Acrylic lacquer advice.

[Jim R]

As some will know over the past year I have been moving over to MRP acrylic lacquer paints. I find them very good indeed. Unfortunately John, at the Scale Model Shop, does not stock them. He does however stock S.M.S paints which from what I've read are also airbrush ready acrylic lacquers paints. I would like to support John and so my question is are S.M.S paints the same as MRP paints? Anyone have experience of S.M.S paints? I have also read recently there are Outlaw Paints, Australian and stocked in the UK by SprueBox, which again sound similar.
I am loath to move away from MRP as it suits me so well but if S.M.S is "the same" then it might be worth buying and supporting the Shop - also I get a discount!!:smiling:
Your thoughts would be much appreciated.

[colin m]

Excellent question Jim. I don't know the answer, but as an MRP user, i'm in the same boat as you.

[Tim Marlow]

I’ve used S.M.S. Jim, paint and varnish. I’ve not used MRP so can’t say if they are the same. They are very good paints though, and as well as John, they are also stocked by my LHS in Frome. I thin them with MLT, the same as Tamiya and Mr Color. Only thing I’ve found is that they can vary a little in finish, so some matt colours come out semi gloss. Not an issue for me, but could be for those that don’t want to use a varnish coat.

[Jim R]

Thanks for that Tim. The blurb says "airbrush ready" - do you find it needs thinning with MLT or is it already thin enough to spray ok?

[Scratchbuilder]

Best advice I can give Jim is to order a bottle of the other two brands and make your choice. Personally I have used SMS and MRP and found them to be about the same.

[BattleshipBob]

Hi Jim

Cracking post, never heard of it,??

Checked a few reviews and one early post did comment that it did need thinning. But the owner did say there was a problem with pigments?

Does it pong? I love Mr Color but as we know it does pong a bit!

Cannot find a paint chart or a comparison chart to cross reference?

Might get a bottle

Bob

[Andy T]

I've used them both Jim, in fact I've used a mixture of S M S, MRP and Mr Color on my current I-153 build.

This is the first time I have used their super clear gloss and I'd have no problem with using it again. Sprayed great straight from the bottle. If Mr Color GX-100 continues to be in short supply I may switch permanently.

As for the paints, I'd agree that they are very similar in use to MRP but personally I find them a little bit thicker. So whilst they will spray perfectly well straight from the bottle, if you are used to the gradual building of opacity in very thin layers that MRP gives you, you may wish to thin the S M S a little.

I'm very much on the cusp of a similar decision and could go either way as they are so similar.

One thing to note is what Tim has mentioned about the finish. Unlike MRP which are all pretty much semi gloss, S M S is more like Mr Color in that the range includes gloss, matt, and some in-between it seems, so keep an eye out when ordering if you don't intend to varnish over it.

Also, if it matters, the bottles are larger in diameter than MRP, so may not fit any existing storage racks you have. They are the same height give or take a cats whisker.

[Andy T]

Oh, and I should add that all 3 I mention play together nicely, so you can mix any combination if you want to adjust a colour for highlights, shading etc.

[Jim R]

Once again this forum shows why it is the best out there.Very quick, useful, polite response to my question.
I reckon I'll do as suggested. I'll buy a few bottles of S.M.S paint and see how I get on. As I said I like the idea of supporting John.
thanks guys

[BattleshipBob]

Can anybody answer my questions ref SMS??

[Tim Marlow]

Smells similar to Mr Color Bob. I found it did need a little thinning, yes. I used MLT and it worked just fine.

[BattleshipBob]

Thanks Tim. Thought I had used invisible ink!

[Jim R]

All lacquers smell and I reckon it can't do you any good so a decent booth and/or mask is needed. Like Bob I have seen a review which suggests that S.M.S needs a little thinning, more so than MRP. That's probably a definite if putting it through a less than 0.3 nozzle.

[BattleshipBob]

Might try but cannot find a chart of the colours, do they do naval paint and of course comparison charts. Had a look but found bugger all

[Tim Marlow]

Huge list of colours here on scalemates Bob.

https://www.scalemates.com/colors/sms--794

John may have a colour chart? My LHS has them.