Humbrol drying times

[colin]

Sprayed some Humbrol 225 matt,thinned with cellulose and it's still tacky 12hrs later, anyone had similar problems and does it ever dry.

It's on top of Alclad primer,sprayed Mr Colour on the undersides(wish I could get the full range as it's brilliant)and that's dried ok.

Mixed the Humbrol with a electric mixer so I know it's well stirred so to speak, thinned it quite thin so it's not a thick coat on there.

Used wem colourcoats and they dried quickly using the same thinner, so a bit worried about this, do I have one of the fabled duff tins of Humbrol (if they exist)

[Rabbit Leader]

I could be completely wrong here, however perhaps it's your choice of Thinner?

Isn't Cellulose Thinner another word for Lacquer Thinner?

Why not thin your Enamel or Acrylic paint with Humbrol's own Enamel or Acrylic thinner..??

As I said - I could be way off the mark, however it may be as simple as that..

Cheers.. Dave

Edited - not sure if you've use Enamel or Acrylic paints

Edited April 23, 2014 by Rabbit Leader

[colin]

Thanks Dave

Should be ok with the thinners I'm using as they tend to dry quicker than Humbrols white spirit thinner, thats why I tend to thin all my enamels with them.

First time I've had this problem, all the other enamels I have used dried very quickly, just this tin of Humbrol.

Just had another check and it seems to being drying, perhaps It's just me being impatient

[Steve Noble]

I could be completely wrong here, however perhaps it's your choice of Thinner?

Isn't Cellulose Thinner another word for Lacquer Thinner?

You are correct, cellulose/lacquer thinner are one and the same. If the original poster is using Humbrol Enamel paints then adding some cellulose/lacquer thinner to the mix would make it dry faster and harder than Humbrol thinner alone. However I wouldn't add a lot of cellulose thinner, just a few drops and also you still need to thin with the Humbrol thinner too.

To be honest I used to use enamels a lot when I built aircraft kits, mainly down to the choice of ready mixed colours that were available. Since moving to auto modelling I never use enamels at all now. They just take forever to dry and never really seem to dry properly no matter how long you leave them. Switched mainly now to lacquer paints and have no drying problems anymore

[Steve Noble]

Just had another check and it seems to being drying, perhaps It's just me being impatient

After 12 hours of drying time I would say you're very patient, seems like an age

[colin]

Always thin my enamels with cellulose and never had a problem like this, the Mr Colour enamel dried very quickly and is rock hard, same with the colourcoats I've used.

Thin my Tamiya and Gunze acrylic paints the same and never had a problem, just this tin of Humbrol matched the colour I wanted, not endearing me to Humbrol paint I have to say.

[spitfire]

Just airbrushed some Humbrol enamel, thinned with Xtracolor thinner 50:50, direct to plastic and it dried very quickly, though I always leave it to cure before masking.

Cheers

Dennis

[Test Graham]

Brush some of the paint onto some scrap plastic and see how it dries. If it does, then it's something you did mix it with. If it doesn't, you have a duff tin. It happens. I painted a Hurricane model with three different Humbrol colours yesterday and they all dried fine. Other people have had trouble with WEM - you didn't - or Xtracolour and I hated the Tamiya acrylics I tried.

[Steve Noble]

Always thin my enamels with cellulose and never had a problem like this, the Mr Colour enamel dried very quickly and is rock hard, same with the colourcoats I've used.

Thin my Tamiya and Gunze acrylic paints the same and never had a problem, just this tin of Humbrol matched the colour I wanted, not endearing me to Humbrol paint I have to say.

Mr Color? The one in the little glass jars? They are lacquer not enamel. As far as I am aware Mr Color don't make enamels, only lacquers and acrylics.

[Mottlemaster]

I have a tin of WEM Colourcoats enamel RLM 74 dark grey. Used it on my last model and it didnt ever realy dry . Lucky it was for an internal colour and as long as i kept my mits off it it wasnt a big problem .

I shook the tin for about 5 mins and then gave a very good stirre for another few mins . This mixing would normally be fine and has been ok for 20 years or so however i dont think that anything i could do would be enough for this paint to dry. I do not think i will use it again as its too much a risk.

All my other WEM paints are fine and i do like them .Normally dry in 6 hours or less.

Alistair

[Mottlemaster]

Forgot to say in my previous post that i tested the RLM 74 on some plastic card after an even more thorough mix and 1 week later it was still tacky

[colin]

Thanks everyone for the replies, it seems to now be drying, just a bit of a suprise after the other paints used, and thinned the same way,were dry in hours, but I still leave them alone for 24hrs to fully cure.

Bit of a worry when you go back hours later and the surface still seems tacky, gloss I would expect but not matt.