Water Based Problem.

Hi ZzZGuy, I just took ideas that other people had and worked them into my own system. I had some spare time and I pulled the craft paint out of the closet and started to play around with them. I found that the windshield washer mix worked well for me and it is cheap. The Liquitex works great with all craft paints and I had some so I tried it. I would not buy it now, but you could if you did not want to mix your own. The other things I do is just the things that I have always done (primer, thin, filter, use thin coats to build up the paint). Everybody puts the craft paints down, but it really comes down to finding the right system that works for you, as with any paint. I like craft paint because of the color range. Delta has the best range of grays and earth tones, Americana has great greens and blues, Anitas has the reds, yellows and metals. I also like the amount of paint you get, when I screw up a custom mix I don't feel as bad, it only cost me pennys. Most of what I learned came from a model railroad forum, those guys can really come up with ways to save money. Hope this helps, Bill

@bipolar_bill

How did you manage to figure out to use future, whinshield waser fluid and liquitex?

The reason why i first tryed this stuff was for the lack of fumes and ease of use in a appartment, kinda defeats the purpose of getting it if you have to do all this.. LOL.

When I bought my first airbrush 8 years ago I found these craft paints and thought that I could save some money by using them. I thinned them water and the results were terrible. Like all the paints that we use in this hobby, each one has it's own system that must be used to get good results. After reading posts on this and other forums, I have found a system that works for me.

1. You must use a primer first. Craft paint does not adhere to plastic very well and if you plan on masking, you must allow the paint to dry for at least 48 hours before masking. You can stick the masking tape to your shirt or pants before sticking it to the model, this will make it lo-tac. Since I primer everything I paint, this is not a problem for me.

2. Craft paint must be thinned. This paint is thick and does not brush or spray well out of the bottle. I use 75% blue windshield washer fluid and 25% Future as a thinner, this will allow the paint to flow well and dry to a dead flat. If you need a satin finish use 100% Future to thin with. Liquitex makes an airbrush medium that works well with all craft paints. It has a mix of a polymer binder, flow aid and retarder mix in it. It is premixed and prefiltered. It cost about $9 or $10 for the 8oz. bottle, you can find it in the paint section of most arts and crafts stores. The 8oz. bottle will last a long time.

3. You must strain or filter your paints. Craft paints have large pigments in them and are not as finely ground as model paints are. I use panty hose to filter my paints and it works very well. I filter all my paints, so I'm used to this.

4. Craft paint will not cover in one coat. I'm sorry , but this just will not happen. It usually takes 3 or 4 coats to get the color density that you will need. This is not a bad thing, as it allows you build up very light coats of paint for a more even paint job. I have used one coat to weather aircraft and tanks.

Craft paints come in a wide range of colors and are very affordable. You can get 3 or 4 bottles for a dollar when they are on sale. Take the time to find your system and they will become a valuable part of your modelling arsenal.

Model on, Bill

I've tried Delta craft paints for models years ago with poor results.  I used distilled water to thin for airbrushing but I found that they didn't cover well and the adhesion was terrible.  I won't say that they're tottally not suitable for scale model painting.  As others have mentioned here, they have their uses.  However, I found them a poor choice for my over-all needs, dispite their color range and economical price.  I'd stick with popular brand scale modeling acrylics such as Tamiya, MM/ Acryl, etc.. formulated for stryrene models.  Except for limited special uses, I'd leave these craft paints off your models.   

You don't need to give it a bath but a good soaking to saturate it should work. I did that with my Leopard and then i just pressed down firmly with my finger and the Ceramcoat peeled off in flakes.

wow, thanks for the replys guys. I'll try soaking it in water, i did not actually finish painting the model so only the bottom hull has a finished (but not sealed) coat.

I've use the Ceramcoat stuff a bit for models and the problem I found is not the paint itself, but how thick it is.  I was trying to brush it on and it was just too thick.  If I tried t thin it with water, by the time it was thin enough to use, there were problem with the binder being so diluted that it didn't cover well. 

One trick I found was to thin it with Future instead of water.  The acrylic in the Future acts like a binder, so you can thin it and still work with it.  I haven't tried it through an airbrush but, in theory, I would think the same thing would work there as well. 

I used to use the Cermacoat for a while as well and they look terrible on models. Thebest use for these would be wood, Cermaics and bottles (if thinned right).
I actually removed mine by soaking the model in water for a bit, given that you didnt seal the paint with eg Dullcoat.

Ceramcoat comes in alot of colors and is cheap but the only things i use it for is tarps, exhaust rust and to experiment with dry brush shades. If you thin it well you could paint a model with it - it would probably look best on armor. Their off white paints work great for winter camo coats.

Not having any idea of the formulation of the paint you used, my recommendation would be to remove it. It sounds from the name as if it is a high gloss paint. If so it may have a silicone additive which would interfere with adhesion of any over coat. Even if that is not the case, it may not be compatible with the Tamiya paint.

I have often heard that soaking in automotive brake fluid is the best way to strip old paint from a model, although I've never had occasion to try it. You could also try Windex or Simple Green. I've used both with great success on acrylics.