EV2UK Posted October 23, 2010 Share Posted October 23, 2010 Hi all. Do many of you use Hannants' Xtracrylic paint.? I'm not a big fan of enamels but haven't tried Xtracrylic yet so... 1). what are they like for airbrushing 2). what a good thinning ratio for airbrushing and what's best to use 3). are they good for hand brushing 4). is it true they dry to a gloss/semi-gloss finnish. Thank you Tony. ps. bear in mind that if some of you do reply I might have to put an order into Hannants Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silver Fox Posted October 23, 2010 Share Posted October 23, 2010 Hi all. Do many of you use Hannants' Xtracrylic paint.? I'm not a big fan of enamels but haven't tried Xtracrylic yet so... 1). what are they like for airbrushing 2). what a good thinning ratio for airbrushing and what's best to use 3). are they good for hand brushing 4). is it true they dry to a gloss/semi-gloss finnish. Others will have different experience however my views are: 1) They clog my airbrush no matter how I thin them. They work better with their own brand thinner and some folks here suggest adding a flow retarder which basically keeps the paint liquid for longer. 2) see above. 3) I have hand brushed touch ups and found they work well and have a consistent colour. 4) Yes, giving a decal ready surface. I gave up on them and am now using Gunze Sanyo wherever possible. However, to be fair, a number of club mates swear by them. I guess you can always try a few and see if they work for you. Hope this helps. Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beastieboy Posted October 23, 2010 Share Posted October 23, 2010 I have just them on a couple of spitfires I am doing, they kept clogging my aztek airbrush tip which meant I had to keep cleaning the tip. I thined about 60/40 using their own brand thinners. I have not tried any other thinner with them. Left a good finish. I would use again and are trying to find a remedy for the clogging. As for hand brushing I did a Mk19 Spitfire and Mk1 Hurricane and they produced a great finish, although I did thin them a little to handbrush with as I felt the coats were too thick other wise Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CliffB Posted October 23, 2010 Share Posted October 23, 2010 I use Xtracrylics quite a lot and they seem to me to be one of the better ranges as far as resisting clogging (not perfect though). I thin them with Tamiya thinners, so maybe that's the secret? Cliff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pielstick Posted October 23, 2010 Share Posted October 23, 2010 (edited) Thin them with Vallejo airbrush cleaner, and add a drop of the Vallejo acrylic retarder and they airbrush pretty well. Edited October 23, 2010 by Pielstick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Posted October 23, 2010 Share Posted October 23, 2010 1). what are they like for airbrushing Pretty good, but I usually use their thinners and a drop of flow aid. A 0.2mm or larger needle will give less clogging. 2). what a good thinning ratio for airbrushing and what's best to use The old semi-skimmed milk analogy is a good one. It's not worth wasting your life counting drops, so just squirt in some paint, and add thinners until it runs down the cup sides, but leaves a colored residue. 3). are they good for hand brushing I've hand brushed small quantities, and it's ok. I hate hand brushing anyway, but I found that they brush better with a few drops of flow aid in them, and after a good shake. 4). is it true they dry to a gloss/semi-gloss finnish. If you spray a wettish coat, they do dry semi-gloss. If you're noodling and feathering the paintjob though, you're more likely to get a more matt finish. Overall I quite like them, and they have a good range. A lot of the colors are quite muted though, and there's not a profusion of bright colors, so sometimes you'd have to stray to Vallejo or Lifecolor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c.smith10 Posted October 24, 2010 Share Posted October 24, 2010 has anyone tried thinning with water and flow aid? i picked up a couple for a future project but i've had problems with spraying them in the past and hope the flow aid will cure the problems Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
palacefan Posted October 24, 2010 Share Posted October 24, 2010 I use them with xtrathinners and get results which I am happy with. I don't use retarding liquid . I found that my old aztec would clog with them and I gave up on them, but with a conventional needle type of airbrush, when the paint starts to build up on the tip, I take the needle guard off and wipe the needle with a cotton bud soaked in thinkers. Put the guard back on and it sprays as new again. I seem to have to do this will all acrylics after a while, but the range of colours is good for Xtracrylix so i use them over other makes if i can. Also spray some thinners through before you add the paint I thin by feel but if it doesn't spray, thin it more. If its too thin add paint. Acrylics I find are not as thinner vital as enamel paints. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gcn Posted October 24, 2010 Share Posted October 24, 2010 has anyone tried thinning with water and flow aid? i picked up a couple for a future project but i've had problems with spraying them in the past and hope the flow aid will cure the problems I found this made the paints ... too watery... and ended up with pooling if I didn't lay down the mistiest of misty coats. I have had much more success with their own thinner and W&N flow aid although the tip still clogs so a cotton bud soaked in IPA is always needed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giorgio N Posted October 24, 2010 Share Posted October 24, 2010 has anyone tried thinning with water and flow aid? i picked up a couple for a future project but i've had problems with spraying them in the past and hope the flow aid will cure the problems Yes, I use this system and they spray fine with my Badger. I don't use too much water as they're already fluid enough, and I only add a few drops of retarder. However I always have a coat of primer on the model first, spraying on bare plastic I never managed to get the paint stick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spitfire Posted October 24, 2010 Share Posted October 24, 2010 Used them once, then gave up, I got a great finish but lost count of the number of times that my AB clogged up, I used their own thinners, if I remember rightly there was an article which tested them, just had a quick search and here it is http://misc.kitreview.com/tools/xtracrylicseviewbg_1.htm . Cheers Den Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c.smith10 Posted October 24, 2010 Share Posted October 24, 2010 Used them once, then gave up, I got a great finish but lost count of the number of times that my AB clogged up, I used their own thinners, if I remember rightly there was an article which tested them, just had a quick search and here it is http://misc.kitreview.com/tools/xtracrylicseviewbg_1.htm .Cheers Den the guy sprays at 40psi! thought that would make clogging more likely? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnonymousAA72 Posted October 24, 2010 Share Posted October 24, 2010 I use them all of the time, due to the range of RAF/RN colours in their range.....I spray them quite thick at high pressure (though not as high as 40psi!). I use a drop or two of thinner (Xtracylic, Tamiya, Windscreen washer - whatever's handy) and a couple of drops of Windsor & Newton's acrylic retarder. No clogging - I use an Iwata revolution. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tinners Posted October 28, 2010 Share Posted October 28, 2010 (edited) I have just started using Xtracrylix for painting my 1/32 Spitfire and have been very impressed so far. As with all acrylics, I am spraying on a primer base. I have been thinning with good old tap water at a ratio of 50%. Spray pressure is at 20 psi and have had no issues whatsoever with clogging. The paint has a semi-translucent look to it that alows preshading to show through easily, so I plan on using them for my 1/48 Catalina Diorama too. Edited October 29, 2010 by Tinners Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julien Posted October 29, 2010 Share Posted October 29, 2010 Thin them with vallejho airbrush cleaner, this I find slightly retards the paint and then they spray fin through my iwata. I just thin them in the cup till they are like milk and the paint will slide down the cup wall with no effort. Like this I spray 15psi no problems. Julien Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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