Hand-Painting With Tamiya Acrylics

[heeroyuy]

so ive started to hand paint my HG 00 Gundam and I started out painting the bottom of the feet red which turned out a good flat finish then i started to paint the chest plates and other things that were blue and the results was this nasty glossy looking finish what can i do to fix this!!!!! and i am using tamiya paint and 91%.

thanks

[zerobxu]

Pictures would help here, but it sounds like you're using glossy paint or you hit it with a gloss lacquer afterwards. A big hint is the paint number with Tamiya paints. If it's "X-1", that's glossy black. "XF-1" is flat black.

[heeroyuy]

well it was a blue thats real glossy but i painted a non flat red and it turned out pretty flat looking ill try to get some pics up soon

[heeroyuy]

But what im wondering is if im not thinning my paint enough why it looks all gobby and the face maybe i need to sand it better. any advice please!!!!!

[zerobxu]

If you're thinning your paint too much, it will be runny. If you're not thinning enough, it will clump up. I'm not sure how much I--or anyone else--can help you without more information and/or pictures.

[acedudeyeah]

how many coats of paint does it usually take you to cover a surface?
both completely changing the color of the part or giving it the same/darker/lighter shade.

[MR_M]

  Hi friend normally for one color paint - takes about 3-4 coats... including the clear coats... but it really depends on in it how you will also design your kits - for multi-color...  like my FAZZ it takes - 7-8 coats on it...

[prozak]

I'm curious, how toxic is this method of painting? From everything I've read, this is probably the least toxic way to paint but that still doesn't really tell me how toxic Tamiya acrylic paints are. I'm looking for the least toxic way to get near professional level gundams, if that's possible. Is it safe to paint like this without using some kind of fume hood? I would do this near an open window in a 10x10 room. Ideally I'd like to do this so I can have the television in the background while I build, but the toxic substances of this hobby are something that worry me.

Besides the paints, I would be using the decal softner and setter, how toxic are those? And the final top coat is something I would do outside and I'd probably buy a respirator or at least a hepa mask while I do that.

Oh and going back a bit more on topic. What is a recommended way to do panel lining on top of an acrylic paint job?

Much thanks for the help.

[vorenus]

sir, i have a nooby question.

what is the correct ratio if i use tamiya enamel paints instead of tamiya acrylic paints? and, what type of thinners should i use? i use both tamiya enamel and acrylic paints for my models but i can't seem to find a guide for the use of tamiya enamel paints. hope you could help me! thanks!

[George Caswell]

I'm curious, how toxic is this method of painting? From everything I've read, this is probably the least toxic way to paint but that still doesn't really tell me how toxic Tamiya acrylic paints are.

Couldn't really tell you.  I suppose if you're really concerned you could contact the manufacturer and ask for MSDS sheets.  That would be the authoritative source of relevant information...

I believe Tamiya acrylics give off alcohol fumes.  I don't know if they give off anything else.

Ventilation is always a good idea - and when it comes to particulate matter (i.e. dust from sanding parts, and so on) you never want to breathe that in.  Wet-sanding can help minimize the amount of dust you're exposed to (as the particles get mostly trapped in the water) - and hand-painting instead of spraying would mean that, while you're exposed to some level of fumes, you're at least not exposed to overspray mist...

I don't know the dangers of decal solvent or setting solution, either...  these aren't always necessary, however.

As for panel-lining - you've got options.  My preferred option is usually to gloss-coat the part and then use a wash.  Both gloss-coat and wash could be acrylic...

[zerobxu]

sir, i have a nooby question.

what is the correct ratio if i use tamiya enamel paints instead of tamiya acrylic paints? and, what type of thinners should i use? i use both tamiya enamel and acrylic paints for my models but i can't seem to find a guide for the use of tamiya enamel paints. hope you could help me! thanks!

No idea, but with enamel paints you'll need enamel thinner. Acrylic thinner and/or isopropyl alcohol will probably do more harm than good.

[Todd]

Awesome forum, great tips.  Thanks everyone!

[ironwolf89]

So I am going to buy a 1/100 Scale hg wing zero. I've seen pics and I'm not really impressed with how the paint looks OOB, so I want to paint it, obviously the part of the shield that doesn't come in white like its supposed to.

Anyway what I'm debating is whether I should give it a try with gundam marker or this method with brush paints. I want to know if there is any difference in how they end up appearing. Wouldn't it be same thing almost ?

[zerobxu]

Hand painting just gives you more control. It's like the difference between the width of a highlighter and a pencil tip. Yes, you can achieve reasonable results with a marker, but--with practice--you can likely achieve better results with hand-brushing. Of course, it's your model, so you're the only one who can decide how you want to paint it. 

[ironwolf89]

ah right right, hmm I'm guessing with gundam markers it would still be wise to rub the plastic with alcohol so the paint sticks better too?

Also the one thing that may turn me away from paint brush is it potentially coming out bad because of brush streaks from painting, or can this happen with a gundam marker as well? As you can tell im a big noob when it comes to painting (only have done panel lining and certain small parts on a 1/144 exia).

I'm guessing an advantage of gundam marker would be no need for thinning, but like you said a brush would give more control. I may be leaning towards brush due to the gold parts of wing zero (which i want to paint yellow) and the buster rifle's areas which are a darker gray.