Struggling with acrylic paints

[Tims996]

I hope I can get a bit of advice here as I'm not getting the results I'd like with acrylic paints.

Like a lot of us I've come back to modelling after 20 years and have a keen 9 year old building with me. I'm trying to get used to using acrylic paint now as that is what we end up with in the kits a lot. We are building a lot of aircraft at the moment and I'd like to get a good finish.

We are using brushes to apply it and I do wash the kit in water with a little fairy liquid in first. Other instructions are generally a little vague. The paint coverage is poor and generally seems to need a good undercoat first, something I never did with enamel paint.

I am having problems though, where I would normally paint parts before assembly onto the main body, like fitting missile pods or undercarriage onto aircraft, the glue seems to dissolve the paint and we end up with a mess that gets painted over a lot. We are generally making Revell or Tamiya kits.

Also I am finding the decals do not stick well. I have tried Humbrol decal fix but this seems to give a shiny finish over the decal which means having to cover the entire model in it.

I've just been bought this.. http://www.norton.co.uk/plastic-kits-c146/aircraft-c538/revell-1-48-05726-gift-set-t-28-trojan-red-bull-flying-bulls-model-aircraft-kit-p4983

And would like to get a good finish on it, so any advice is greatly appreciated.

[Dads203]

I would use a primer, something like Halfords grey primer is very good and should take the paint better.

Tamiya Acrylics are not the best for brush painting but I can recommend Vallejo very highly, they really brush paint very well

as for the paints provided with kits in the starter sets I cannot comment as I generally bin them.

Dan

[Tims996]

Thanks, they have seemed a bit watery. I have a few of the Tamiya as that is what my local shop sells and I can generally match the paint codes. But they do end up looking quite thick after a few coats.

[noeyedears]

to make brushing tamiya acrylics easier i use a drop or two (literally just a drop or two!) of acrylic flow improver for every couple of mills of paint, and a BIT of iso alcohol. as it dries on the pallete i add more drop by drop to keep it liquid and if it starts clumping another drop of flow improver. i find the flow improver stops the paint drying as you brush and gives much better coverage and a smooth finish. thinner or ipa do not do this on their own.

glue will eat paint, no getting away from it. try tamiya extra thin. it comes in a bottle and has its own small applicator brush so you can put it on verry sparingly and accurately. any paint it gets on should reharden if left alone. or use superglue which is kinder to paint and only put it where you need it. white pva type glue is safe but not as strong. (great for canopies and clear parts)

decals generally dont like flat rough paint. most people will gloss clear coat the whole plane, do the decals, re-gloss to seal them, then if needed flat coat it. decals are generally glossy anyway so its probably not the decal fix doing it. Future clear floor polish brush paints beautifully. dont know if there is a brush panitable flat coat though. you may have to buy a rattle can of it.

by "clumping" I mean as you try to brush paint on the model the paint dries up and you end up taking paint off rather than putting it on because the paint is dying too fast.

[Tims996]

Ok, that makes sense, thanks. I think part of my problem is older, fatter fingers and smaller kits! I do find the joins when attaching pods very difficult as I either end up scratching off paint to get a good bond with kit glue and having to retouch or not painting first, assembling and then struggling to paint the right areas after.

[kev67]

Lifecolor do some very nice acrylic paints that is ideal for brush painting, it is water based so can be mixed with de-ionised water or just tap water, usually needs a couple of coats to get good coverage, Tamiya acrylics are more for airbrushing than painting, Citadel paints are also very good and are generally used for War Hammer figures

[CedB]

Noeyedears has summed it up but there's LOTS of advice on BM about all this stuff... have a good old look at the 'Tools & tips' forums (scroll down the home page a lot!)

I've responded to your other post on decals and the threads here about acrylics give some good advice too - RobVulcan is my hairy brush guru and my post here points you at some supplies, but do read the whole thread - I'm sure it's help.

Humbrol and other precision poly cements (the ones with the fine tubes in the small bottles) will help position your cement. Tame Thin is great but it's 'hot' and little fingers can get it all over the place!

HTH

Great modelling and welcome!

[Tims996]

Thanks, the advice on here is tremendous and we have used it for a while to build several nice kits, but if took a while to register. Practicing on cheap 1/72 and 1/144 is fine before I go and make the big stuff I was bought at Christmas. I have a cracking Tamiya A10 1/48 to make as well as the Red Bull Trojan, both will take a while as I want to get the paint right.

[cruiserguy]

Hi Tims,

Choosing the best paints is a contentious subject, and everyone has their own opinion: some like enamels, others acrylic. I am in the acrylic camp. The advice I give is experiment, choose a make, or makes, your are comfortable with, and learn how to use the paints properly. FWIW, I like Vallejo and Lifecolor, and that's after trying Humbrol, WEM Colourcoats, Tamiya, and about half a dozen others.

As for how to use them I always prime my models first and recommend, in no order, Halfords, Rustoleum, and Vallejo primers. They all have their own characteristics, and you've got to learn how they work. As for the paints, I use a brush and airbrush, and I thin paints using their own thinners or Ultimate Thinners - see another post on this forum. Practise on scrap plastic or plasticard until you are confident brushing and airbrushing, and remember it takes time and perseverance to get good results, but once you have learned how to use them you will see it as time well spent.

Other advice is don't cut corners, and don't use cheap thinners, windscreen cleaner or water as some do; it's false economy. As I have posted before. Why waste a £30-40 model for a couple of pounds worth of thinners.

Best Wishes,

Will.