Aimee'sDad Posted March 22, 2014 Share Posted March 22, 2014 Hi all, i've recently entered the world of airbrushing using my old humbrol enamels. I'm thinking about swapping over to tamiya acrylics simply because there water based plus They smell less They clean with water Don't need to keep buying thinners They (allegedly) spray better I was thinking of swapping over to them, i'm not worried about the cost as most were bought extremely cheap when Modelzone went under (plus they are the inferior 'chinese' versions What's peoples opinions? Thanks Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich G Posted March 22, 2014 Share Posted March 22, 2014 I, like you, used to always use humbrol enamels exclusively, then I made the change to acrylics about 5 years ago. Personally I prefer acrylics because of the reasons you've already stated, they do spray well as long as you thin them right and use the right air pressure, I have used acrylics from revell, xtracrylix, mr hobby, tamiya and vallejo, they are all good it generally comes down to preferance but I find them far better than enamels imho. Rich Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alpha Delta 210 Posted March 22, 2014 Share Posted March 22, 2014 I can't quite make the break from enamel! I have tried spraying many different brands of acrylic, but keep coming back to good old, familiar Humbrol enamel! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ancient mariner Posted March 22, 2014 Share Posted March 22, 2014 They clean with water Don't need to keep buying thinners Can I sell you a bridge that has just come into my portfolio ,it has all the qualities you mention. IMHO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aimee'sDad Posted March 22, 2014 Author Share Posted March 22, 2014 I don't follow.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pte1643 Posted March 22, 2014 Share Posted March 22, 2014 Bear in mind, if you swap to Acrylics, that Tamiya are not water based... Oh, and they still stink when you spray them. But, Yes, they do spray nicely. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidelvy Posted March 22, 2014 Share Posted March 22, 2014 I quite like the smell of Tamiya paint. It's also easy to clean off your nose hair. Not good for headaches, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin Posted March 22, 2014 Share Posted March 22, 2014 Thin them with some cellulose thinner and they spray even better, but you'll need a extractor fan and mask, which if your using enamels you probably have anyway 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CharlieNZ Posted March 22, 2014 Share Posted March 22, 2014 Tamiya acrylics are not water based. They are thinned with either an alcohol based thinner (IPA, X20A) or Lacquer thinners. I think I've read the correct term for Tamiya acrylics is synthetic lacquer. They don't clean up with water. While you can wash away wet paint with water, once it is dry you need one of the above mentioned thinners to clean up. If you try rinsing out your airbrush with nothing more than water after spraying Tamiya acrylics, it will not be clean. It certainly smells much less than Humbrol enamels but it is far from odourless. If you thin with Lacquer thinner, it actually smells far worse than Humbrol enamels. As long as you use X20A or other IPA based thinners they are less noxious smelling than enamel paints, but I still wear a mask and use an extractor. Perhaps Vallejo model air range would suit you better, although the surface finish tends to be far less resilient. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aimee'sDad Posted March 22, 2014 Author Share Posted March 22, 2014 Thanks for the info chaps, i think i will take the plunge and upgrade to Tamiya acrylics. Not just for the ease of clean up but i used to use them years ago when using hairy sticks, i think there impressive paints. Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shane Posted March 22, 2014 Share Posted March 22, 2014 Thanks for the info chaps, i think i will take the plunge and upgrade to Tamiya acrylics. Not just for the ease of clean up but i used to use them years ago when using hairy sticks, i think there impressive paints. Mark Just a for info. They're terrible to use with the hairy stick. I recollect them being excellent back when I was building armour kits in my Uni day - 35+ years ago - but now almost anything else on the market eorks better Shane Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Kelley Posted March 22, 2014 Share Posted March 22, 2014 To echo above-Tamiya are terrible to brush paint. For brush painting I would use Citadel paints or Vallejo- not air though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pte1643 Posted March 23, 2014 Share Posted March 23, 2014 Vallejo- not air though As an aside, Model Air Metallic colours are excellent brush paints. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giorgio N Posted March 23, 2014 Share Posted March 23, 2014 If you're thinking of moving to acrylics, then the Tamiya line is a good choice as they are in my experience very easy to spray, maybe the easiest I ever used. There's however one aspect to keep in mind: the choice of paints matched to the most common standards is not great with Tamiya, if you're building aircrafts in particular you might often find yourself looking for the right paint and not finding it. Other brands are better, for example lifecolor and xtracrylics have many colours matched to FS or BS standards and they are also water based, so less smelly. However these paints are often difficult to spray and need some patience. The best option would probably be using the Gunze paints, as they are as easy as the tamiya ones and have a good number of matched colours. Unfortunately they are not the most easily available Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bordfunker Posted April 17, 2014 Share Posted April 17, 2014 The trick with brush painting with Tamiya acrylics is to thin them slightly with X20A as they too thick straight out of the pot, and then don't attempt a second coat for 24 hours. Alternatively just spray them as they spray well if thinned properly, though IMHO not as well as Gunze acrylics,which also have better range of premixed colours. Karl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zero Posted April 26, 2014 Share Posted April 26, 2014 (edited) The trick with brush painting with Tamiya acrylics is to thin them slightly with X20A as they too thick straight out of the pot, and then don't attempt a second coat for 24 hours. Alternatively just spray them as they spray well if thinned properly, though IMHO not as well as Gunze acrylics,which also have better range of premixed colours. Karl Agree, alway several thin coats, and allow to dry well. When ever I open a new pot of tamiya paint, I add flow enhancer and home made X20. 99% IPA, AND Battery top up water, (5 ltrs of Ipa, and up to 4 ltrs of water) I use it for cleaning air brushes, bench, brushes, etc.) I've oversprayed within hours with no issues. Dave Edited April 26, 2014 by zero Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Kelley Posted April 26, 2014 Share Posted April 26, 2014 I thin my my Gunze acrylics with Tamiya x20a- they spray wonderfully. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CTDavies Posted April 27, 2014 Share Posted April 27, 2014 Excellent topic, just what I've been looking for. I'm thinking of getting back into plastic aircraft modelling, which I haven't done for about ten years now. I ordered a bunch of stuff for the last christmas holidays, when I started a Wingnut Wings DH9a, including Tamiya acrylics. This didn't turn out well. If I wasn't careful the acrylics would 'puddle' on larger surfaces which would be visible later as a glossy area and it would also wrinkle a bit as well. I'm not giving up yet, and have ordered the new Revell BF109 as a next project. I want to try acrylics again as I believe it is easier for weathering than when using enamels. Would you recommend priming all surfaces before spraying acrylics, maybe with an enamel primer? How do you go about weathering? I have tried diluted oils which worked well but take ages to dry. I saw a youtube on Flory Models weathering products which seems to work good. Has anyone tried them? Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin Posted April 27, 2014 Share Posted April 27, 2014 No wonder they puddled and I'm amazed you got them to stay on the model if you didn't prime it. It's always best to prime a model even if your using enamels as you can see any defects that require attention and rectify before you start the painting. You didn't mention if you had a airbrush, if not try the Halfords grey primer, quite good and a bit cheaper than Tamiya's airosol primer, which is very good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CharlieNZ Posted April 28, 2014 Share Posted April 28, 2014 I really can't see why they puddled just because you didn't prime, Tamiya acrylics go on fine without primer. What thinner were you using? It sounds more like a thinning or even a mixing issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CTDavies Posted May 1, 2014 Share Posted May 1, 2014 Thanks for tuning in Guys. I use the original Tamiya X-20A primer, mixed about 50/50 IIRC. I saw a Youtube tutorial which said that the consistency should be a bit like milk, which is about what I had. With my next project I will try priming. I've ordered some Gunze 500 primer with matching thinners. The reason I want to use acrylics in the first place is basically because of the weathering afterwards. So far I have mainly used oils for weathering and wanted to avoid that extra step of having to seal the enamels with acrylics beforehand. This is where I haven't been thinking (this can happen). The acrylics I will use all have a matt surface, so I'll have to prime anyway otherwise the oil weathering will turn out too heavy! Is there a thread somewhere here on weathering? Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim T Posted May 1, 2014 Share Posted May 1, 2014 Chris There are numerous posts on weathering I would recommend that you apply a gloss coat before using washes for panel lines etc. They tend to stick to a matt surface and can be a real nightmare to get off. Obviously, if you want something heavily weathered then this works in your favour. The Flory washes are excellent by the way. They are clay based and the excess can be wiped away easily. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CharlieNZ Posted May 1, 2014 Share Posted May 1, 2014 Gunze Mr Surfacer 500 isn't really a primer, it's a liquid putty. Mr Surfacer 1200 is an excellent primer, as is Mr Base white 1000. I have Mr Surfacer in 500, 1000 and 1200. I think the 500 is far too thick to spray, but find the 1200 works very well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Longhorn Posted May 1, 2014 Share Posted May 1, 2014 Slightly off topic but the Halfords grey primer that so many people here seem to use - is it the enamel or the acylic based one? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin Posted May 9, 2014 Share Posted May 9, 2014 I really can't see why they puddled just because you didn't prime, Tamiya acrylics go on fine without primer. What thinner were you using? It sounds more like a thinning or even a mixing issue. Tamiya paints as others have said aren't true, as such, acrylics and thinned with their own thinners will stick to plastic better than say Vallajo acylics without a primer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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