Changing to acrylics

[Guest]

Thanks for your help Patrick I appreciate it

No problem Alan, it's what we're here for!

[Guest]

Well have just discovered tamiya acrylics pull humbrol primer from old heller plastic even after a day to cure. But the tamiya paint is really nice to brush on.

[Ian M]

All my builds are painted in acrylic , they can be less durable and I use a clear coat to protect that , the only thing I have a problem with is gloss for some reason I can't get a decent cover or a smooth finish with gloss acrylic (but that's probably just me )

Do you know that you can by a gloss medium that you can add to the flat acrylic? In effect you can have all the colours in your box as gloss finish as well.

I airbrush them from time to time but most of the time I just give a gloss varnish over the matt.

I think that if you are having problems with a good finish with brushed varnish you may be appliing to little varnish and brushing it out to much. I have found that as long you dont flood things so much that you get runs you can actually get away with quite a heavy coat. That way it can level out on its own.

Ian M

[Ian M]

Well have just discovered tamiya acrylics pull humbrol primer from old heller plastic even after a day to cure. But the tamiya paint is really nice to brush on.

My advice there would be my own system. Always try to use the same brand of paints and primer. Mind you I mostly use Alclad primer these days and have yet to find a paint that has any adverse affect on it.

Was the humbrol primer enamel or acrylic?

Ian M

[Alan 45]

Do you know that you can by a gloss medium that you can add to the flat acrylic? In effect you can have all the colours in your box as gloss finish as well.I airbrush them from time to time but most of the time I just give a gloss varnish over the matt.

I think that if you are having problems with a good finish with brushed varnish you may be appliing to little varnish and brushing it out to much. I have found that as long you dont flood things so much that you get runs you can actually get away with quite a heavy coat. That way it can level out on its own.

Ian M

Thanks for the tip Ian I'll bear that in mind

[Ian M]

If you are having problems with acrylics being fragile I might like to bet that you are thinning either with water, or just over thinning the paint.

You can use water for acrylics but by doing so you are diluting the paint. Thinning/diluting, are they not the same? My take on that is NO. Adding water dilutes the paint, but using a thinner you are thinning the paint, but without diluting the polymeres in the paint. Thinners have the same acrylic binders in that the paint does so you are not weakening the paint as you are with water.

Using airbrush cleaner is not a good idea either as yes it makes it thinner, but you are actually breaking the paint down, dissolving it in fact. So the immediate effect may be the one you want, it makes it thin enough to spray, but I doubt that the end result will be as tough or last as long.

Ian M

[Guest]

As far as acrylics go, could one use standard off-the-shelf acrylic paint like the stuff you get in the department store? (I've got plenty of it laying around...)

[Guest]

As far as acrylics go, could one use standard off-the-shelf acrylic paint like the stuff you get in the department store? (I've got plenty of it laying around...)

You could try brush painting it to get the same result as if on a room wall, but I would be surprised if its particle size had been ground fine enough for an airbrush.

[BarryW]

Also it is a matter of colour. There are people skilled in mixing to get the right shades but it is a lot of work and you need to know reliably exactly what the shade is. I would not have the slightest clue how to mix RLM02 or Dark Earth for instance.