Tamyia vs Vallejo Model Colours

[AFC]

The majority of my paints are Vallejo Model Colours as I find them easy to work with, I like their bottle and they don't smell as bad as Tamyia XF does. However I think Tamyia ones stick to the models much better.

Does anyone know why are Tamyias so smelly? I stopped using their primer for the same reason (just bought a Halfords can to try it out).

I thin my MColours paints with tap water. Is that why they don't stick so well? Should I use their thinner or any other medium to thin the paints?

Thank you.

cheers

AC

[geegad]

Hello

Tamiya all the way got some Vallejo free with my airbrush I don't think that it goes on well and it's not as easy to clean as tam but that's my to sence

Oh try a thinner with Vallejo it doesn't bubble as much

Thanks geegad

[Guest]

Horses for courses AFC , tbh you will never get a total odourless free acrylic paint or any type of paint , I use both tamiya and vallejo although now only use tamiya for airbrushing and tend to use tamiya thinner when using tamiya and vallejo thinner when using vallejo , vallejo is great for brush work straight from the bottle on smallish stuff and would not brush anything now with tamiya.

as for your question although x and xf tamiya are acrylic they are not a total water based paint and to get a good finnish you have to use tamiya thinners , I`m sure a few of the guys on here tell you what is a cheaper alternative thinner you can use is ,

I also use halfords primers and swear by them but the tamiya primer is good if not better but too expensive for what you get , so in my opinion its the water thats causing you issues

I know a lot of people like to find cheaper ways myself included, but for paint I always use the correct thinners to match the correct paint , never had a problem yet .

Hope this has helped

Richy

[Guest]

This is my experience with Vallejo. Tamiya I have not used but if it "smells" then it is not going to get even a sniff in my house.

Vallejo say that Vallejo Model was essentially marked as a brush paint whilst Vallejo Model Air was designed as an airbrush paint. Vallejo add that Vallejo Model can be used but with thinners & in my experience a lot of it.

Not found any significant smell to either Model or Model Air either in paint thinners or air brush cleaner. Nor is Vallejo Toxic.

Found with a .4 nozzle (Evolution H & S airbrush) that model air worked perfectly even with short intervals where the brush stood unused. That was without the use of thinners. Vallejo Model I had to thin down dramatically.

But with a .2 or .15 nozzle trouble occured. Namely blockages after a very short time. Tried Vallejo thinners & Vallejo airbrush cleaner but hardly any noticeable difference. Mentioned this in passing to the Airbrush people I use & he said use & supplied Wicked Colour thinners & that cured the problem about 3 to 1 mix. Mix by placing thinners followed by the paint into the airbrush bowl using as Vallejo recommend a paint brush to mix in the bowl. Works perfectly & little wastage & easy to top up with dropper bottles counting the drops during a painting session.

As I have a stock of Vallejo thinners tested both thinners in two airbrushing sessions last night hoping I had misjudged Vallejo thinners. Vallejo lost & Wicked won hands down.

Application & not sticking. Not had any problems at all over the five months producing 4 models including the present massive even though 1/72 Lancaster. What I do like about Model Air is the thinness of the coating, compared to enamel which I discarded, which gives for me a very nice smooth coating. I have used Revell Acrylics but only long enough to find my airbrush & I did not like it.

I do however always wet & dry the plastic before airbrushing with a 1800 gauge paper. Also always on the large parts I use one of the latest primers by Vallejo. Again it gives a thin coating not to lose the detail. On a discarded model I use to test I tried rubbing off the Vallejo Model Air & it is very resilient.

I think sometimes we may blame the paint but seems from reading about this subject on a number of forums that it all comes down to the combination of paint airbrush & we fickle humans.

Yes & how fickle can we the model fraternity be !

Laurie

[Vaughan]

Hi Laurie

Just a question which Vallejo thinners did you use Model air or Model colour on your session last night? as I have just purchased the Model air version, I was using the Model Colour version not realising that there was a difference, but haven't tested it yet. I was having problems with the airbrush getting blocked(Revolution 0.3 nozzle) and the Model Colour thinners didn't help at all.

Vaughan

[stona]

x and xf tamiya are acrylic they are not a total water based paint and to get a good finnish you have to use tamiya thinners , I`m sure a few of the guys on here tell you what is a cheaper alternative thinner you can use is Richy

Tamiya thinner is ssentially Iso Propyl Alcohol with a few additions,maybe a retardant. BUT it is hard to argue against using the appropriate branded thinners unless you are prepared to spend time experimenting to find what works for you and your set up.

As a by the way I thin Xtracrylix with water plus a retardant and it works for me. I have some Modelair paints and the same method works with them if they need a little "extra" thinning. I have found that they don't all always spray well out of the bottle. I spent years spraying enamels and have tried various acrylics. I've yet to find an acrylic paint whose finish is as durable as a good enamel but that doesn't stop me using acrylics exclusively for spraying now.

Cheers

Steve

[Guest]

Hi Laurie Just a question which Vallejo thinners did you use Model air or Model colour on your session last night?

Vaughan

Afternoon Vaughan

I used the Vallejo Model Air thinners on Model Air. Then used Wicked Paint Thinners also with Model Air. Try to keep to Model Air for airbrushing.

If you weigh up in your hands Model & Model air the Model is like a lump of lead. No wonder it requires a lot of thinning for airbrushing.

To add that the Vallejo Airbrush Cleaner is spot on. Not had any paint left on the needle or nozzle after airbrushing it through the system. Nearly always remove the nozzle & inspect the needle & they are always spotless. Tried windscreen washer but this is not half as good. Also smells. God I hate smells unless it is good food !

Laurie

[Vaughan]

Hi Laurie

Have you had any experience in using The Iwata airbrush cleaner have just ordered some but yet to use? It's supposed to be odourless unlike the Vallejo version.

Vaughan

[Guest]

Hi Laurie Have you had any experience in using The Iwata airbrush cleaner have just ordered some but yet to use? It's supposed to be odourless unlike the Vallejo version.

Vaughan

No I have not used that at all Vaughan.

I bought a spray booth & vented it thro the garage door to the outside for when I was using enamels to get rid of the awful odour (stink). Still use the spray booth when spraying but only to contain stray paint. Also without the extract fan as found this was dragging small bits of rubbish in the air even though it is a small fan.

But use the booth with fan & place the filter container for washing the brush at the rear so that all odours from the Vallejo cleaner are vented outside before they violate my breathing space.

Please let me know what you think of the Iwata odour wise & most important if it does a good cleaning job.

Laurie

[Vaughan]

Hi Laurie

Bit slow in getting back to you regarding the Iwata airbrush cleaner. As it's says on the bottle it has no odour is very soapy in consistency so as a result when you blast it through your airbrush it becomes very frothy. Paint left in the airbrush cup that has dried is just loosened and becomes a skin that you have to remove with a cotton bud. The Vallejo cleaner on the other hand does smell but completely dissolves the acrylic paint so in my opinion it wins hands down

Vaughan.

[Guest]

Thanks Vaughan.

Good to know. I would be surprised to find anything much better than the Vallejo as it does extremely well

Laurie

[Guest]

Matter of interest Vaughan do you use the brush cleaner bottle with the filter. Found this collects most of the Brush Cleaner before it is released into the air.

Laurie

[Vaughan]

Yes I use the Iwata airbrush cleaning station that has a filter in the lid which I think helps greatly.

Vaughan