Hello again!

Does anyone know a good substitute for Marmite that can be found and is common in the US? I have some of the blue Microscale Micro Mask but, it says on the label that petroleum based paints can only be applied over it. Bummer, since all I have besides oil paints (that I use for washes / filters) are acrylics. Tamiya and Vallejo. Thanks.

Dan

Hi

Have you tried Vegemite or any Generic yeast extract.

Re the Micro Mask, are you sure you read that right.

Most masking type materials have ammonia as a main ingredient and cannot be used on Acrylics but once dry acrylics can be used on top of the mask.

Paul

Eh? looking for a toast spread?

Or if you are looking for a masking material, Vallejo do their own mask, blue-ish colour, got some haven't used it yet....
You can use it over DRY acrylic, but don't leave it on for too long.

Toothpaste. I have used several times for hard edge camo masking or for flaky / rough effects e.g. worn winter whitewash, and despite what some have suggested, I never had any problem with the soap in the toothpaste dissolving or damaging the paint, even when applied straight on to the acrylic paint.

I'd suggest using the gel types, or those for sensitive teeth, as they lack the abrasive particles that some pastes have - but then again you're not going to be scrubbing it anyway.

Only issue I found is not making the paint too thin, applying too much at once or at too high pressures as you can start to wash away the paste, but mostly that's all just sensible airbrushing advice in any case. Leaving the toothpaste mask overnight could also help the toothpaste to harden up a little.

I'm assuming by the apparent evidence from TV and the movies that you have toothpaste in the USA as most Americans seem to have much nicer teeth than us Brits.

Matt;

quote[I'm assuming by the apparent evidence from TV and the movies that you have toothpaste in the USA as most Americans seem to have much nicer teeth than us Brits.]quote

Well.... PhotoShop didn't invent the idea - just an approach to it! Just you wait until Smell-a-Vision comes to a town near you...!

About that toothpaste-masking... "I jist knew it! It's been said for years that "Four out of 5 scientist's studies prove that Crest toothpaste fights cavities better...." (my burning curiosity has been about what the 5th one proved...)" - and, voila! "crust" is also better at masking plastic panzers!

My serious question: once you apply your gel t-paste and let it dry a little, and spray your pattern - what's the toothpaste removal procedure? I'll presume that this would be a kit-washing job, but that seems tricky, given the newly-sprayed layer would be very vulnerable? What's the best route here?

Bob

Bob, I did a description of it on another thread, so from that:
Once the paint was definitely set, I got an ice cream tub of warm water and a medium stiffness flat brush and started to wash off the toothpaste. Once you break the paint skin with the brush, the water starts to dissolve the toothpaste straight away, so no hard scrubbing is needed.

There's some pictures on the original thread, bottom of page 1:
Mark I Tank

You can see that the paste came off quite easily despite there being three layers of paint overlaying the toothpaste in some places.

Paul,

here is the 1st step on the Micro-Mask directions, verbatem:

"Make sure all paint is completely dry and surfaces are clean. Use of petroleum based paint on top of MICRO-MASK is recommended (other types should be tested before using on your model). Paints containing water are not recommended for use with MICRO-MARK.

This is a real bummer, considering all my paints are Tamiya and Vallejo with a few Model Master metalics.

I don't get it.

The toothpaste idea surely sounds different but, I can't help but to be a bit weary.

Maybe I'll order some Vallejo mask.

Dan

I use humbrol maskol, it can be thinned a little with water, and i brushpaint acrylic, dry the paint with a dryer, apply, and then paint over almost instantly when it is dry with acrylic, it works with vallejo and tamiya !!
hope that helps

Dan,

I think you should be good to go with the MicroScale Mask. If it's applied over dry paint and allowed to dry before you apply the top coats (I assume with an airbrush), it should work just fine.

I'd give it a try on a piece of sheet plastic or a old model "hulk" before I gave up on it. When you airbrush the top coats over the dried MicroMask, you're not going to flood the area with liquid that will remain on the dried MicroMask long enough to soften it and cause problems. At the worst, you might have to spray the top paint in a couple of light coats allowing the first coat to set up (but not dry completely) before the subsequent coats are sprayed.

But you'd probably spray multiple light coats anyways.

Test it out. I'm guessing it'll work OK.