Author Topic: Paint Advice Please  (Read 2890 times)

Dekenba

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Paint Advice Please
« on: April 30, 2012, 03:20:30 AM »
How much do I thin Tamiya acrylic paints before spraying - is it 50% paint, 50% thinner or different?-  and how long do I leave between coats?

Offline Chris Johnson

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Re: Paint Advice Please
« Reply #1 on: April 30, 2012, 04:00:15 AM »
I think a 50-50 mixture is a pretty safe ratio to begin with, using their thinner, and after ensuring that you've washed the plastic parts to remove any release agents. I set my airbrush at around 25-28 psi and this combination works well for me. Lately, I've been adding a drop of acrylic retarder to my paint mixture and I find that this ensures nice smooth coverage. Tamiya sells their own retarder but I just picked up a generic bottle at a local art supply store.

If you're using a double action airbrush, alternate back and forth between applying paint and blowing clear air as this enhances drying time and eliminates any chance of a run. If your paint appears wet, just blow clear air on it until it loses that wet sheen and then start applying paint again. This works really well and is a tip that was passed on to me by Tankbear, who is also a member here.

Using this technique, I'll spray a second colour almost immediately after the first, unless I have to mask. When masking, I'll wait a couple of hours first, just to ensure that the paint is fully dry. Others may disagree, but just to be safe, I usually seal any paint before masking for a second coat. That's always worked well for me until my present S.E.5a build.  :'(

Cheers,

Chris

You can have it good; You can have it fast; you can have it cheap. Pick any two, but all three are impossible.

Dekenba

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Re: Paint Advice Please
« Reply #2 on: April 30, 2012, 04:29:09 AM »
Thanks Chris, that's exactly the advice I was looking for!

Offline pepperman42

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Re: Paint Advice Please
« Reply #3 on: April 30, 2012, 07:35:25 AM »
A cheaper thinner is Drug Store Isoprop 99% alcohol. NOT rubbing alcohol.

Offline gcn

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Re: Paint Advice Please
« Reply #4 on: May 01, 2012, 01:15:09 AM »
Tamiya paints are almost as good as Gunze acrylics IMO and it is handy that WNW provide a cross refence to their colours in their instructions.

I find the paints very forgiving but 50/50 is a good starting point. I find it is usually best to start with the own brand thinner and I find that they will spray very nicely with both their white and yellow capped thinners, cellulose thinner, gunze thinners either levelling or normal or IPA, either 70% 0r 99%. I use IPA when spraying white or yellow as this dries instantly enabling me to lay down multiple coats in a short space of time. Do as Chris says and spray air after each coat to speed up the spraying.

Their XF range is a flat finish but you can add either future or their clear coat to gloss the finish up as required.