do i have to use paint thinner with tamiya paint?

I'm also a novice, and have just finished a model using tamiya paints for the first time. I brushed them on and yes, you do have to thin them. The paint is too thick straight from the bottle.

I didn't measure exact ratios but the advice I used was to thin the paint until it was the consistency of milk. Also having a good quality, soft brush helps greatly reduce brush strokes. Tamiya Acrylics dry pretty fast. From my experience they dry to the touch in about 30 minutes but from what I've read, that doesn't mean the paint has fully cured. You should let them sit for 24 hours or a least overnight.

Hope that helps.

thanks, that clears up a lot but i still have a few Qs. how do i go about thinning the paint? like do i pour paint from the tamiya bottle and mix it with the tamiya paint thinner? also wat ratio do most ppl say, even though u said milky, i don't wanna screw up, i'm very heavy handed. also wat do u do when u dry ur parts?

EDIT: my sis just came back with my paints :D anyway their a lot more watery than i thought. k i also need to know how to use the FLAT paints. btw abover poster (lol soz i can't see ur forum name) did u hand paint urs? seems like no one hand paints but i can't afford an airbrush, just worried hand painting will look like crap. also i read on one site that tamiya acrlyic should only be thinned using tamiya thinner, is this true? thanks

If you use the forum search feature you will find the answers to most of your questions.  They have been gone over many, many, many times.

Here Is A Link to a page on this site that goes over the basics of brush painting.  It is very informative and well worth reading.

Tamiya acrylic paints dry very, very quickly so they are difficult to hand brush.  Actually most acrylics do, but Tamiya seems to be the most difficult to hand brush.  The surface dries so quickly that by the time you make one brush stroke and come back to make another beside it the paint from the first stroke has already started to dry and the second stroke will cause it to "Roll Up" somewhat.   Your best bet when using them is to use Tamiya thinner because it contains some retarder to slow down the drying time.

Pour a little paint into a soft drink cap, just a little bit.  Add a little bit of thinner, about 3 parts paint to 1 part thinner.  If it's still too thick add a little more thinner.  If it's too thin add a little more paint.  Stir it up THOROUGHLY with a toothpick or something like that.

Let the parts cure for about 24 hours.  Paints dry from the surface in.  The surface will dry long before the part that is actually touching the plastic.  Put a box over the parts to prevent dust or lint from settling on them.  I like to cut large holes in a shoebox and cover them with coffee filters.  That allows air to circulate but keeps the dirt out.

k thanks, now this i couldn't find using the search function, but there probably is a thread with something similar but i didn't understand it. wat do i do with flat paints? i have one tamiya colour called flat black. i heard with flat paints u do something different.....

wat do i do with flat paints? i have one tamiya colour called flat black. i heard with flat paints u do something different.....

No difference.  Use them the same as the gloss paints.  They will dry a bit quicker than the gloss colors so that does make them even more difficult to hand brush.

Hi newbiepainter
Like you, I also can't afford an airbrush and I handpainted my last model. MusciCity has some great advice on thinning it. I use pipettes to transfer thinner to the paint which I find gives you good control. Since you're hand painting it I would really stress that you have one high quality soft brush (like camel or sable hair) for the large areas and one extremely fine point brush for the finer details. Other than these, I have several cheap brushes which I use for touchups.

Tamiya paint dries really fast (see MusicCity's post about "Rollup") so try to minimize brush strokes on every coat. I wasn't able to completely get rid of brush strokes but I'm quite satisfied with the finish. I would also strongly suggest using a practice model. If you can, buy a really cheap model so that you can test the consistency of the paint or the colour itself (paint can look a little different in the bottel compared to when its on the model). You can also use this model to practice new techniques.

Another word of advice, save you empty Tamiya bottles, they're great for mixing and storing paints for subsequent paint jobs. I am by no means an experienced modeller, but I'll be happy to answer any other questions you have.

Good luck!

Hey man,

No offense or anything, but it's kind of hard to read "b4, did you ppl, etc." try to write out your words. you can say that in AIM of other instant messengers, but not here. Welcome to the forums!

sorry if I scared you off! (trust me, there are much scarier people here....)

lol k, umm is it ok to use alcohol to thin out tamiya acrlyic paints, one site said tamiya acrlyics shouldn't be thinned out with anything but tamiya thinner. also is it necessary to sand after u paint?

I think i would buy a cheap snap kit or something to experiment on before you tackle a Tamiya kit, That way you can try different techniques and see what works for you. by the way your posts are hard for an old guy to read.

But keep at and you have the help you need here in the forums. There are some people on here that do amazing work and don't helping out. I have learned alot on here and learn more every day

newbiepainter wrote:

lol k, umm is it ok to use alcohol to thin out tamiya acrlyic paints, one site said tamiya acrlyics shouldn't be thinned out with anything but tamiya thinner. also is it necessary to sand after u paint?

lol, ya, it kinda hrd 2 read wen ppl type like thiz. BTW, you can sand after you paint, bu tonly to remove imperfections.

go back and re-read my post.

newbiepainter wrote:

lol k, OK umm is it ok to use alcohol to thin out tamiya acrlyic paints, one site said tTamiya acrlyics shouldn't be thinned out with anything but tamiya thinner. aAlso is it necessary to sand after u you paint?

Take it easy, Montana, he is but young…

To answer your question, newbiepainter: Use 90 percent isopropyl alcohol to thin Tamiya paints. The flat colors need less thinning.

However, for brush painting I suggest two things:

1. Keep the relative humidity at 50 percent or greater. A cold air humidifier works best for this.

2. Instead of thinning the paint, occasionally dip the brush into a small amount of 90 percent isopropyl—after you dip it in the paint, just touch it to the surface of a small amount of alcohol, then apply it to your model. A little practice and this works like a charm. I use the discarded caps from a tubes of toothpaste to hold small amounts of paint and alcohol when I'm brush painting. This allows you to cover the bottle, which keeps the original paint in better condition.

So am I.  I guess I get ticked when someone abuses thier right to say what they want. At least spell it correctly. One of my pet peeves. Like I said, you can do that in IM's and such, when you're on a time crunch to get a message across.

This place is like rabbit e-mail, not slow, but not fast, so take pride in your language.

I'm rally not mean in real-life, my typing makes it looks that way, though.

don't worry montana, i won't get mad at you for suggesting stuff to me. It's just that i'm 15, and at 15 you write on the internet in messenger format. oh the tip about using bottlecaps/toothpaste caps is good for me, i was wondering how you would paint small parts without wasting paint.

Yeah, I do too. I'll be good with shorthand, as long as you're not saying, brb, omg, g2g, etc.

by the way, I'm 13, and I write the same way in IMs, so, I know.

MontanaCowboy wrote:

Yeah, I do too. I'll be good with shorthand, as long as you're not saying, brb, omg, g2g, etc. by the way, I'm 13, and I write the same way in IMs, so, I know.

Was? Ich kenne sie nicht! Was sagen sie? Ich kann sie nicht verstehen! Was meinen sie, gute menschen?



Or perhaps I should try Latin?

Urdu?

Ogham?

Sanskrit?

Finnish?

:-P

Agamemnon wrote:

Finnish? :-P

Sorry, never learned that one. I do own an english translation of the Kalevala, though. I'd guess from your GMT offset that you might be from those parts (Finnland). If so, interesting that you have a Greek signature.

Wow, are we ever off topic…in a galaxy far, far, away…in a time that is not a time… Look! 'Tis the shade of Rod Serling… (which gives you an idea of just how much of an old fossil I am).

damn thinning wasted some of my paint :( its too thin to thin out the paint, straight out of the bottle works best. i can't wait till i start spraying the body :)

newbiepainter wrote:

damn thinning wasted some of my paint :( its too thin to thin out the paint, straight out of the bottle works best. i can't wait till i start spraying the body :)

I find that whether or not Tamiya paints dry too fast for brushing does depend partially on the particular paint—gloss paints, in particular, tend to skim over quickly in warm or dry conditions. That's why I suggested the "dip" method of thinning. But it does take some practice.

Triarius wrote:

Sorry, never learned that one. I do own an english translation of the Kalevala, though. I'd guess from your GMT offset that you might be from those parts (Finnland). If so, interesting that you have a Greek signature.

Most people can't pronounce Finnish names, so I opted for something more universal. Incidentally, I happen to be named Sampo. Yes, I'm named after a magical artifact, whoop-de-doo... I'm not too keen on the name meself.