Brush painting with Tamiya Paints

[sobrien]

Got another question. I'm a brush painter and I normally use Model Master paints and Humbrol when I can get them. The WNW kits list Tamiya paints in their instructions. Tamiya paints are readily available, so my question is, how well do these paints work when brushed? Or are they really just for airbrushing?

Thanks for your input,

Sean

[kornbeef]

On the other hand I seem to get major agg trying to brush paint with Tamiya. Maybe I just had trouble switching from enamels to acrylics originally but find other makes of Acrylics more useable.

Lifecolor and Citadel are my personal choices with acrylics for brushing though neither are as robust as Tamiya's for handling after.

Keith

[petero]

When I brush Tamiya acrylics, I keep a bottle cap full of tap water handy.  I dip the brush into the water, wick off the excess with a piece of paper towel, then dip the brush in the paint.  That thins the paint just a bit, as well as slowing its drying time.  It also eliminates build-up of paint.  Once it dries, there won't be any raised brush marks, but the thinner paint means that two coats will probably be needed for uniform coverage.

Dipping the brush in water also helps prevent the paint from drying in the bristles and clogging the brush.  Stop and clean the brush whenever you notice any buildup.

The other rule with Tamiya acrylics is never - never! - brush back over a spot that's not completely dry.  Doing so will lift all of the paint right down to the plastic.  Simply wait till the entire piece is dry, then put on another thin coat.  For a uniform finish, brush the second coat at right angles to the first.

Peter

[pepperman42]

I am soundly defeated trying to brush large areas with Tamiya paint so your suggestions are of great interest Peter. Thanx!!!

Steve

[WarrenD]

I gave up trying to brush Tamiya paints when I first tried them sometime back. Arrrgghhh!  Frustration!

Warren

[Dekenba]

When I brush Tamiya acrylics, I keep a bottle cap full of tap water handy.  I dip the brush into the water, wick off the excess with a piece of paper towel, then dip the brush in the paint.  That thins the paint just a bit, as well as slowing its drying time.  It also eliminates build-up of paint.  Once it dries, there won't be any raised brush marks, but the thinner paint means that two coats will probably be needed for uniform coverage.

Dipping the brush in water also helps prevent the paint from drying in the bristles and clogging the brush.  Stop and clean the brush whenever you notice any buildup.

The other rule with Tamiya acrylics is never - never! - brush back over a spot that's not completely dry.  Doing so will lift all of the paint right down to the plastic.  Simply wait till the entire piece is dry, then put on another thin coat.  For a uniform finish, brush the second coat at right angles to the first.

Peter

Brilliant advice.

[petero]

Here are a couple of photos to illustrate my painting technique.  The plane is slightly newer and faster than anything WNW will ever do  , but the technique is the same.

The gray base coat was airbrushed with Tamiya acrylics, and the green camo pattern was drawn on with a pencil, then hand brushed.  The first coat has poor coverage, but there's no buildup or 3-dimensional brush strokes.



After three coats, the color is even, and there's still no buildup.



If there is any buildup, sanding with very fine sandpaper, say 12,000 grit or so, will take off the high spots.  If too much is removed, its easy to touch it up.

Since I use acrylics almost exclusively (the only exception being spray cans of Tamiya lacquer primer), I'm going to experiment with artist's acrylics to do the wooden cockpit floor of my Eindecker.  There are various retarders available to make acrylics dry slowly, which will hopefully mimic the way oils behave. 

Peter

[sobrien]

Thanks everybody for the great advise. Peter, your technique seems to work for you with good results, I'll practice on some spare parts I have and give it a go.

Sean

[uncletony]

Another small tip: I add a little bit of liquitex acrylic retarder to each drop of paint, helps esp. With dry brushing.

[Jamo]

I gave up trying to brush Tamiya paints when I first tried them sometime back. Arrrgghhh!  Frustration!

Warren

Same for me. I won't use them

[IanB]

I had exactly the same problem and was advised to have a cap of Tamiya thinners at hand to dip the brush in. That eliminated all my troubles!

Ian

[ALBATROS1234]

personally i found tamiya paints dont brush well. there is something you can do about it though. go to a local art supply shop and buy some retarder. this improves the flow character as well as slightly lengthens the dry time. i always found that tamiya paints dryed so quick that if you ended up overbrushing it would "crumb up" ie the dry paint you first applied when you brush over to smooth out the finish will pull up and turn into debris. retarder completely solves this and makes tamiya paint behave like model master acryl or pollyscale. its also helpful to thin the paint with water a tad. do this and you can easily brush paint tamiya paints.

[gcn]

I used just W&N flow enahncer and no water to thin tamiya paints once and the paint took days to dry.

[uncletony]

personally i found tamiya paints dont brush well. there is something you can do about it though. go to a local art supply shop and buy some retarder. this improves the flow character as well as slightly lengthens the dry time. i always found that tamiya paints dryed so quick that if you ended up overbrushing it would "crumb up" ie the dry paint you first applied when you brush over to smooth out the finish will pull up and turn into debris. retarder completely solves this and makes tamiya paint behave like model master acryl or pollyscale. its also helpful to thin the paint with water a tad. do this and you can easily brush paint tamiya paints.

Yep. Liquitex retarder is what I use.

[Chris Johnson]

Yep, an acrylic retarder makes all the difference in the world, both for hand brushing and air brushing. I bought a small squirt bottle at a local art store and it's lasted me for years.

Cheers,

Chris