tamiya acrylics problem

hi all
who out there uses tamiya acrylics (the 10-23ml bottles-not the cans) through an air brush as base coats on car bodies with good success?
i did one a while ago, in white, and everything went fine until the clear coat which lifted the base coat off the primer in a couple spots, mainly in depressions like around the flared wheel arches and a bit on the windscreen surround.
i then did some reading on here to find im not the only one to have these problems. i found that he underlying problem seems to be the tamiya paints having poor adhesion to the primer plus a clear coat that is a bit on the 'hot' side and then shrinking a little as it dries.
all of that resulting in similar problems to mine.....

so my question is, before i try again, is my assumption right?
should i use a different, safer clear coat or should i just steer clear of these paints from now on?

thanks in advance:smile:

Yes I believe that your assumption is right, in that the clearcoat your using is likely too "hot" for the acrylics. What kind of clearcoat are you using?

You could go on using the acrylics once you've found a suitable clear for them, however I must ask, is using lacquers an option?

If it is I highly suggest making the switch. I personally recommend the Tamiya TS lacquers if they are available in your country. They are SOOO easy to use and have a wide assortment of colors to choose from. :iceslolan Nowadays, I don't use anything else to paint car bodies. :thumbsup:

Personally I've never had good results with the Tamiya acrylics, they are a very poor choice for painting bodywork in my opinion. Switch over to lacquer type paints such as Mr Color or Tamiya TS which you can decant and spray through your airbrush. Trust me they are a world away from Tamiya acrylics. You will never use them again once you have used the lacquer paints :)

To be honest the only the tamiya acrylics I use for airbrushing are flat aluminum and chrome silver because they replicate engine castings very well. Metallic blue, bronze, copper, clear red, yellow, and blue are also essential for heat staining details.

Other than that if you are spraying a solid color I would use vallejo air. Their colors air brush so smoothly and look fantastic. Their black is so much better than x-18 it's not even funny. X-18 is probably one of the most inconsistent colors to airbrush in my own experience.

Don't shy away from airbrushing acrylics if you want to give it a try. Honestly it sounds like you put a lacquer or enamel clear over you acrylic base which caused the lifting. You'll need to use Tamiya acrylic clear, Future Floor Wax, or 2k clear to seal an acrylic paint job.

Hi,

Why don't you use Zero-paint?
I think it's the best paint for the airbrush
I also used Tamiya TS.. spray cans, but now I only use Zero-paints.
You can order it at Hiroboy in the UK.

modellmaker.

thanks everyone for the replies.

BTW im using a automotive acrylic clear that i have available locally in spray packs.

the reason i wanted to ask this question is i have such a collection that i have always used for detailing so i wanted to put them to use for other purposes.
i do currently use other airbrushing acrylic paints that are all fine and ive never had an issue with (see my last 2 WIP) but id just like to use everything i have if i can, but it sounds like i might just stick to what i know or use some vallejo which i know i can get at my local shop as well.

if anyone does have a solution please still reply,
thanks again guys

Majority of hobby paints are either water-soluble acrylic, lacquer-based acrylic, and oil-based enamel, (I'm leaving out urethane because I don't consider it a hobby paint, but rather it's for pros.)

Tamiya's bottled paint is water-soluble acrylic, so it's too weak against lacquer clears, (like Tamiya TS spray, Mr. Spray), and I'm guessing the auto clear you used was lacquer-based. ("acrylic" doesn't necessarily mean compatible.) However, Tamiya paint should be okay with water-based clear, such as Mr. Hobby's blue-labeled Top Coat, but wet coat should always be avoided, because dried paint can easily be dissolved by an excessive amount of clear, regardless of the type.

You can either use water-soluble clear (such as a certain brand of floor wax), or Mr. Hobby Top Coat.

But like others have suggested, Tamiya's bottled paints aren't exactly suitable for two coat application (base + clear), and you might want to switch to a lacquer-based paint just for the body color, and use what you have for other parts that don't require clear coating.

ok thanks heaps for your insight