Hey all,
I know there HAS to be a million posts on something like this, but I tried and didn't find what I was looking for...

I am brand new to airbrushing (for all practical purposes). Today, I tried shooting a couple of Tamiya flat acrylic colors (NATO Brown and RLM Grey) on a box of white Evergreen sheet plastic I built especially for paint testing. I mixed the paints really well, and thinned them to the famous 'consistency of milk' with isopropyl alcohol. I sprayed at about 15psi, and shot at about 2-4 inches from the surface. The colors came out pretty well, to my eye anyway, except that rather than being completely dead flat, at all angles of incidence, the paint has, over about 50% of the coverage, less than a fully flat appearance. When looking obliquely into light, the finish has a bit of a 'sheen'. Not a shine, but just a bit of less than fully flat look. Is this typical of this paint? I'm not unhappy with it, as I will be using Future and then, probably, Testor's Dullcote on the tanks I'll be painting, but I just wanted to know what this paint 'usually' looks like. Is it absolutely dead flat, or?? I notice this only when looking at, say, 45 degrees of incidence of the incoming light and then 45 degrees from the surface of the plastic to my eye, if that makes sense. In some way, I almost wonder if what I'm seeing is just a slightly heavier portion of the coat. I see a little less of the sheen at the edges of where the paint ends and transitions to the unpainted white plastic.

Again, just checking if I'm getting an expected result. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated!

I have not normally had this issue, I always prime, 80% of the time with Tamiya Fine Primer in can, other times I use Vallejo Primer. I always thin with Tamiya Acrylic Thinner, and always shoot between 15-25psi. It could the humidity, I have heard it can affect paint. I am not sure what else to tell you, you seem to be doing everything right.

I have encountered this problem with some Tamiya acryls and MM enamels. The easiest remedy is to pick up a bottle of MM dull coat. You will need to spray a flat clear coat after/if you use a gloss coat for decals. Or, you can decant some clear flat spray paint. Thin accordingly and spray through your ab.

Hi Curtis. Tamiya paints can be a little finicky with regard to humidity. Iso alcohol evaporates very quickly, so when using it in a dry environment (looks like you're in the middle of a desert in Nevada), this can happen quite easily. Spraying 'half dried' paint can cause some odd issues including what you're explaining.

Personally, I would suggest using a mixture of water and iso alcohol. Water doesn't evaporate as quickly as the alcohol, so you can 'fine tune' the drying time. You want to be able to spray wet on wet as you spray onto your box or eventually tank.

Airbrushing definitely does take some time to get a 'feel' for what you're doing. But you cannot be scared of it. The only way to get better is going to be to experiment. Use any old plastic you have around. I like old milk jugs for practicing a mixture/color before moving onto the tank.

Good luck, and keep playing around with it!

Thanks to all who have replied. Yes, humidity may very well be an issue here. Las Vegas is in the desert and is VERY dry. Not a bad thought to use part water as my thinner in addition to the alcohol! I will, for sure, try that with my next test.

The point about being scared certainly applies in my case! I'm so glad I made my practice box, first. Also, while my first tank (a desertized Tamiya Challenger 2) was not exactly cheap, I felt it was less expensive than some of my other tanks, and figured it would be a good 'practice' tank. We'll see how it works out. I do plan on doing the other things mentioned here, too, which is to use an overall flat coat towards the end. In fact, I've got so many paints/tools/techniques ready to try, I'm hoping to use the Challenger as a 'test bed' for most of them. I hope he's up to the 'challenge' LOL

You will achieve the best results using Tamiya's own thinners specifically their Laquer thinner. I have found Tamiya's laquer thinner is the best for Tamiya acrylic in this enviornment. While their thinners aren't currently available, I've been using generic laquer thinner fron Lowes.

Yes LAQUER THINNER, it works well. The paint goes on smooth as silk, because it doesn't dry on the way t the target. I keep a qtip moistened with thinner handy to gently swab the AB tip when it occasionally clogs.

Painting here is seasonal for sure. Spring and fall when the humidity is a bit higher are the best times to paint. Build in summer and winter, paint in spring and fall.

G

G

So that's how the 'other half' lives.

Being in a very humid environment, I always have to consider that when reading into thinning ratios and whatnot.

When I moved to Las Vegas from St Louis I had to re-evaluate all my building methods. The 'Lou had 90%-98% humidity most of the time, and painting was a chore. Great finishes could be achieved, but it required work. I kept a dehumidifier in the workshop, and left it run constantly.

Here stuff dries before you blink.

G

Hey AgentG!

I've read (just in the last day or so) about using lacquer thinner for the Tamiya acrylics. I have a big can of the stuff from Lowe's myself, so I will try it! I was hoping to avoid the stink, but would rather have the best finish possible. Do you know why the genuine Tamiya stuff is not available? I know some time ago I looked for Tamiya acrylic thinner, with no luck. I got all the Model Master thinners at Hobby Town, but nada in Tamiya.

I loved your models! Would love to get together sometime to check out your stuff in person!

Just for general info,both Scalehobbyist and Sprubrothers show the large size X-20A as in stock.But for what it's worth,I have had very good luck using Liquitex flow-aid and their retarder.If you want more info as far as ratios and stuff just let me know.Jeff T.

Tamiya went off line due to labeling issues in California. Hobby Town, Henderson Hobbies and some of the others are finally receiving shipment of paint, so the thinners shouldn't be far behind.

Check your PM's we'll trade notes there.

G