Tamiya Acrylics

You can thin them with plain Isopropyl alcohol and it works great. If you smell the paint, you can smell the alcohol in them. The only real problems you may get are the fact that they dry real fast and can almost dry before hitting the model. I have heard others talk about using an "acrylic retarder" to slow down the drying process. I usually use the Tamiya paint to lay down a dead flat base color for spraying Lifecolor or Vallejo paint as well.

Forgot to mention. I use the Tamiya paint as a primer as well. This stuff sticks to the bare plastic better than any other acrylic I have seen. I never have to prime before using it. One thing to remember is that Tamiya is not to great for brush painting. You also should keep some alcohol and a cotton swab handy to clean the nozzle/needle tip of your airbrush while painting as the Tamiya can dry up and clog the tip pretty quick.

I use Tamiya Acrylics exclusively, and thin using their thinner (buy the 250ml bottles it's way cheaper! If your LHS doesn't stock it, have him order it: X-20A 250ml item#81040). Which is basically isopropyl alcohol with retarder. You can certainly use straight iso, but it may cause gloss paints to dry flat. I'm planning on trying out the iso and retarder combo, but I bought enough thinner to last me a couple of years.

I blow Windex through the A/B to clean followed by distilled water. I keep a small container of Windex handy and Qtips to swab out the tips as acrylics does dry up very quick.

Get some needle lube (Medea Super Lube or Badger Regdab) to put on the front 2/3rds of the needle. That also helps with the potential dry tip problem.

Like Brigg, I use Tamiya as well.  However, I have gone the alternate thinner route, and have had excellent results with Denatured alcohol.  It's available at my local Menards for $3.00 (1) Quart.  The colors airbrush wonderfully for general spraying and great finelines as well with no tip-dry or clogs, and no retarder added.  I start with a thinning ratio of 1:1 and spray to my hearts content.  Another advantage of the Denatured alcohol that I've noticed is that, it cleans the styrene very well, facilitating maximum adheasion without a primer.  I also use it to clean the airbrush out after painting sessions.  Here's what I've been able to do with Tamiya acrylic for this recently completed 1/72nd scale F-111F.  Just FYI, my airbrush is a Iwata HP-CR.

 

I use windscreen wiper fluid to thin Tamiya acrilics. Winter mix has a lot of alcohol in it, so it works just the same.

Hello-

I have been using Tamiya acrylics for the last 3 years almost exclusively. I have been building armor kits. I've had no problems with Tamiya, very easy to use and clean up afterwards.

I do prime all my models using a automotive lacquer based primer out of a spray can. The Tamiya acrylics go over it without any problems. Haven't had to do any masking due to the fact that the tank kits I've been building lately haven't required it. Always use a low tack tape for masking anyway.

I thin the Tamiya acrylics with rubbing alcohol that I buy at my local drug/variety store. Works like a charm! I use the very same rubbing alcohol to clean my airbrush with after spraying the acrylics.

 

Glenn