Paint campatability

I just had a terrible blow. I used Tamiya clear coat on my LMM Matra 630 slot car body and the underlying paint crinkled on me.

The underlying enamel paint was Testors French blue, toned down to the accurate shade with Testors white enamel. The Tamiya French blue is way too light in shade for a LeMans Matra. The paint was applied 2 weeks ago so it was well dried.

Nowhere on the can is there any warning of incapatability. In fact, nowhere on the can does the word 'lacquer' appear. I did not use Testors as it clearly states lacquer on their can.

I sent out a request to LeMan's Miniature to see if I could buy new decals. I also voiced my displeasure to Tamiya US. However, they will probably say it was my fault for not using their inaccurate blue paint for the color. I just simply wished they did a better job of labelling the product.

You can't really blame Tamiya for not labelling their products seeing as they only have 2 lines of paint in a can anyway. It is also partly your fault for not finding out what was in the can.
Put it this way, If I didn't know what was in a can, I'd try my best to find out before buying it, let alone spraying it.
I typed "Tamiya TS 13" into google and lo and behold, what do I get?
Spray Lacquer TS13 Clear (tam85013) Tamiya Plastic Model Paint Laquer

It's fairly common knowledge that lacquers shouldn't be put over enamels, and it's best to stick with one manufacturer's paint, and the same kind of paint. I know Tamiya cans aren't exactly easy to read, but you could have saved yourself the trouble by asking here first before spraying, if you had come here beforehand and asked "can I spray Tamiya TS clear over Testors enamel?" the answer would have been "no"!

Nobody's cans of paint warn against possible incompatibilities with other brands. It's not Tamiya's fault whatsoever.

Whoaa! Uno momento por favor!

Both of you suggest that we should not model without first consulting the internet! Gee, how did we model before Al invented it!:banghead:

Nowhere on the can does it say lacquer (although there is a very long cancer warning, if you use this in California) AND I bought it at my local hobby shop from a Tamiya paint rack which is the same one where I pick up the rattle cans of Tamiya Enamel Sprays. You know, a simple note on the can to the effect of "Lacquer, Do not use with Enamels or Water Based Paints" would have sufficed.

No.
We are saying that you should've found out what was in the can. I chose google as an example because you are sitting in front of a pc. If you fail to use whatever resources you have at hand, who is to blame? Would a label have made things easier? Maybe.
Of course, my response might be because I am one to make sure I know what I'm doing before doing it.

Tamiya have rattle can enamels?

I stand corrected, the Tamiya rattle cans are all lacquers. I had been under the assumption that the Tamiya sprays, like Testors were enamels. Most of the time, I am dealing with an airbrush, either in acryllic or enamel and what is in those bottles is clearly marked.

But the point is that it would not cut into anybady's profit margin to use the word lacquer, enamel, or acryllic on the container. All of the other manufacturers do. I should not have to look up on the Net what is in the can.

(Shame of it is that I had mixed a really good Matra bleu. The only reason I clear coated it was that it is a slot car and I wanted some protection for the decals.)

I've met very few modelers who don't test spraying different brands' paints over others before applying them to a model.

I'm not trying to jump your case, it wouldn't cost any extra and it would be useful if Tamiya would mark their products. At the same time, however, it's not really something you can jump Tamiya's case about, either. After a quick survey of all the different sprays I have, only Testors labels their cans as enamel or lacquer. No one else does - not Gunze, not Tamiya, not Duplicolor, not the House of Kolors stuff, not even Krylon. This is why most people I know will test spraying different branded paints - and often same branded paints - over one another.

I know it's frustrating, and shooting off a couple emails and threads about it is soothing. However, this is a hobby of patience and care, I'm surprised you were so hasty in this case.

I petty much agree with what the others are saying. I think it has something to do with your mindset, not the labeling.

The can clearly says, "Contains Acetone and Harmful Solvent...," so there's a big clue right there. If you don't find familiar terms like enamel or lacquer on the can, you might as well stop and think about possible risk of using an unfamiliar product without testing, instead of assuming that Tamiya spray is compatible with enamel for no reason. That is definitely your fault, nobody else's.

Besides, there's a way to safely use Tamiya spray on enamel, and I know it because I did my homework and learned how. In order to improve your skills, I encourage you to use your head, instead of expect the others to use theirs.