I seem to have forgotten how to paint...

[Wolf95]

Well I've been spray painting for quite a while now. I haven't hand painted in a while... until last night... I'm using testors (cheap) paint brushes with Tamiya acrylic paints. The paint is either too thick in spots or too thin. How can I make more of an even coat? I think I'm putting too much paint in the brush :/

[danielsatur]

Practice with Crayola!

[naju]

Airbrush!

[Wolf95]

lol I dont have an airbrush!

[stevenoble]

Tamiya acrylics are not good for hand painting, they dry too quickly and you end up pulling them off as you go over what you already applied. The Tamiya enamels are better for hand painting, or better still Vallejo acrylics are the best...

[Wolf95]

you are exactly right. doing touch ups is a pain. this paint is almost thin enough for an airbrush but i dont have one. I got on ebay and got these cuz my local hobby lobby didn't have the colors I needed. :/

[Baxter!]

Make sure paint is stirred good, use a toothpick and make sure there are no lumps. Try to always use a natural hair brush. And if you work from a cup or a paint tray thin it with alcohol if needed.

I can't stand to hear people bash Tamiya acrylic, the stuff is awesome,
when you use it right it never leaves a brush mark and it hides really really good. I still work from some of the same jars of paint I had when I was a kid (20+ yrs).

[Wolf95]

Originally Posted by Baxter!

Make sure paint is stirred good, use a toothpick and make sure there are no lumps. Try to always use a natural hair brush. And if you work from a cup or a paint tray thin it with alcohol if needed.

I can't stand to hear people bash Tamiya acrylic, the stuff is awesome,
when you use it right it never leaves a brush mark and it hides really really good. I still work from some of the same jars of paint I had when I was a kid (20+ yrs).

I think the brush is part of the problem. I hate these brushes but they're all I have. And I usually just dip it out of the jar. I had no problems with the field blue tamiya acrylic but I've had nothing but problems with the dark sea gray tamiya acrylic

[stevenoble]

Originally Posted by Baxter!

I can't stand to hear people bash Tamiya acrylic, the stuff is awesome,
when you use it right it never leaves a brush mark and it hides really really good. I still work from some of the same jars of paint I had when I was a kid (20+ yrs).

I don't doubt that it's good paint. I use it all the time via airbrush and it works well. In my opinion it's not so good for hand brushing. The coverage is poor, because it's too thin and it constantly forms a 'skin' that keeps getting pulled off when you apply more paint. I'm not 'bashing' them, just not for hand brushing. If they work for you then that's good, but maybe they don't work for everyone..??
The Vallejo acrylics were designed from the outset for hand brushing. Try them and I can guarantee that you'll see they are far superior paints for hand brushing. They cover perfectly, are easy to use and they leave absolutely no brush marks but with minimum effort. They really are leagues ahead of Tamiya in every way....

[Wolf95]

Originally Posted by stevenoble

I don't doubt that it's good paint. I use it all the time via airbrush and it works well. In my opinion it's not so good for hand brushing. The coverage is poor, because it's too thin and it constantly forms a 'skin' that keeps getting pulled off when you apply more paint. I'm not 'bashing' them, just not for hand brushing. If they work for you then that's good, but maybe they don't work for everyone..??
The Vallejo acrylics were designed from the outset for hand brushing. Try them and I can guarantee that you'll see they are far superior paints for hand brushing. They cover perfectly, are easy to use and they leave absolutely no brush marks but with minimum effort. They really are leagues ahead of Tamiya in every way....

where can I get vallejo acrylics and will they have the specific colors I need?

[mattbacon]

In the UK, Vallejo paints are widely available in Modelzone shops. In the US, I'm not sure. Your best bet is to look for stores that do model figures. If Vallejo are hard to come by, "Prince August" paints are pretty much the same. I'd also recommend the Citadel acrylic paints, made by Games Workshop for "Warhammer" models - they're specifically designed for hand brushing, by everyone frrom complete newbie 7 year olds to the amazing experts of the 'eavy metal painting crew. As to whether they have the right colours, I guess it depends what else you need. Vallejo has a field blue, for sure, and a wide range of greys that will be close to DSG - black grey, basalt grey, german grey. Citadel, you'll have to mix, but Codex Grey, Shadow Grey and Chaos Black will give you field blue and DSG.

"Castle Perilous" at 715 South University, Carbondale, carries the Citadel paints...

The US distributor for Vallejo is:

R&K Productions, Corp.
8404 NE 139th St.
Kirkland, WA 98034 USA

1 714 786 8025 phone
1 866 848 8019 fax (toll free)

rkprod@earthlink.net

They ought to be able to tell you where to find Vallejo paints near you. Otherwise Squadron carries them for mail order...

HTH

bestest,
M.

[stevenoble]

Originally Posted by Wolf95

where can I get vallejo acrylics and will they have the specific colors I need?

You can get them in most model shops in the UK or certainly mail order. I see that you are in the USA, so not sure about their availability there, maybe some of the US chaps can help you out on this one..?? If not I don't think there would be any problem mail ordering them and shipping to the states as they are completely non toxic and not flammable like lacquer type paints. There are two types, Model Air (for airbrushing) and Model Colour (hand brushing) you can usually cross reference with Tamiya paints and get an exact match for all the popular colours.

I always buy mine from here..

Models for Sale

Vallejo website (includes colour and conversion charts)

Vallejo

[Wolf95]

thanks for all the info guys. I'll be sure to check everything out this evening.

[MidMazar]

I totally agree, i typically use acrylics for airbrushing. Enamels for brush painting, some that work good with a brush are model master,humbrol,and tamiya even though tamiya enamels are hard to find in the USA.