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Humbrol satin enamel paint is very thin?


IanJohnB

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Hi. I am brush painting humbrol satin paints and despite mixing them endlessly they always seem very grainy needing lots of coats. Is this normal or am I doing something wrong? 

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The quality of some Humbrol paints of late is shocking!! Problem is they don't seem to do anything about it. I gave up on them unfortunately. I used to use Humbrols all the time for weathering and dry brushing military vehicles, figures etc. Such a shame they let the quality slip...

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I have reluctantly reached the point of considering all Humbrol enamels hostile until proven otherwise.  The recently-released late WW2 Luftwaffe stuff was awful and even old favourites like 85 Coal Black aren't the same nowadays.  I have been looking out old (20, even 40 year +) Humbrols and they behave like a dream.

 

On the other hand the esteemed Chairman of my local modelling club can apply the currently marketed Humbrol 67 with a brush to obtain a Panzer Grey finish that any airbrusher would be proud of, which shows you can still get lucky. 

 

But with plenty of alternatives available I'm not getting yet suckered again: customer loyalty is not a licence for manufacturers to play me for a fool.

Edited by Seahawk
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Thanks for this. I have decided to use Revell SM363 instead - it's a slightly different shade but it does have much better coverage. I'm very reassured that the consensus seems to be that it is the quality of the paint and not my competence!! 

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  • 2 weeks later...

There is a large amount of rotten Humbrol tins doing the rounds, from the last of the Chinese made stocks (of which my last 163 was, and it fit the lack of coverage description), to the first rounds of the UK stuff that had all kinds of issues. If you can get the newest variants with the stickers on the lids, you will get a mostly uniform paint that brushes well once thinned a little. While I still use it, I do prefer Colourcoats or Tamiya enamel if only because even though I usually have good luck with the stickered Humbrol tins, it still isn't guaranteed.

 

The last screw up I have had was a stickered humbrol matt white that, I kid you not, had the consistency of toothpaste. While I can gouge some out, thin it in a tray and it brushes on quite well, it really puts paid to the instructions on the tin 'brush straight from the tin', something I would suggest nobody does with any paint, let alone the new Humbrol enamels.

 

Apart from the improving quality (this includes the luftwaffe colours...), Humbrol enamel is literally one of the three paints that are stocked within driving distance of me, the other two being Citadel miniature paints and Tamiya acrylic, the Humbrols being the cheapest to buy. Anything else is mail order.

 

How are the Revell enamels? I use their Acrylics when I get the chance, and they brush paint very well, as do Model Master acrylics.

 

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41 minutes ago, sapperastro said:

the consistency of toothpaste

The technical term is gloopy. ;) My last tins of 33 & 34 exhibited this quality. :(

Steve.

Edited by stevehnz
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All the new stuff is fairly gloopy. This 34 was something else...and now you say you had a black like that? This had better not be the third incarnation of new Humbrol...just when I thought they had finally settled on a certain type of paint and I had cracked the code.

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 5/18/2018 at 10:19 AM, sapperastro said:

 

How are the Revell enamels? I use their Acrylics when I get the chance, and they brush paint very well, as do Model Master acrylics.

 

Hi, I have found the coverage of the Revell enamel very good.  The fuselage below has three coats of Revell SM363and I am feeling pleased wth it 

 

IMAG0101

 

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