Spad Posted February 26, 2016 Share Posted February 26, 2016 This is a little problem I have struggled with and never cracked - how on earth do you brush paint Tamiya acrylics!!?! I just can't seem to be able to do it - they just drag and pick up on me. Airbrush? Brilliant! Just as long as I use their own thinners, but hand paint - forget it. Anybody know the secret? Cheers Rick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Space Ranger Posted February 26, 2016 Share Posted February 26, 2016 I think it requires a Hogwarts spell; try "acrylicus hairystickus." On a serious note, I've never been able to brush the stuff either, since first trying them some thirty years ago. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJP Posted February 26, 2016 Share Posted February 26, 2016 Same here. I tried it, was appalled and never went back. Of course, thirty years ago we had the vastly superior Humbrol Authentics so Tamiya suffered even more through that comparison. Humbrol of the day brushed on smoothly, no brush marks, even coverage in a single coat. Even I could not go wrong with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Radleigh Posted February 27, 2016 Share Posted February 27, 2016 From LSP on Facebook Roy Sutherland said:One of the few drawbacks of Tamiya paint is its poor performance when brushpainting. You get one or possibly two strokes before the paint starts setting and the next stroke ruins it. Tamiya now has a Paint retarder that, like almost all Tamiya products, is terrific stuff. A few drops added on the palette (don't add it to the bottle!) and Tamiya Acrylics become beautiful to work with when brush painting. I got mine from Amazon, sold by an overseas trader. Highly recommended. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Laidlaw Posted February 27, 2016 Share Posted February 27, 2016 From LSP on Facebook After seeing this on Barracudacals' page, I have ordered some. If Roy says it's good, it'll be good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigglesof266 Posted February 27, 2016 Share Posted February 27, 2016 This is a little problem I have struggled with and never cracked - how on earth do you brush paint Tamiya acrylics!!?! I just can't seem to be able to do it - they just drag and pick up on me. Airbrush? Brilliant! Just as long as I use their own thinners, but hand paint - forget it. Anybody know the secret? Addition of Tamiya thinner and retarder will make them brushable, but they'll never be great for larger surface area brushing. .e.g. wings. Hands down, nothing beats enamel for brush application. If you do want to brush acrylics, I can recommend Vallejo Model Color which really evolved around brush application for Warhammer figurines. They are aqueous, but their pigmentation, viscosity and evaporative drying rate is brush friendly. Tamiya's acrylics OTOH were intended from the outset for spray application IMO, with any brushing required to be detailing and minor. Tamiya are a solvent based acrylic, so make sure you use their own brand X-20A thinner for optimal results. Yes, I know like everyone else they charge silly money for minuscule volume of thinners, but the fiscal pain is ameliorated somewhat if you buy each brand's thinner in maximum available capacity. Tamiya's is a 250ml plastic bottle. I have it, but also do the same for other brands. e.g. Lifecolor, even though some brands' thinners will work with another's. I've tried all sorts over the years for thinning Tamiya acrylics, many of which work OK for spraying, but not for brushing. Even Mineral Turpentine will work, but it alters the sheen. Probably something from Creos would work too, but I haven't tried it. Of what I have tried, nothing works as well in terms of application or finish with Tamiya acrylics as Tamiya's thinners IME. Don't forget the Tamiya retarder. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Kunac-Tabinor Posted February 27, 2016 Share Posted February 27, 2016 Try using a little Klear or Future or Quick Shine to thin them. I've found this works very well for brush painting, though you may need a couple of coats. Jonners Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bear Paw Posted February 27, 2016 Share Posted February 27, 2016 (edited) I have found that thinning the paint down 50% with their own thinners and loading a large soft flat brush works for wings etc. It will require one or two coats and looks awful when you put the first cost on. Keep with it try it on an old unpainted kit the paint is put on as thin as water Andrew. Edited February 27, 2016 by Bear Paw Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Brown Posted February 27, 2016 Share Posted February 27, 2016 Windsor and Newton Flow Improver works well. Rick. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sobby_23 Posted February 27, 2016 Share Posted February 27, 2016 I'm currently brush painting Airfix's 1/72 Lancaster. Thinned XF1 with Tamiya's thinners and got to work. While the first coat was pretty awful it came good after the second coat. A final going over will probably be all it needs. Just takes a bit of patience. You need to work quite quickly before the paint doesn't want to play ball with you. But thinned accordingly and doing multiple light coats will get you there in the end. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuck Posted February 27, 2016 Share Posted February 27, 2016 (edited) From LSP on Facebook I gave up trying to brush paint Tamiya years ago until I got up this morning and read this, So i dug out a bottle of this brought for specifically for what it says and have just finished some intricate detail painting with Tamiya and i must say it works superb. Edited February 27, 2016 by Stuck 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Brown Posted February 29, 2016 Share Posted February 29, 2016 I gave up trying to brush paint Tamiya years ago until I got up this morning and read this, So i dug out a bottle of this brought for specifically for what it says and have just finished some intricate detail painting with Tamiya and i must say it works superb. Have you seen the price of this stuff on Amazon?! Rick. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PLC1966 Posted February 29, 2016 Share Posted February 29, 2016 Windsor and Newton Flow Improver works well. Rick. Works for me. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Laidlaw Posted February 29, 2016 Share Posted February 29, 2016 Have you seen the price of this stuff on Amazon?! Rick. Yup . That's why I bought it from eBay - $6.25 plus free shipping. You have to wait a while, but I think it's worth it . 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Troy Smith Posted February 29, 2016 Share Posted February 29, 2016 Same here. I tried it, was appalled and never went back. Of course, thirty years ago we had the vastly superior Humbrol Authentics so Tamiya suffered even more through that comparison. Humbrol of the day brushed on smoothly, no brush marks, even coverage in a single coat. Even I could not go wrong with it. really? I think the modern Tamiya acrylic has changed formulation, but it used to brush just fine, i used it on leather jackets in my youth, where is far surpassed any enamel,as it didn't flake off, and was flexible. and when decided i needed to just build and finish a kit, I did a Tamiya Ki-84 with some Tamiya acrylic I picked up cheap for the purpose, as they were the specific Japanese colours (this was 25 years ago) see http://www.aviationofjapan.com/2011/11/troy-smiths-tamiya-148th-hayate.html the tail markings are hand painted in Tamiya acrylics too. I don't think the newer formulations work as well. There are several builders on here who brush paint acrylics very successfully, Tony O Toole does, PLastix and Rob Vulcan. this is a thread on brush painting in general, but has various tips on working acrylics. http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234982693-calling-all-brushhairystick-painters/ different techniques, but they dry fast, don't stink and wash out in water, though some IPA is very useful. HTH T Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJP Posted February 29, 2016 Share Posted February 29, 2016 Yes, really. Shrug. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Laidlaw Posted March 8, 2016 Share Posted March 8, 2016 The Tamiya retarder arrived today. A quick test showed me that over a primed surface it's good for both small- and large-surface painting, with no dragging or wrinkling. I'll need to test painting directly on to un-primed plastic, but I'm very happy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Digger1895 Posted May 25, 2016 Share Posted May 25, 2016 i normally thin Tamiya acrylics with their lacquer thinner. If you're adding the retarder would it be best to use lacquer or normal thinner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lunarhighway Posted May 25, 2016 Share Posted May 25, 2016 What i found to be the key in hand painting acrylics is indeed some kind of flow improver, and drying retarder. although i mainly use vallejo i have also used it a few times on tamiya. I use a product intended foor wood floors made by HG(not sure if this is widely available, but i think similar producs are around), wich i think is a kleer or pledge, alternative. it's acrylic, and is very thin. it improves the flow and self leveling of the paint, wich alllows you to brush over the same area twice and "melts" the areas of paint together when they're places side by side. even if you missed a spot and need to correct later it will play nice. as such multiple cloats can be applied. adding a little paint will turn it into a wash. this has replaced water as my acrylic thinner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greenshirt Posted May 28, 2016 Share Posted May 28, 2016 I find simply adding the retarder is enough thinning for brush painting Tamiya acrylics. If, after adding a drop, it's not thin enough for you, the add some X-20A thinner. Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt.Squarehead Posted May 28, 2016 Share Posted May 28, 2016 A substance that makes Tamiya acrylic brushable.....This I just have to see (order placed). 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheFoolio Posted June 15, 2016 Share Posted June 15, 2016 (edited) I've just got back into modelling after years away and was thinking of using Tamiya Acylics as they are easy to get hold of and less pungent than Humbrol enamels. I bought a pot of Tamiya Acrylic to test and found the same thing that the paint does not flow and dries way too quickly when compared to the enamels, which is what I was used to as a kid. So I'll get a bottle of the retarter to give a proper impression before I plump one way, or another. I'm assuming that it is okay to coat enamel with a coat of Humbrol Clear varnish to try some weathering? Sorry for the stupid question... /edit: typo Edited June 15, 2016 by TheFoolio Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt.Squarehead Posted June 15, 2016 Share Posted June 15, 2016 I've just acquired some of this allegedly miraculous product and will be testing it shortly, but if my esteemed colleagues above say it can be done, I fully trust that it can. It's not only OK, but neccessary to protect your paintwork with a gloss or semi-gloss coat before you use most (but not all) weathering techniques.....Believe it or not, a lot of us use Johnson's Klear floor polish! It might be worth searching 'Johnson's Klear' on the forum and reading up on the current state of play as they changed the formula not so long back (I stockpiled the old stuff). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greenshirt Posted June 18, 2016 Share Posted June 18, 2016 Generally speaking, a good rule of thumb is to clear coat / varnish with a product different than what you'll use to weather. IOW, if using oils to weather, then put a good acrylic clear to seal the finish before weathering. If using water colors, or acrylics to weather, then use a laquer based varnish. And give it a few days to fully cure so that you minimize potential interaction issues. I always airbrush my varnishes because they hand brush too thick for me, and before I had an airbrush I used a rattle can. Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greenshirt Posted June 18, 2016 Share Posted June 18, 2016 The key to Tamiya's retarder is using it sparingly. I put a drop in a pallette cup, then put a few drops of paint in another. I wet the brush in the retarder and then move the retarder to the paint in small increments until it is "right" for painting. Repeat as I need more paint. Tim 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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