Problems with Tamiya paints?

[Guest]

Anyone else struggle to paint with them? Every time I go over the same area I've already painted on it seems to take off that layer of wet paint? If you get me.

I shook the bottle for a good while and stirred it well.

Think I'll stick to Vallejo as the only Tamiya paint I use is german grey as the Vallejo german gray is a tad dark.

[Mr Bowcat]

Yeah, Tamiya doesn't brush well, although it airbrushes great.

[Guest]

Tamiya is thinned with isopropanol from factory. This means that Tamiya paint will also dissolve Tamiya paint if brushing a bit too much on the same spot.
This is why I bought Vallejo paint for brush painting my figures, but I'm having all sorts of other issues with that paint to... sigh.

The safest paint to brush paint are cheap hobby acrylics I think. No solvents, just pigment in water. Grumpa swears by these hobby acrylics and he does a splendid job

Tamiya paints are less prone to lift if you thin them out with more iso and be a bit careful and not "scrub" the next layer. Direct from bottle it lifts very easily and it shouldn't really be used without thinning more with iso.

[Guest]

Don't think I'll be using them again then as I only brush paint. I'll keep them incase I ever take the leap and get an air brush

[Guest]

Don't get me wrong, Tamiya is one of the best paints out there if you ask me, but every paint has its properties and you just have to adapt to them.
A lot of people are using varnish between the layers of paint in order to solve this.

[col68]

Hi jack I used to have the same problem with Tamiya until I was shown the way to solve it.

Get hold of or make a wet pallet and place your paint on it and add a drop of water to it to thin the paint.
Keep the brush damp by dipping it in water before putting paint onto the bristles and repeat frequently while your painting .
Clean the brush frequently while painting to stop the paint drying on the bristles as this is what lifts the previous layers.

[Guest]

Colin is right, water for thinning makes the paint less prone to softening the layer underneath. You will need a few coats, and it'll look dreadful until the last couple of coats, but it can be done, if you don't believe me, have a go on a milk bottle, have a hair drier handy, to speed up the process and mix water with the paint!

[Guest]

[ATTACH]289469[/ATTACH]
The first coat!

[ATTACH]289470[/ATTACH]
The nearly completed model, all brush painted with Tamiya - as much to prove a point as anything really, it did take patience, but I got there in the end. I built this for a mate who's a spotty nut, first 'plane I've built, having been an AFV man, but now I've moved over, after a break, to 1/48 planes, but am airbrushing them now .

[PaulTRose]

ive never liked tamiya paint, only ones i use are transparent red and orange for indicator lens on cars and bikes......and im even going over to vallejo for that when the current jars are empty/dried up

[Guest]

ive never liked tamiya paint, only ones i use are transparent red and orange for indicator lens on cars and bikes......and im even going over to vallejo for that when the current jars are empty/dried up

...and I think Tamiya paints are the best thing that's happened since sliced bread!

It all depends on the technique you're using and how you go about painting. Myself hate "pure" acrylics since they never seem to dry and I can't be bothered to wait an hour - let alone 24+ hours most "pure" acrylics take to dry!
My Tamiya + iso in 50/50 mix dries in seconds and I never have to stop and wait for colour changes. It dries faster than it takes me to change paint in the airbrush.
I also never user primer. I use XF-69 in 70/30 mix (70% paint, 30% iso) as primer and it's ready for base coat as soon as I've cleaned the airbrush and changed the colour.
This way I can paint a whole kit in one session - from primer to varnish. I sadly have to wait for the varnish to dry but that's ok because I'm normally a bit tired after primer, base, masking, paint, masking, paint etc etc and eventually varnish.

I tried to use AMMO paint on my Takom King Tiger and that ended in a disaster. It was user error though but when corrected it took 5 days just to lay down the base coat - and that's way too slow for me.

Brush painting Tamiya is much harder and here I prefer AMMO and Vallejo and I'm using different thinners depending on what I do, and if I'm painting a 2:nd or 3:rd layer, but for airbrush Tamiya is the best I've used so far. MRP is something I will try when they add more AFV friendly colours.

Mig Jimenez shows that his paint obviously work since the stuff he's creating is often wonderful - but he lives in a lot warmer, and dryer, climate than I do so he can use "pure" acrylics without worry. I can't unless I leave the model next to a radiator for 24 hours, and often it's only touch dry and not fully dried. That can take many days...

It's a good thing we have so many different paints out there to suit all of us!

[Guest]

...and I think Tamiya paints are the best thing that's happened since sliced bread!

It all depends on the technique you're using and how you go about painting. Myself hate "pure" acrylics since they never seem to dry and I can't be bothered to wait an hour - let alone 24+ hours most "pure" acrylics take to dry!
My Tamiya + iso in 50/50 mix dries in seconds and I never have to stop and wait for colour changes. It dries faster than it takes me to change paint in the airbrush.
I also never user primer. I use XF-69 in 70/30 mix (70% paint, 30% iso) as primer and it's ready for base coat as soon as I've cleaned the airbrush and changed the colour.
This way I can paint a whole kit in one session - from primer to varnish. I sadly have to wait for the varnish to dry but that's ok because I'm normally a bit tired after primer, base, masking, paint, masking, paint etc etc and eventually varnish.

I tried to use AMMO paint on my Takom King Tiger and that ended in a disaster. It was user error though but when corrected it took 5 days just to lay down the base coat - and that's way too slow for me.

Brush painting Tamiya is much harder and here I prefer AMMO and Vallejo and I'm using different thinners depending on what I do, and if I'm painting a 2:nd or 3:rd layer, but for airbrush Tamiya is the best I've used so far. MRP is something I will try when they add more AFV friendly colours.

Mig Jimenez shows that his paint obviously work since the stuff he's creating is often wonderful - but he lives in a lot warmer, and dryer, climate than I do so he can use "pure" acrylics without worry. I can't unless I leave the model next to a radiator for 24 hours, and often it's only touch dry and not fully dried. That can take many days...

It's a good thing we have so many different paints out there to suit all of us!

Quite so! I like Tamiya because they are quality paints, high pigment count and predictable (down to good old quality control, a concept slipping with each year, thanks to recessions etc...). I also understand why some folks dislike them, but as Jens says horses for courses. My one reservation is that models need to be handled carefully with an untreated paint job, as finger marks etc do tend to adhere to the totally matt surface, so i wash my hands!

[stillp]

models need to be handled carefully with an untreated paint job, as finger marks etc do tend to adhere to the totally matt surface, so i wash my hands!

Glad I'm not the only one!

Pete

[Guest]

Glad I'm not the only one!

Pete

yeah, its almost an absorbant surface, unpowdered latex gloves are probably the way forward, or get that gloss coat on sharpish!

[Guest]

That spitfire looks very nice John. Really do like the finish you have achieved with this one.

[Guest]

That spitfire looks very nice John. Really do like the finish you have achieved with this one.

Thanks! It was a new-tool Airfix, and I really didn't have a clue how different it would be from building a Tank or Truck!!! Had a longish (for me ) break, and came back wanting to build a P-47, dunno where it came from, but there it is, totally out of my comfort zone - logistics of what to spray and when - and so much more surface detail to consider majkes it a proper challenge again! Might even make another Spitty...