What has happened?

[Guest]

I didn’t notice until it dried but the grey acrylic has sort of seperated and created a yellow crackle.

Un thinned is ok, but I can’t airbrush with that.

Anyone any idea what’s happened and how to fix it?

[scottie3158]

It's hard to say but there may have been a greasy film on the plastic or secondly what did you use to thin the paint with?

[yak face]

Hi kieran welcome to the forum, did you prime it first or is that yellow the plastic underneath? Also as scottie says what did you thin the paint with and what paint was it? As for fixing it i would remove the paint and prime and try again . Removing the paint would simply be a case of wiping with a thinners soaked rag / paper towel with whatever thinners you used. Cheers tony

[Guest]

It’s revel aqua acrylic dark grey and tap water. Tried different water and different primer same effect. Also tried different plastic pieces all cleaned and black primer (thinned) I’ve just removed all the old paint layers and will start again.

Same tap water hasn’t had this effect with any other paints. Seems to be just this grey...

[Guest]

I thinned the gray out until almost a wash and mixed until my arm was dead. Sprayed fine and dried fine. Odd

[Jim F]

Hi Kieran,
Are the components you are trying to paint the same plastic consistency as the rest of the kit eg. softer or harder as some kits have parts that feel very rubbery and are very difficult to get paint to adhere to, my other sugestion is did you clean the parts beforetrying to paint them ?
regards Jim

[Guest]

I think maybe the primer wasn’t totally dry.

Also the yellow film is on top of the grey in the bottle so when I pipette out when I have a lot of the mix I get only grey. It’s still very strange

I might try an alcohol thinner next

[stillp]

the yellow film is on top of the grey in the bottle

That sounds as if it hasn't properly mixed. If you're thinning in a bottle - I assume you are, as Revell Aqua comes in a square pot - do you have a ball-bearing or something in there to break up any clumps of pigment?

Pete

[Guest]

Stir with a (preferably flat) stick, works better than shaking, in my experience.

[Guest]

That sounds as if it hasn't properly mixed. If you're thinning in a bottle - I assume you are, as Revell Aqua comes in a square pot - do you have a ball-bearing or something in there to break up any clumps of pigment?

Pete

Good idea, although I don’t have a ball bearing. Any other ideas? The mix jars are glass...

[Guest]

Never put ball bearings into glass jars of paint. Revell used to sell airbrush-ready enamel paints in glass jars with a little steel ball inside, and I had two of them break in my hands when shaking them. Luckily I didn’t cut myself on the glass, but I didn’t much care for the paint flying everywhere either.

[grumpa]

Take up washing and dry brushing with cheap water based acrylic craft paints.
My brand new AB is still in box....oh about 8 years now.