MikeV,
I was having the same problem about a few years ago. Darn stuff just clings to the color cup and resists various cleaners like mad! Not to mention attempting to spray a fine lines during a prolonged session, having to stop ever 3 to 4 seconds to wipe off the dried, crusted tip of my airbrush - "how frustrating!" Ofcourse, this was not a problem with my enamels, I could find any color under the sun right off the rack, prep it, load it in the brush and I'm off. Then it hits me once again...the fumes, mineral spirits, laquer thinner and other hazards... I had enough. Who knows what long term effects of over 20 years with enamels have done. Unable to ignore these concerns any longer, I have, for the past year or so now, been using Tamiya acrylics exclusively, with excellent results! Thanks to the good advice from Forum members here and their experiencies, the transition was reletively painless and fun too!
Paint color availability is no longer a problem, armed with Uban Fredrickson's color matching chart. It has mixing recipes and equivelencies for Tamiya to resonably match FS colors. I printed the chart from th IPMS Stockholm site and keep it in a binder next to my paints. I can mix FS colors in minutes and Tamiya airbrushes beautifully through my Iwata Revolution airbrush. Even my small-tipped Iwata HP-C has seen more frequent use. Prolonged fine line spraying is much easier to achieve without having to use flow-aids and the like. This is due, I suspect to its high color pigmentation/ fidelity and low viscosity, allowing reletively high thinning ratios. My thinner of choice is cheap, department store brand Denatured Alcohol at ($2.99 per quart in my area). Better still, I haven't had to re-stock my Tamiya paints in over a year, due to their economical bottle size and afore-mentioned color mixing possibilities. To solve the brush-painting issues with Tamiya, I simply add a drop or two of *Liquitex Slow-Dry Fluid Retarder to the paint, and it stays workable just like enamels! Clean up is stupid easy too. With good ol' Windex at the ready, everything cleans up fast and very easy. Clear coats are done with Future for gloss and a varying mixes of Tamiya Flat base & Furture for the desired shades of satin to dead flat that I may need. I have made the decision to stick with Tamiya. None of the problems like MM Acryl, comparable results like enamels with less hazards, and all of the benifits of acrylic.
So, with all that said, my recommendation for you is to experiment way outside the box and give Tamiya Acrylics a go. I've found that I've benifitted emotionally as well. Not to sound corny, but I'm more relieved these days about the lack potential health hazards associated with enamels and laquers, increased user-friendliness of the paint, and no more frustration and fighting with the paint, unlike MM Acryl and other brand(s). Faster builds are possible as a result of the characteristics of acrylics. It's fun again! I'm happier, and the wife and kid are too! Sorry if a bit long winded, but you can see why. The perfect paint they are not, but darn close!
A sample of my 1/72nd scale models finished exclusively with Tamiya:
F/A-18E
T-45A Goshawk
F-111F Aardvark
Greg Williams
Owner/ Manager
Modern Hobbies LLC
Indianapolis, IN.
IPMS #44084