Why Is Paint Smudging??

[Supabuild]

Hello Folks, hoping somebody can help me with this.

I've got a set of 1/72 bombs for my B17-G FLYING FORTRESS. I used Tamiya XF-62 Acrylic paint Olive grab colour with Tamiya XF-3 Flat yellow tips.

However, when I try andprotect the paint job with Tamiya X-22 Clear, the paint begins to smudge and come off.C

[Supabuild]

Sorry,can somebody tell me what I have done wrong please.Thanks very much.

[Jim F]

Hi John,
Firstly welcome to the forum, how long did you leave between the colour coats and the clear ?
Jim

[Supabuild]

Hi John,
Firstly welcome to the forum, how long did you leave between the colour coats and the clear ?
Jim

Hi Folks, about 2 days.

[Jim F]

Hi John,
Then I'm stumped, be patient and wiser heads will advise.
Jim

[Supabuild]

Hi John,
Then I'm stumped, be patient and wiser heads will advise.
Jim

Thanks anyway,love your dogs.

[Steven000]

Hi, that's pretty strange indeed :thinking:

• Both colors came off?
• I assume you handpainted the bombs?
• Did you degrease the bombs before the green/yellow paint?
• Did you use a primer?

Hope you'll find out why this happend.
Cheers, Steven

[Supabuild]

Hi Steven,I did not degrease the bombs or use primer. Could I ask which is the best way to degrease them.Thanks a lot for your help.

[Guest]

Hi John.
Before I paint anything I simply wash all plastic/resin parts in warm soapy(washing up liquid) water to degrease everything.

[Steven000]

I use alcohol to degrease, it evaporates faster then water and works best for me, but that's a personal choice.

[Jim R]

Hi John
Very strange indeed. Degreasing the parts gets rid of any manufacturers release agent and any grease from fingers deposited during assembly. Ralph is correct, washing before painting with warm, soapy water will degrease parts but then you have to let things dry. You also have to be careful not to get water inside hollow parts. Like Steven I use alcohol or lighter fluid. Just brush over the part and it evaporates quickly and then you can paint.
A primer prepares the surface for paint and also allows you to see any blemishes which need dealing with.
Now your problem :rolling: This is just a guess so could be rubbish but here goes. Tamiya acrylic is not a true water based acrylic. It has alcohol in it and can be thinned with water although Tamiya thinner is alcohol based. Tamiya X-22 Clear may contain more solvent being clear and if not well mixed so maybe that is why it affected the previous coat??? As I said that may be totally wrong :tongue-out3:. If painting with Tamiya acrylics maybe gloss coat with a true water based acrylic gloss.
Jim

[Guest]

I'm leaning more towards Jim's thoughts here. I'd wager that the solvents in the clear are reactivating or softening the paint underneath, causing it to smudge.

I've never used it so can't be certain, but it sounds the most likely cause. Did you thin it? If so, what with? That might be the culprit.

[Supabuild]

Thanks a lot guys.I think I'll try another product and see what happens.

[Guest]

Tamiya X-22 is pretty strong stuff, as I recall. In my memory it smells different (and also more) than other Tamiya paints, which I’ve always put down to stronger solvents in it.

[Supabuild]

Thanks for that Jakko.So my next question is can anybody suggest a varnisher to protect my Acrylic paints?Thanks again.