Silver Glitter mix with tamiya paints

[gordonli1]

hey guys, been watching pimp my ride for a while and i notice they sometimes use fine glitter powders and mixes in with the paint. Is it possible to that with tamiya acrylics paints too? and then spray paint with an air brush?

I am trying to achieve a metallic look

For those whos done it before, how much glitter do you put into the mix? and any chance of clogging the paint brush?

[BVC500]

It's possible, and you can buy the silver powder (or pearl powders) at your local art store. I haven't done it yet, but have researched it. You can mix the powders in the color coat, or it a clear coat, but must then clear coat over top the powdered clear coat if you're going to polish the paint.

I don't know what ratio to use...probably depends on how much pearl you want.

[gordonli1]

excellent! there goes another pay check of mine on experimentations :-p

will keep you posted when i get the glitter/powder

[MPWR]

You're getting ahead of yourself here. Learn to really use the paint first, before you start experimenting with additives.

If you're wanting custom metallic colors, try mixing Tamiya's acrylics. They mix very easily, and the results can be spectacular. The metallic colors mix very nicely with solid colors, to make new metallic colors. Gun metal and red together make a very nice met ruby red, silver and light blue make a great blue silver, etc.

You will learn faster and with much less frustration if you start simple.

[gordonli1]

thanks for the advice, but i want to venture out of my comfort zone and into more advanced techniques, thats the only i will learn, and if i ask these questions from you guys who are more pro than me, i will minimise the chance of making a big big mistake.

[MPWR]

Not to be discouraging, but if you're learning to airbrush, you are already well outside your comfort zone. It's a skill that needs to be learned by practice. Airbrushing may be relatively simple, but that does not mean that it is easy- especially while you are learning. Even more so if the object you are painting are model car bodies- they take a lot of skill to paint well.

You will learn MUCH better, faster, and cheaper if you make it as simple as possible in the beginning. Adding more complication is really just sabotaging yourself. Making things difficult for yourself, getting frustrated and p!ssed off, and throwing money at advanced techniques before really getting the basics is a rotten way to start this hobby.

[gordonli1]

well i spray painted before, but that was back in my house, now i live in a flat, so things are different, and i remember at the time, i was quite young, my dad would supervise me with the spraying, he made up all the paints so i wouldnt have to worry about it

[Didymus]

Originally Posted by MPWR

Adding more complication is really just sabotaging yourself. Making things difficult for yourself, getting frustrated and p!ssed off, and throwing money at advanced techniques before really getting the basics is a rotten way to start this hobby.

As somebody who tried to use real leather to upholster his first model car, I can say from experience that that's extremely good advice.

(The leather worked, by the way, but it really bogged down the project, and my ignorance of the basics led to ultimate disaster.)

Ddms