylics is longevity. I have Tamiya acrylics that are literally 15 yrs old that are still usable, and a handful of enamel paints that are lumps of congealed pigments (why do I keep them? That's it! I'm cleaning out my paint box!!).

I broke my rule the other day when I had to paint a F9F dark sea blue and the only rattle can I could find was Testor's enamels. It worked okay, but I had to lay down very thin coats and the first coat still orange peeled. I have since picked up an AB and won't be using a rattle can again.

I live in the humid south myself and have never had any real problems with acrylics. Yeah I've experienced tip dry etc... but those are just part of the game. And after switching to Vallejo I have gotten the mix of paint/retarder/thinner down to an art and have been having little to no problems at all.

The only reason I use the enamel primer is to make sure they stick, yeah it seems kinda backwards when you mentioned it, but for 20 or so minutes of enamel smell and the ensuing days of painting fume free, it is worth it to me! Plus after getting used to the acrylics I actually like them better than the enamels.