Hannants Xtracrylic

[EV2UK]

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

[Silver Fox]

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

[beastieboy]

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

[CliffB]

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

[Pielstick]

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

[Mike]

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.

[c.smith10]

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

[palacefan]

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.

[gcn]

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

[Giorgio N]

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.

[spitfire]

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

[c.smith10]

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?

[AnonymousAA72]

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.

[Tinners]

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

[Julien]

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