Chalky enamel texture all of a sudden?

[Guest]

Hi

I'm new to this forum so please forgive me if I have posted this in the incorrect section.

Currently building / painting my Tamiya Yamato 1/350 in sub sections where my paint seems to have changed...

I'm using brushes and have painted the hull dark grey using Humbrol enamel with revell thinner and am happy with the results so far.

However recently the finish I am getting could be described as 'chalky', its lighter and shows awful brush strokes, the tone isn't consistent. No idea why, same paint and thinner.

Please help?

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[flyjoe180]

Hi John. Humbrol enamels, as with all enamels, require as much stirring as you can manage. That 'chalky' appearance may be due to the paint not being mixed thoroughly, or due to the paint drying and another coat being applied over it before it has dried properly. Try thinning/cleaning you brush every few strokes. I've had this 'chalky' issue myself, it often disappears under a gloss varnish. Lastly, if you are using one of the older Humbrol tins (by older I mean the batches made in China and not the UK), there were quality issues with some of those. Look for the new Humbrol logo and wavy lighter blue band with 'Made in UK' on it and avoid the plainer looking tins.

AVOID:
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OK:
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[Guest]

Hi flyjoe, Apologies for the late reply, a bit rude of me.
Acting on your advice I viciously and mercilessly stirred the small tin but it still gave the same texture albeit a bit better.
Since there was only 1/5 left in the tin I decided to open the second one which was fine. Thank-you!

[flyjoe180]

Glad I could be of assistance John.

[Guest]

This has happened to me. I agree with Joe that mixing before use is vital. And a coat of varnish often clears it up. Satin will do the job if gloss isn't desirable.
Too much thinner can also trigger it. If you use that technique for blending which involves dragging paint with a damp brush to soften the edges, then this is a risk and keeping your brush clean and damp, not wet, is essential. Pre-coating colours apt to misbehave with varnish generally does the trick.
Hope that helps.

[Guest]

...another suggestion is to try natural turps for thinning.
It's dearer, but nice to work with and their base is resinous, not mineral, so I suspect this problem is less of an issue.
I started using them when the same issue cropped up with enamel paint a few years ago. Really like them for figure painting.