Ok Greg I took your advice and bought Tamiya paints

H3nav wrote:

Mike, did you have any problems with tip dry?   E

Mike, did you have any problems with tip dry?

E

Bgrigg wrote:

My, do we have a Tamiya convert in the making?

MikeV wrote:

Ok, I tried one color and am very pleased with the results. I mixed XF-20 Medium Grey 2:1 with DNA and sprayed it on this scrap plastic at 15 psi with my Omni 4000. The paint flowed nicely and reminded me a lot of enamels. I can tell how fine the pigments are also by how smooth the overspray is in the photo. So far I like them!

You're all set my friend!  I'd like to share some tips with ya, now that you've got the juice! 

My thinning Ratios and airbrushing:

My prefered thinning ratio tends to be 2:1 for base coats at 15 psi and 1:1 at between 10 & 15 psi for fine line spray, camo, etc.  So far, my Iwata Revolution HP-CR, with it's .5mm tip can do everything for my 1/72nd scale jets, so I suspect your favorite Badger/ Omni, with it's similarly-tipped needle will be perfect.  I've also had excellent results with detailing by removing the needle guard on my Iwata, and I believe the Omini is designed around this concept- so you've taught us.  

I've also ditched the Polly S *Plastic Prep and began using the DNA in it's place.  Similarly, DNA cuts grease and oil very well from the plastic surface too and doesn't harm the plastic.  Turns out that Plastic Prep has Denatured alcohol in it with a detergent additive.  The back of the bottle says: "Contains Ethanol and Propylene Gycol Ether."  Now hows that for a coincidence!    

Primer and preference:

I've also experimented with primers.  There was no appreciable difference in the paint's adhesion characteristics as when I did not prime. Unless ofcourse, the model was a conversion with multi-media parts, heavy putty work, etc.  In this case, *Rustoleum Painter's Touch grey primer is my preferred choice.  I decant a small amount and prime the model with a light coat prior to the Tamiya colors.  This was a common practice, not nessessarily unique to my switch to Tamiya.  I prefer not to, but this is the only time I'll use an enamel lately.  I've recently tried priming with Tamiya Neutral Gray (XF-53) to eliminate the enamel. To my relief, I achieved the same results.

I'm very excited for you Mike, I hope this works out for you like it has for me.  The prospect of mixing colors made me apprehensive too, but I now appreciate it's advantages.  There's been alot of interest so far on this lesser known alternate thinner.  Shoot me an email if you run into any problems.  It's alot faster to send my refrerece pics to you in email than uploading to Photobucket.  Anyway, keep us updated and good luck sir!