Lifecolour acrylic

[Catbird]

Ive just got a couple of jars of Lifecolour paint. Never used it before. How does it "behave" when brush painted or put through an airbrush. Wouldnt mind some advice before I make a start.

[Procopius]

It's not too bad, I've thinned with water and with Lifecolour brand thinner; I find it's a little "soft" after airbrushing and needs time to cure, before masking or playing catch with the model, I usually allow a full day.

[Cookenbacher]

I've airbrushed it twice. This first time was with grey FS 36280 and it worked wonderfully thinned with distilled water and a few drops of flow improver - very forgiving. The second time was just yesterday with gloss dark blue and, using the same techniques, it didn't turn out nearly as well. The main difference between the two attempts was the surface it was being applied to. The grey went very nicely over a matt enamel base. For the blue, I primed the model with an acrylic grey primer first and I think it was too smooth for the Lifecolor to grip. The same blue sprayed great on a test piece that was primed with an enamel coated in a matt acrylic varnish. The lesson I've taken away is to only airbrush Lifecolor onto a very matt surface.

[cruiserguy]

Hi Tigercat,

Lifecolor brushes well - no visible strokes, and you can airbrush it if thinned with its own thinner or Ultimate Thinners (see this site for these). It's pretty durable too; once cured.

Best Wishes,

Will.

[Guest]

Thanks for the replies gents. much appreciated.

[Antoine]

Klir is also a very good option for Lifecolor.

[Giorgio N]

Lifecolour paints today make up a large part of my paint stash and I use these very often. As others have said, they are great by brush.

Airbrushing them may sometimes be a bit difficult, however tap water and some flow improver work for me. They are quite sensitive to the thinning ratio though.

Adding a couple of drops of klear makes them much easier to spray and I often follow this path.

[dfqweofekwpeweiop4]

I've found if you thin them 50/50 with water or Lifecolor thinner, the paint becomes too thin to airbrush. I find it better if you mix it something like 70/30 Paint/Thinner. Otherwise it's quite good, one of the better paints for normal brush painting and pretty good for airbrushing when you get the mix right.

thanks

Mike

[Tim T]

I agree with Mike, don't overthin them. I have sprayed them neat before now and that works well. Keep the air pressure low helps as well.

AS has been said already, they are very soft until fully cured. Their colour matches are pretty good too.

[Mike]

Good paints, but not as tough as some. They don't react well to over-thinning for airbrushing, as already said, but if you use Ultimate Thinners, I'm sure the paint ends up a little more robust. That could be my imagination, but that's the impression I got.