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Returning Modler needing help with Acrylic paints


Mayberryman

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After an extended absence from modeling I have decided to return to a hobby what has been a part of my life on and off for over 50 years. At the age of 67 I have finally decided that my hand eye abilities have placed me at a disadvantage at slot car racing and any other competitive events when I have to go up against 21 year old reflexes. Last month I attended the December meeting of the Richmond IPMS club and decided to get back to my first love of modeling 1/72 WW2 aircraft. Now comes my problem, with the opinion of my wife about enamel and thinner smells in the house I decided that Acrylic paints would be the way to go. I have attempted to spray both Model Masters and Vallejo through my two Badger 200 airbrushes at a pressure of 20psi and have thinned them with everything from Testors Model Master Thinner to alcohol to water and the same thing happens. On the first pass the paint comes out of the airbrush as it should but just as soon as I stop the spray to get to another area of the plane the airbrush clogs up and nothing will come out. I thinned the MM at a rate of about 70% Paint to 30% thinner and the Vallejo at a considerable amount less of thinner as recommended by a long time modeler. Now, I have never claimed to be the brightest light on the Christmas Tree, but I did think my modeling talents would allow me to lay down a base coat of paint. I have used enamel paint through brushes for years with fairly good results but this problem with the Acrylic has me beat. Any and all opinions will be welcomed

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Spencer: The problem you cite is just one of the reasons I still use enamels.

 

However, I have read that many acrylics have a tendency to dry on the tip of the airbrush under the conditions you described. I've read of two ways to handle this:

 

The first is simply to keep some q-tips nearby and moisten one with some thinner (alcohol) and swab the dried paint from the tip so you can then continue painting. Do this gently, and (maybe) pull the tip back a little to prevent bending the end of the needle.

 

The second is to use some sort of "retarder". A retarder slows the drying time of the paint, and consequently will slow the drying of the paint on the model, but can also prevent it drying in the tip of the airbrush. I'm not sure what to use with MM acrylics, but other brands actually have a retarder as a part of their acrylic line, so you might look at switching brands if needs be.

 

Hope this helps a little. Best of luck, and welcome back to plastic modeling!

 

GIL :smiley16:

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Vellejo paint retarder is what you need I paint exclusively with acrylics for the same reason you do wife doesn't like the smell of enamels , there are some tricks to paint retarder thoe don't use the bottle amount of retarder put drops on to your personal preference also paint retarder thickens paint so be sure to leave room in your paint cup for extra thinner . paint retarder for acrylics solves many problems it keeps it fromndrying in your airbrush , makes paint stay wetter longer for hand paint and when it slows the drying process I gets rid of a problem I had a long time getting figured out rough unrealistic bumpy paint . that's about it you can find it on amazon I have a 60 ml bottle I bought a few years ago and I am not even half threw it it does not take much . welcome back to the hobby and have fun .

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