Hand-Painting With Tamiya Acrylics

[Alan Britten]

By reading what you guys have to say and talking to that modeling ace again I think I have come to a conclusion...

I started with enamel straight out of the bottle which was too thick but has an awesome finish, will have to paint with that again. Then I moved to Citadel which is easy to use and thin, the perfect hand brush paint due to its fine pigments (they also have the perfect metallic). Now Tamiya with Gunpla...

Tamiya I've been told is your universal air brush and hand paint product and has a much larger range of colors and better finishes then Citadel and designed for a realistic look. But harder to use with thicker pigments, so I think we might be using it wrong and might need to go back to basic (which im happy to do)...

I've been told if your hobby paint be it Tamiya, Model Masters or Testors can be great paints but used wrong will give you hell. Citadel is very easy which might have got some of us lazy like me, lol. A paint jar needs to be opened and stirred with something fine and sharp like a nail or tooth pick to move the pigments from the bottom of the jar and mix with the rest of the paint (at least two mins and not a few seconds). If drying up over time a few drops of thinner can return the paint to its original state when bought. Add a small amount of paint to a mixing pallet and add the required amount of thinner, water or alcohol. Note I have been thinning Tamiya, Model Masters and Testors in water and at times am in trouble. I was told im better off thinning them with alcohol or thinner...

After testing these new tips and stirring my paints three time longer hand painting is much easier now. I kinder feel like I fell for a noob trap but taking a step backwards to progress forward is really the key. Have a go and you all might change your option on these paint brands...

[warfreak20xx]

hi sir,
can you hand-paint clear tamiya acrylic?
thanks

[zerobxu]

hi sir,
can you hand-paint clear tamiya acrylic?
thanks

Arrrgh! I had the whole reply written out and the board software ate it!  

Yes--you can (and I do) hand-paint Tamiya clear acrylics. There's generally two instances where I find myself using Tamiya clear acrylics:
1. "Tinting" visors, such as this one.
2. Painting signal lights on aircraft.

In these instances, I still mix the clear acrylic with 91% alcohol, but the mix ratio is probably closer to 1:1. For tinting visor-pieces (or larger clear pieces), I try to use as broad a brush as possible. And I don't always get it smooth on the first try. If I don't, I simply wipe it off with a paper towel while it's still wet and try again. That picture I linked to above probably took four or five tries to get right. For airplane signal lights, I first paint the "light" (which is usually just part of the wing piece) in Tamiya Chrome, and then--after it has dried--paint the appropriate clear acrylic over it. Obviously, you need a smaller brush for this. The finished effect really does look more like a clear lense piece than a piece of plastic with red (or whatever) paint on it. I've also used the clear-over-chrome piece for some other things that I wanted to look like lenses--such as the "binocular" piece on top of a Ma.K. Heinrich. In other words, the technique has uses beyond just aircraft signal lights.

So... That was a really long answer to your question, but I hope it helps!  

[warfreak20xx]

thanks alot!!! i was thinking about the Alclad tutorial bout using Clear over chrome. And you have mention it also in your reply that is doable. Thanks again 

[Alan Britten]

thanks alot!!! i was thinking about the Alclad tutorial bout using Clear over chrome. And you have mention it also in your reply that is doable. Thanks again 

Please share your expeirences with the candy effects. I would like to do it on my Turn-a Gundam Gold Sumo and in past failed on my Warhammer stuff...

[charmy]

hi guys did anyone knows how to hand paint those Mr.Metal Colors. i have encounter difficulties with them...it seems that i couldnt get those shine after i buff it...what are the steps to paint those metal colors?

[tyrewb2]

Having never used Mr. Metal Colors.. my best guess would be that you would have to thin it out (if its like tamiya then a 60-40 airbrush ratio gives a great shine with metal colors) and make sure its mixed extremely well.

The metallic flakes in paints are usualy heavier then the rest of the paint so thicker coats will cause a duller effect to the finish. So in theory, thinner, lighter coats will  give you better results.

Please correct me if i just hit the catcher with the bat.

[Chromejael]

Hey Zero, how long does it take for Tamiya acrylics, hand-painted or airbrushed, to dry completely before applying a gloss coat?

[heeroyuy]

Ive airbrushed one Gundam that being a 1/100 Kyrios and had somewhat satisfying results but due to a cheap airbrush it has broken so I was wanting to try hand painting so I was wondering how many coats of paint do you put on when painting by hand?

[zerobxu]

I was wondering how many coats of paint do you put on when painting by hand?

As many as it takes! 

Seriously, you just want good coverage on the part when painting by hand--assuming you're not doing something fancy like bleed-thru weathering I've done with a couple Ma.K. models. With most colors, one good coat will do it. With other colors (red or white, for example), you'll sometimes need two or three coats to get consistent color across the entire surface.

[MR_M]

  Hi Zero sir, i haven't tried using alcohol dis-infectant for acrylic paints.... does this method only apply for tamiya using handbrush methods? i wonder can apply to airbrush using alcohol, does the result same? just curios i mean...

as i mentioned for other forum, i remember using citadel paints using my warhammer games before. but its a waterbase paint not acrylic... i tought, acrylic paint use only acrylic thinner. Just let me know thank you.

[heeroyuy]

Zero:
Ok one more question do you put a gloss top coat over everything like FFA/91% Alcohol or Mr. Topcoat for a gloss I was just wondering or is just simply the Tamiya paint?

and MR_M:
when i used my airbrush I read fitchenfoo forums and yes you can thin Tamiya paint with the 91% Alcohol using an airbrush you might find this ling helpful if you haven't read it yet http://fichtenfoo.net/blog/how-to-build-master-grade-gundams/

[zerobxu]

Just a little disclaimer here... These are my personal favorite methods. If you find something else that works better for you, I encourage you to use it. 

Hi Zero sir, i haven't tried using alcohol dis-infectant for acrylic paints.... does this method only apply for tamiya using handbrush methods? i wonder can apply to airbrush using alcohol, does the result same? just curios i mean...

As a rule, the alcohol works best for thinning Tamiya acrylics. I haven't tried it with Mr. Color, but I can tell you that works with Model Master and PolyScale paints--just not quite as well. It tends to make those paints "chunky" in the paint tray after a short while, so water tends to work better with those. For Mr. Color, I'd recommend Mr. Color thinners.

Zero:
Ok one more question do you put a gloss top coat over everything like FFA/91% Alcohol or Mr. Topcoat for a gloss I was just wondering or is just simply the Tamiya paint?

When using water-slide decals (like the Bandai aftermarket decals), you need to have a glossy surface for them to adhere to. So the rule is to (1) paint (2) apply gloss (3) apply water-slide decals, (4) apply decal softener/setter, and then (5) apply matte. Up until recently, I've just been using "rattle cans" of Testors "Gloss Cote" for the gloss lacquer. And that works fine. More recently--based on a tip from another modeler, I've just been brushing a little bit of FFA directly on the area where the decal is to be applied. This works equally well.

Again, use what method is going to work best for you. By hand-brushing the FFA, I don't have to spray on the Gloss Cote, so it's a savings of time, drying time, air quality, and effort. That's what works best for me. 

[heeroyuy]

Thanks zero you've been alot of help now I just need to get working on my models so I'll try to get pics posted when Im done.

[MR_M]

Thank you Zero sir, i appreciate your quick responce, ill be trying this coming saturday.... let you know the result