Are Acrylics as easy to use as enamels?

I have never tried them

It seems to be a matter of personal preference. I only brush apply paint and have used enamels for several decades. I know how enamels behave and have my techniques to exploit the way enamels behave.

I tried Tamiya acrylics recently to see what I was missing. To me they are too fast drying. This meant that when brushing it was hard to maintain a wet edge and impossible to brush off without lifting the paint. However that is only my experience under the conditions that I paint in, and painting the way that I do.

Interestingly my local hobby shop owner told me he only sells about one acrylic for every ten enamels, so in Godzone at least it seems acrylics are not popular.

As with most things the best way to find it is to suck it and see. A pot of paint is relatively cheap so there is little to loose and lots to gain by trying different brands and types of paint.

Regards Dave :-)

If it moves salute it, if it doesnt move paint it.

Yes, no and maybe...is that clear enough for you?

Acylics dry very quickly and are easier to clean up, so not have the same odors as enamels and do not blend as easily. There are ways around the blending... look for acrylics in the painting issues for more information on that.

Enamels require thinners/brush cleaner to clean up, are slower to dry and do not come off as easily.

I use both and artist oils as well. I spray enamels for a base or primer almost every time. I use acrylics for detailing, etc on armor. I use a spray primer for figures, then acrylics for details and oils for faces, leather and skin, as well as shading. There are a number of sources on how to exploit these types of paints.

Also, enamels may be mixed with artist oils without harm. Acrylics have the advantage of being compatible with any other acrylics for the most part.

So... I hope you are now thoroughly confused... it takes experience and trial and error to learn what works for you when.

I airbrush almost exclusively and find the clean-up much, much better!! This is probably the reason why I airbrush so much...

I find that brushing acrylics takes a different paint-preparation, a little bit thicker. But for you that live in warm areas - which Sweden definitely is not - that using acrylics could be troublesome.

On the outset I changed to acrylics because of the smells. I have a problem with migrains every once and awhile so using enamels, or the smell rather, can trigger a migrain. Especially yellow enamel...

Thanks for all the advice!
I'm just gonna stick to enamels because of poor color selection in the acrylic genre!

Thanks again,

huh?? I never have to use enamels because I can't find it in acrylic. Between PollyS and Testors MM somebody always makes the color I'm looking for.

Yeah....ditto Twisted's comments.....any color you can get in MM Testors Enamel...you can also get in their acrylic line....throw in Tamiya and Polly S(which we don't have here) and you have pretty much any color you need!!!!

Between MM, Tamiya, and Poly Scale you should be able to get just about any colour you want. I can count on one hand the number of times I've been "forced" to use enamels. Add to the list, the vast selection of colours available in the "craft" paints. Sometimes, I might use them because the metalics behave better than acryics. That being said, MM's new formulation for their metalic acrylics works great.

I use Acrylics in the airbrush and enamels with the sable brush, enamels cover better, but acrylics are easy to spray.. I hate dealing with the thinner mess..my 2 cents

Vallejo acrylics has almost all colours that you can imagine. I've tried handpainting and airbrushing with it and it works perfect. Enamels for me are too slow drying and I find it harder to handpaint using enamels than acrylics......

Strictly acrylics for me... (well, I use Testors' emanels for the base flesh tone.) W&N oils for the washes thinned with an odorless brush cleaner.

Polly S/Scale, MM, rarely Tamiya, and something called Aqueorous (sp?) that I've had laying around for years.

Easy clean-ups of the Aztec AB, no fumes and I don't really care if a finger or two get painted....

Tamiya acrylics thru the AB. As mentioned, easy clean up.

I will say, however, that I have rediscovered the joys of using humbrol. I started out using humbrol 20 years ago because that was the only brand (besides Testor gloss!) that my local shop carried. Now that I have returned to the hobby, I have found humbrol to go on with the brush so smooth and mark free that I will continue to use. And, btw, you can use the odorless turpenoid to cut down on the stink with the enamels.

I will say that I have not given up on acrylics for figures. I do need to try vallejo or andrea.

Keith

I use both enamel and aryclic paints depends on situation. For me I use aryclic mainly for airbrushing because easy cleaning. But one must aware that those two types of paints do not mix smoothly furthermore the matt or clear varnish/coating also differs.