Hi,

I have a Q for all the acrylic users here.

I'd like to know if there is any difference between Artists Acrylics and Modelling Acrylics.

I have access to Artists acrylics only here, and I think they are basically variants of the Liquitex brand of artist arylics. I checked up on the Liquitex site, and they say their acrylics adhere to Plastics too(hooray !), and are capable of being airbrushed, provided proper thinning and mediums are used.

Now, I have access to nearly 30 shades of Camlin(aka Liquitex) acrylics, and the link is here: Camlin Acrylics.

My question is : Do you use the acrylics straight out of the can(Tamiya, Badger, whatever), or do some of you buy these separate tube acrylics and mix them up to get your color? If yes, can you please point me to any such paint mix database(not the Tamiya one, please; I've seen that already !), so that I can use that info for my A/C build kit?

Would appreciate your help, guys n gals!

Rgds,
BP.

Artist acrylics typically dry matte and not flat. That means they have a low luster sheen to them. Andrea or Vallejo acrylics are actually acrylic gouache like Jo Sonya and dry perfectly flat which is usually preferable for modelers.

Andrea, Vallejo and Jo Sonya are all available for purchase over the Interent so it doesn't really matter where you live to acquire them.

Hmm.. Thanks for the info, Bob!! However, the rates of the acrylics that you mentioned are pretty high, and the postage to India also costs a bomb !!

Well, that brings me to another Q : What if I spray a Glossy Acrylic medium over the matt coat of paint? Will that improve the finish?

What I was planning to do was, first spray with a mixture of acrylic paint, matt medium and retarder to slow don drying time b'cos of AB'ing. Then, to get a gloss sheen, spray with Glossy medium over the A/C. This should help the a/c get a bit of gloss, plus avoid silvering of my decals when applied. Finally, after washes and all, spray with a 50-50 mix of Gloss and Matt medium to get a final finish.

How does it sound? I'm planning to experiment anyways; I'll let you know the results of the same.

Any more ideas then? Or can I improve upon the idea that I propose above?

Rgds,
BP.

Is this for aircraft painting? In that case gloss is probably desirable.

I wouldn't add anything to the paint for airbrushing other than water and possibly some flow improver ( a drop of glycerine will work too). You could finish by aribrushing gloss medium but I would not add anything else to it except water to thin it.

I use acrylic most of the time and like them. Your question is a little hard to answer because there are so many types of acrylics. I was at Micheals craft store yesterday and saw tons of different types. The thing to do would be just give it a try. Thin it to the point where it is as thick as milk and give it a go. Sounds like that your best option from what you said above.

Hi Bob,

Yep, it's for Aircraft painting. I work on A/C 99% of the time...
As for mixing water to the Gloss medium, the instructions clearly say 'Do Not Add Water or use Varnish on top of medium'. So I guess that rules out thinning my medium further !

Andrew, thx for the suggn. Anyways, as i said, I'd like to experiment with this method on my smaller 1/72 Hellcat and see what happens #:-) , rather than take it to my BIIIIIIG expensive 1/48 F-18 Hornet and screw it up !

BP.