I have never encountered this problem, before. I primed a model grey lacquer. I then sprayed it with white lacquer. No problems. I have done this many, many times. I always let the paint dry for two hours, minimum. Into hour six, I applied Tamiya acryl. I let that dry for five hours. When I picked the model up, the acryl rubbed off. This has me really confused. I've used this method several times, with no problems. Do I need to cut the lacquer out of the equation or is there a technique I'm missing? TIA

Are your grey and white lacquers primers?

Joe

The primer is grey. The white is from the dreaded rattle can. The top coat is acryl.

Looks like the acrylic is not sticking to the white, maybe
not enough tooth on the white. What's the finish on the white?

yet the combo has worked before with no problems

Joe

That's what has me stumped. I have been using this method, for years and have never encountered a problem. The white is flat and it dries smooth and flat, as does the primer and acryl.

Well at this point the only thing I can think of is maybe
the white is older paint and is reacting with the acrylics.
Chemical separation of some sort or the acrylics are breaking
down.
What did you thin with?

Joe

This is the first use, of this can. I didn't thin the lacquers. I thinned the acryl with Tamiya aryl thinner X-20A. I know the acryl is good. I thinned it 1:1. I'm going to have to strip the kit. I'll try MM acrylic primer white. I just hate to toss a new can of paint.

Well before you throw anything out, repeat that process on some
scrap plastic and check the results. Maybe there is another factor involved.
Cheers,
Joe

Looks like it will rain, all day. I'll have to wait, until tomorrow.

Just out of curiosity... what is the purpose of the white lacquer over the grey primer?

I use it for pre-shading. For grey, I trace the panel edges with red oxide. For three tone and North Africa tanks, I trace the panel edges with grey.

Hi, All! Hm. I don't have a solution for you. My comments relating to your problems would be that you're probably stuck with some acryl that is defective. I agree that your White Primer may not have enough "bite" for your acryl to stick. Those kinds of problems are precisely why I still use TESTORS MODEL MASTER II Enamels. I've NEVER had a problem with them- I've been using the MM enamels ever since they came out back in the '80s...

The first step to ANY paint job is to make sure that your surfaces are CLEAN. Paint will accentuate residues of any kind. Even the natural oils in human skin will probably affect your base/primer coats. I like to use nitrile gloves when I paint. Secondly, make sure your airbrush is clean. I'm completely OCD when it comes to the cleanliness my models' surfaces before priming/painting. The absolute cleanliness of my spray equipment is paramount before I even open a jar of paint- I ALWAYS BREAK DOWN AND CLEAN MY AIRBRUSHES THOROUGHLY BETWEEN COLOR CHANGES AND AT THE END OF MY PAINTING SESSIONS.

Check the water-traps on your compressor, if they are the clear glass type. Any discoloration inside he traps could be an indication that the oil seals inside your compressor have worn out and have developed leaks. If your compressor is an "Oil-less" type, and you still find residues in your sight glass, then it may be time for a new compressor. If you have any water-traps spliced into your airlines, make sure you bleed them before you even transfer your paint mixture into your airbrush's color receptacle.

In the event that you DO need to buy a new compressor, I recommend that you buy new air-supply hoses for your airbrush as well. If there's gunk in your compressor, you can bet your last dollar that your air hoses have also been compromised. In any case, break down your airbrush COMPLETELY, and CLEAN ALL COMPONENTS THOROUGHLY. Don't just run thinners through your spray equipment. All parts should be soaked, and then hand-cleaned to ensure complete cleanliness. I like to use Pipe Cleaners, cotton swabs and old cotton t-shirts for wiping down the bigger parts.

I CANNOT STRESS ENOUGH THAT POOR PERFORMANCE OF YOUR AIRBRUSH, ASIDE OF YOUR PAINT HAVING GONE BAD, WILL LIKELY STEM FROM A LACK OF PROPER MAINTENANCE... I like to use TESTORS AIRBRUSH THINNER, or TESTORS LACQUER THINNER FOR METALIZERS, soaking the components in a glass jar with a screw-on lid for the initial cleaning. Then, after all components have been thoroughly cleaned and wiped, I soak them in a bath of 91% ISOPROPYL-Alcohol. This will take care of any residues left behind by the lacquer thinner. Let the components air-dry...

That's why I own FOUR airbrushes- while the components of one airbrush are soaking, I can continue my work with another airbrush. I own 2 PAASCHE H1 Single-Action Airbrushes with inter-changeable fine and super-fine tips, a BADGER 200 Single-Action and a Badger 200G Gravity-feed Single-Action, both with fine and super-fine tips. I'm going on 61 years old and I've been building models since I was 5- I haven't built anything straight-out-of-the-box since I was 8...

I bought my first airbrush when I turned 11. It was one of those basic-basic cheapie "Beginners'" BADGERs. After a year or two, I bought my first BADGER 200 Single-Action... I like the single-action airbrushes because they're so much simpler (and cheaper!) than the fussy dual-action types. Through the years, I've gained enough experience with my single-action airbrushes in that they give me the same results as I've had with dual-action types. I can achieve the same subtle effects in post-shading and weathering effects with my "cheap" airbrushes as I can with those ridiculously high-priced IWATA dual-actions. I sold my IWATA to a friend of mine who JUST HAD TO HAVE ONE years ago. Another advantage is that parts, if I should happen to need them, are readily available and much CHEAPER to boot!!! The only things that I've needed to replace in all these years of airbrushing are new compressors, airbrush needles and a few O-rings...

Anyway, A CLEAN airbrush and related equipment ARE KEY to a GREAT paint-job. Hope this helps...

Dennis: The paint is good. I just used it, for another project. The compressor and the airbrush also perform brilliantly. I did not use white primer. That is what I am going to try. And, it is MM acrylic primer. I have ruled out everything, but the white spray paint.

Matt, Was it really hot when you sprayed the base color? I have found that X-20-A dries a little too fast for my taste. Did you use any retarder?
What I'm saying is, if it was very hot, maybe the paint was going on too dry, and was landing on the model as more of a dust than a fluid. Causing it not to stick. Jeff T.

Hi! Jeff T. makes a VERY GOOD POINT regarding the TEMPERATURE in your painting area. As Jeff has pointed out, your paint may have gone on too dry...

EXCESSIVE HUMIDITY will also alter your painting results. During the summer, I try to do my airbrushing and spray-painting on days that aren't very humid- Paints will sometimes "blush" on very humid days or nights. During the winter, the area where I live gets very cold and snowy, so outside temperatures and humidity become less of a factor. My workshop is subject to the same indoor conditions as the rest of my home, which I set to 68F with low humidity.

There is also the possibility that you might have gotten too close to your subject when spraying your aerosol white- too thick of a coat, maybe? The thickness of your paint-coat will DEFINITELY affect your drying time. I'm inclined to think that your white spray paint is the main culprit in your painting woes. Try a new can... I've had some negative episodes with aerosol paints, so I try to airbrush as much as I can. So far, I've had no problems with using aerosol GRAY, DARK GRAY, or OXIDE RED AUTO PRIMERS.

The AGE of your paint, whether it's an aerosol or bottled paint, will also adversely affect your paint finish. Bottled paints tend to gel or dry up on you; aerosols break down in other ways- It's just the nature of the beast. Consequently, I try to keep my spraying with aerosols down to a bare minimum, i.e the aforementioned Auto Primers, CLEAR GLOSSES, CLEAR SEMI GLOSSES and CLEAR FLATS. I don't use bottled TAMIYA Clearcoats- they are meant to be mixed in with TAMIYA Bottled Acrylics, not as overall sealing coats...

Hope to see you solve your problems- GOOD LUCK!!!

It was in the upper 80s, when I sprayed. It may be that it dried, prior to hitting the the surface. I spray three layers of grey. I thinned it 1:1 with thinner, but no other retarder. I sprayed two coats of white and one of the primer. Unfortunately, the weather will be bad the next few days. I doubt I will be able to experiment, for a while.

I tried MM white primer acrylic. Don't was your money. It comes out of the brush, like water with a very pale white tint. It also took 45 minutes to completely dry. I used some other paints, before and after, with no problem. These included lacquers and Tamiya acryls.

I would suggest that your lacquer white coat was likely not cured yet.

Dried, or dry to the touch is a lot different than cured, if the lacquer was still gassing out, it would interfere with the Testors top coat from adhering to it. 6hrs isn't enough time IMO for any kind of paint to be fully cured. Acrylics and Lacquers usually require 24hrs or so, enamels...well they could be a day, week, month, or several months, depends on a few factors.

I've never encountered this problem, before. I use acrylics, enamels and lacquers. The longest dry time I allow is 48 hours.

I'm giving one of my current builds, 4 days to cure. I'll see how it stands up, this weekend.

Put it under a lamp to apply heat to lacquer, solvent releases faster. Could be oils from your fingers? Did you have KFC before painting ? lol jk'n Wash with alcohol before applying acrylic .
I'm just guessing.

Letting it cure longer solved the problem. I have painted further pieces, in the same manner. However, I did not let them dry for more than a few hours and have not encountered any problems.
On a side note. I stripped all of the paint off of another build that I had primered, then shot with white lacquer. I have a few layers of acrylic top cote. It stripped right down to the white. I tried oven cleaner, degreaser and more oven cleaner. I did this for four days and can't penetrate the white lacquer.