Generic questions about "Tamiya" acrylic paint..........

[jalopiejj]

......In poking through the "FAQ's" & the "How-to's", I've answered MOST of my questions, but I have a few things I'd still like to get an "expert" take on......

1) Does isopropal alcohol make a good solvent/airbrush cleaner for the "Tamiya" acrylics (looking to both economize & for what works the best)

2) Best place to order???

3) Best "clearcoat"??

Thanks in advance for your kind assistance

[MPWR]

Isopropyl is certainly compatible with Tamiya acrylics, but it isn't great for thinning or cleanup. Isopropyl thins flat colors just fine, but it's poor for use with gloss colors. For thinning, use the Tamiya's own thinner. Yeah, it's more expensive, but if you're only using it for thinning the 'added expense' is trivial.

On the other hand, while isopropyl is terrific for disolving Tamiya acrylics, it really evaporates much to quickly to be a good cleaner. There are much better 'bargan' choices. My two favorites are Windex glass cleaner and Simple Green cleaner/degreaser.

FOr clearcoating, use Tamiya's own acrylic clearcoat (X22, I think?), thinned with Tamya thinner. Do yourself a favor and get the thinner in a 'large vat'- it's cheaper that way.



Tamiya clear is inherently compatable with Tamiya acrylics, is completely safe over decals, and is FAR superior to 'substitutions' like Future.

[jalopiejj]

Many "Thanks" for your reply to my questions. Am I to understand that "Simple green" would serve well as an airbrush cleaner?? (i.e- as a "spray through" when switching colors, and when cleaning the gun afterwards??)

[MPWR]

Both Simple Green and Windex are terrific in that role. I really like the trigger spray bottles- I spray it directly into my color cup between colors and when cleaning up.

[jalopiejj]

Thanks again. Replies and info are much appreciated.

[jmwallac]

Originally Posted by MPWR

Isopropyl is certainly compatible with Tamiya acrylics, but it isn't great for thinning or cleanup. Isopropyl thins flat colors just fine, but it's poor for use with gloss colors. For thinning, use the Tamiya's own thinner. Yeah, it's more expensive, but if you're only using it for thinning the 'added expense' is trivial.

I use 91% for all my thinning and have had good luck. In fact, I've had the exact opposite: the alcohol works great with the semi and gloss, but causes the flat to get a white powdery coating on it once it dries.

Why is Tamiya's own thinner superior? How does it perform differently than the alcohol? I'm not being argumentative, I just would like to know if I should look into purchasing some.

Thanks!

[MPWR]

Originally Posted by jmwallac

Why is Tamiya's own thinner superior? How does it perform differently than the alcohol? I'm not being argumentative, I just would like to know if I should look into purchasing some.

The white powder is most likely from the alcohol evaporating too fast in the spray stream.

Tamiya thinner has an 'optimised' evaporation rate for airbrushing. It's designed specificly to avoid texturing and powdering from dry ing too fast, and pooling from drying to slow. This is of course really just a compromise between two undesirable traits. It is also little more than a balance between solvent, water, and retarder. But it seems to be a surprisingly good balence in my experince.

The thinner is also supposed to contain additives to improve the overall drying finish (surface tension agents?).

You can certaily use isopropyl for thinning. I would actually recommend 71% (or less if you can find it), as won't doesn't dry quite so fast, particularly in the spray stream. I used it for years, and it wasn't until I started seriously painting car bodies with it that it wasn't performing the way I really wanted it to and gave Tamiya thinner a try. I've been impressed enough with it not to go back.

[jmwallac]

Originally Posted by MPWR

The white powder is most likely from the alcohol evaporating too fast in the spray stream.

Tamiya thinner has an 'optimised' evaporation rate for airbrushing. It's designed specificly to avoid texturing and powdering from dry ing too fast, and pooling from drying to slow. This is of course really just a compromise between two undesirable traits. It is also little more than a balance between solvent, water, and retarder. But it seems to be a surprisingly good balence in my experince.

The thinner is also supposed to contain additives to improve the overall drying finish (surface tension agents?).

You can certaily use isopropyl for thinning. I would actually recommend 71% (or less if you can find it), as won't doesn't dry quite so fast, particularly in the spray stream. I used it for years, and it wasn't until I started seriously painting car bodies with it that it wasn't performing the way I really wanted it to and gave Tamiya thinner a try. I've been impressed enough with it not to go back.

Thanks for the info! I'm going to pick up some 71% at the local CVS and Tamiya thinner and give it a shot. The 91% does cause some problems with pooling up if I'm not careful... Tons of great info!

Isn't this site great?

[MPWR]

Originally Posted by jmwallac

Thanks for the info! I'm going to pick up some 71% at the local CVS and Tamiya thinner and give it a shot. The 91% does cause some problems with pooling up if I'm not careful... Tons of great info!

Isn't this site great?

Actually the 71% will pool more readily than the 91%. It's 'wetter', so it dries slower. You will have less solvent evaporation in your spray stream, but it means the paint when in accumulates on the surface will still have a greater level of fluidity, and will pool more easily.

But as you mention it's mostly a problem for when you're not careful, and something that can be corrected for with technique (spraying coats less heavily).

But certainly give both a try and see what you think- it's all learning, and that's useful.

(You know, I've heard 'watching paint dry' as a description for something boring. Actually, I seem to find this stuff pretty interesting....)

[klutz_100]

Originally Posted by MPWR

You know, I've heard 'watching paint dry' as a description for something boring. Actually, I seem to find this stuff pretty interesting....

[mrawl]

Well allow me to add my 2 cents here. I've been doing a lot of detailed experimenting with acrylic paints recently, and I can tell you without a shadow of a doubt, albeit somewhat off-topic, that if you really care about your painting, then lose the Tamiya and use Gunze Aqueous acrylic instead. These are just my findings, but to me they are unarguable - Gunze kills Tamiya in every area that matters. I can go into specifics if you care to hear it, but even though I'm a Tamiya fan, I have switched and will never go back, the difference is night and day and is quite stunning (at least to me).

[cyberkid]

Originally Posted by mrawl

Well allow me to add my 2 cents here. I've been doing a lot of detailed experimenting with acrylic paints recently, and I can tell you without a shadow of a doubt, albeit somewhat off-topic, that if you really care about your painting, then lose the Tamiya and use Gunze Aqueous acrylic instead. These are just my findings, but to me they are unarguable - Gunze kills Tamiya in every area that matters. I can go into specifics if you care to hear it, but even though I'm a Tamiya fan, I have switched and will never go back, the difference is night and day and is quite stunning (at least to me).

/2= +0.5
I use both gunze and Tamiya, but even living in Taiwan. I can get tamiya much more easily than Gunze products. So, I still use Tamiya stuff.
Reasons why to use Gunze:
1. cheaper
2. more color choice
3. the paint behaves better in humid conditions
4. color pigmentation are much smaller than Tamiya ( very noticeable with metalic paints)
5. Thinners come in 400cc bottles compared to Tamiya's 250cc
6. gunze's paint experience is much older than Tamiya's