Brush-painting in an air-conditioned room

[GU-11]

Like the title says. Is it safe?

I know that atomized paints gets into the lungs far easier, but does the smell from paint do the same?

The weather where I'm at [southeast Asia] is starting to get really warm again, and I was wondering if it's safe to do some hand-painting in an air-conditioned room.

Also, if I paint outdoors [paintbrushes, not spraying], do I still need a mask or respirator, or an exhaust fan?

Thanks for any advice.

[Jefuemon]

I've never had any trouble hand painting in a closed room (used to live in North Carolina, USA. Very hot and humid in the summer).

What you might want to try is pouring off a little paint into a separate cup, and close the bottle, if you're worried about too many fumes getting out.

[GU-11]

I've never had any trouble hand painting in a closed room (used to live in North Carolina, USA. Very hot and humid in the summer).

What you might want to try is pouring off a little paint into a separate cup, and close the bottle, if you're worried about too many fumes getting out.

Thanks for the advice! It's much easier to concentrate on painting your fig without droplets of sweat constantly getting into your eyes.

I just hope the paint doesn't evaporate too quicky due to the air-conditioning. Maybe a drop of paint retarder might be necessasry.

Edited January 8, 2012 by GU-11

[Jefuemon]

When I paint by hand, if it's more than just touch up work, I usually dilute the paint about 10-20%. Seems to go on a little smoother that way.

And unless your air conditioner is blowing right onto your paint, I don't think you need to worry about evaporation.

[GU-11]

When I paint by hand, if it's more than just touch up work, I usually dilute the paint about 10-20%. Seems to go on a little smoother that way.

And unless your air conditioner is blowing right onto your paint, I don't think you need to worry about evaporation.

Is it better to dilute with water, Future or thinner? I have a bottle of Tamiya thinner, but I heard that Future is a good leveling agent, as it's actually self-leveling. I use Tamiya paints exclusively, because it's the only brand I can easily get my hands on.

Most sites I've been to recommend diluting the paint in a 1:1 ratio. I've always wondered if that might be too thin.

BTW, this is my first time painting with a brush. I've been using spray cans previously, until I discovered Future, and wanted to try using it as a cheaper and more durable alternative to canned clear coat sprays. I don't have an airbrush, so painting by hand is my only alternative.

[Jefuemon]

What type of paint are you using? Enamel, or acrylic? That's the main deciding factor of what to dilute with. If it's enamel, I'd dilute with the Tamiya enamel thinner. I can't give you any advice about acrylic, as I've never used it before. Sorry!

1:1 is way to thin for hand brushing. I'd only do about 10% or so (1 drop of thinner for every 9 drops of paint). The technique I use for doing bigger areas is to paint everything in one direction first, let dry a little bit, then paint again 90 degrees opposite. Eg. brush strokes left to right, then top to bottom. That method seems to really cut down on the brush marks you'll see on your paint job.

Just play around a bit, and good luck!

[GU-11]

What type of paint are you using? Enamel, or acrylic? That's the main deciding factor of what to dilute with. If it's enamel, I'd dilute with the Tamiya enamel thinner. I can't give you any advice about acrylic, as I've never used it before. Sorry!

1:1 is way to thin for hand brushing. I'd only do about 10% or so (1 drop of thinner for every 9 drops of paint). The technique I use for doing bigger areas is to paint everything in one direction first, let dry a little bit, then paint again 90 degrees opposite. Eg. brush strokes left to right, then top to bottom. That method seems to really cut down on the brush marks you'll see on your paint job.

Just play around a bit, and good luck!

Thanks for all the tips, Jefuemon.

I'm using Tamiya acrylics, actually. Strangely, they don't carry a lot of enamel paints here. I guess I'll stick to using Tamiya acrylic thinner for now, since it's made specifically for their own brand of paints.

So, 1 drop of thinner for every 9 drops of paint, right? Got it. Thanks.

One more thing: how long should I let the paint dry between layers? Seems like a stupid question, but I'm just worried that letting the paint completely dry would affect the amount of brushs marks.

Edited January 8, 2012 by GU-11

[Jefuemon]

You'll want it about "half dry". Like I said before, play around, and find what works out best for you. Good luck!

[Jasonc]

Acrylic paints are "supposedly" non-toxic, but if you're worried about them, you could just pour a little at a time, thin it with water, and paint away. When I paint with my Tamiya paints, and handpainting, that's exactly what I do (although I use acrylic thinner). The amount of paint for that is so inconsequential, I've never really heard of anyone going any further than using good common sense, and just using what you need at the time. Stick to that, and you'll be fine, unless you have some sort of allergy to it or have any respiratory problems. Then I'd suggest consulting your Dr. first.

[MechTech]

Tamiya's paints are water and isopropyl alcohol based so you're safe. There are other chemicals in them, but in smaller quantities. Here's a thorough breakdown in a thread elsewhere: http://www.network54.com/Forum/112088/thread/1001854333/The+proverbial+Tamiya+acrylic+thinners+question! These are probably about as safe as you're gonna get next to tempura paints.

In a nutshell, I use over the counter isopropyl alchohol to clean and thin mine. It dries faster though, so keep to their stuff or something slower curing. Have fun! A dehumidifier or food dehydrator will help when the humidity gets too high! - MT

[GU-11]

You'll want it about "half dry". Like I said before, play around, and find what works out best for you. Good luck!

Thanks again. I'll do a few practice paint jobs on a piece of scrap plastic before trying it on an actual fig.

@JasonC and MechTech:

Thanks for the info, guys! I was a little concerned when the label on the bottles warned against inhaling the vapors. I guess inhaling too much alcohol might get you intoxicated or dizzy.

But as long as it's nothing toxic or harmful, then I'll feel safe to use them in my air-conditioned room.

@ MechTech:

About that link; it said Tamiya Acrylic Thinners. Does this also apply to the paints? I read through the thread, and they seem focused more on the thinner than the paints themselves, which are what I was concerned about.

Oh, and just a few more questions for the first-time hand-painter here:

1. Some websites advise against stirring the paints inside the bottle, as it tends to limit the shelf life. But how the hell do you get the paint out of the bottle if the paint itself is separated from the alcohol? Even if I were to separately extract the paint and the alcohol, how would I know how much of each to extract?

Or did I misread the whole thing? Maybe they said not to shake the bottle, but gentle stirring is okay?

2. I've read that you can't mix different colors from Tamiya's acrylics line very well. It this true or just BS?

3. Another thing I read; some have complained that you can't layer two different color coats of Tamiya paint one over the other, as the solvents from the new paint will liquify the paint underneath, even after curing. This can't be true, can it?

I'm looking to do some metallic dry brushing on my DMK-1 Optimuc model kit, using Tamiya's gun metal gray as a base and several different layers silver paints, so I'm a little concerned.

Edited January 8, 2012 by GU-11

[MechTech]

Hey GU-11, sorry for the delay replying. The thinner is what the paint is made of before pigment - its the solvent. It's the main part of the paint in this case.

Stirring or shaking? No scientific difference I'd say other than I stir and shake my paints, no differnce. Stirring DOES help pick the solids off the bottom so it can make a difference if the paint has been sitting around awhile. Shaking does make air bubbles, but they of course go away.

About 1/3 of my Tamiya paints are mixed colors I make and keep for projects. No difference again. Many are a few years old too!

If you are brushing paints on by hand, layering can possibly take up older coats of paint. Brush GENTLY with thin top coats (like for effects). A thick coat WILL cut through to the lower coats since its "Wet" enough to act as a solvent still. I dry brush Tamiya paints with no problem. I have had wet top coats take up parts of the lower.

If you use water based on top of enamels, no problem. Enamels on acrylics are also usually alright. The different solvents are litterally liek trying to mix oil and water - litterally. I hope that helps! - MT

[GU-11]

A thousand thanks for the tips, Mechtech!

So it's normal consistency for the base coat, and several thinner layers for the subsequent ones.

What about drybrushing for metallic effects? Is it okay to thin metallic paints? Thing is, I don't know it it's okay to thin the silver paints I'll be drybrushing onto the base coat.

Unfortunately, they no longer sell Tamiya enamel paints at my place, so I'm stuck with acrylics.

[mechaninac]

In my experience, when brush painting metallic colors, it's almost never a good idea to thin them (thinners tend to lift the metal particles out of solution); metallics work better when they are fairly thick, actually. Also, if you need large areas to be painted in a metallic color you're much better off spray painting with a rattle can or airbrush as metallic paints tend to show brush strokes more than nonmetallics, at least for me.

When painting small details such as buttons and the like, concentrate the paint by letting only what you'll need dry a bit before applying.

When dry brushing, just use a tiny bit of the metallic paint straight from the bottle and stroke against a paper towel until the brush is almost completely dry, then proceed to lightly pick out the high spots on the figure/model... the resulting effect can be quite stunning, but remember to stroke lightly and only put down the most minute amount possible, stop, step back, and examine the results -- you can always go over the area(s) repeated times to enhance the dry brushing effect until you've achieved the desired effect... overdoing it is far worse than under-doing it.

And never, ever mix your brushes. It's best to have a set exclusively for enamels, another for acrylics, another for metallic enamels, and another for metallic acrylics, and a set of old beat up brushes for dry brushing... mixing mediums in this set should not be much of an issue.

As others have stated, try everything out for yourself to see what works best for you, and have fun.

Edited January 22, 2012 by mechaninac

[GU-11]

Thanks for the advice, Mechamaniac.

I understand that dry-brushing is usually to get a chipped-paint effect. But for the DMK-01 Optimus kit, I'm looking to get a worn metal look just like in the CG model. Do you recommend dry-brushing or just spraying with chrome silver?

[mechaninac]

Do you recommend dry-brushing or just spraying with chrome silver?

Depends on the effect you're trying to achieve. You may want to give the metal areas a smooth coat of silver or steel, next give it a wash with diluted black or dark grey to grimy up and tone down the base layer, then dry brush with silver or chrome to enhance the contrast/dimensionallity of the metal; finally, dry brush on some rust (orange brown) and ghost grey. This should give you a worn metal look. However, you'll need to try many different base-wash-dry coat combinations until you hit upon the one that captures best the look you want.

Try a simple flat black base coat with dry brushed steel and/or silver for a really cool looking gunmetal effect, for example.

[GU-11]

Depends on the effect you're trying to achieve. You may want to give the metal areas a smooth coat of silver or steel, next give it a wash with diluted black or dark grey to grimy up and tone down the base layer, then dry brush with silver or chrome to enhance the contrast/dimensionallity of the metal; finally, dry brush on some rust (orange brown) and ghost grey. This should give you a worn metal look. However, you'll need to try many different base-wash-dry coat combinations until you hit upon the one that captures best the look you want.

Try a simple flat black base coat with dry brushed steel and/or silver for a really cool looking gunmetal effect, for example.

Wow, so many ways to paint it, and only one kit to try it all on. I guess I'll go with the simpler black base coat and drybrushed steel and silver/chrome.

BTW, and I think this has been answered before but I can't find the post, but will the steel and chrome layers melt into each other if I drybrush them one on top of the other? Sorry if it sounds like a repeated question, but I know nothing about handbrushing and the nature of paints--spray cans were the only medium I used until now.

Thanks again!

[mechaninac]

Try out any new techniques on an old model or some scrap pieces before you tackle your intended project in order to hone in your skills and see if your choices of collors and order of application achieves the desired effect.

Since dry brushing means that the paint is mostly dry at application, and deposited in such minute amounts, multiple layers will not turn into a blended muddy mess, but they may turn into a multi-layered mess.

There is a cool way to get a toned down washed metallic surface using just spray cans. Spray the part(s) silver (Testors Enamel / Tamiya), alumimum (Testors Buffing Metallizer), or steel (Testors Buffing Metallizer), or Metallic Grey (Tamiya) and let dry. Next use Testors clear smoke over the base coat a little heavier than you'd normally apply a clear coat... this will cause the smoke to run and accumulate in any recessed areas (the trick here is to apply enough of a smoke coat to get it to migrate to the low spots, but not so much that it ends up dripping and causing unsightly runs) . After the part is fully dry it's ready for dry brushing to enhance high spots and make it more "metallic".

[GU-11]

Thanks, that's sounds like a reasonably simple process and looks like it can yield some good results.

I hope to be able to start working on it soon, maybe after practicing a bit on some junkers or scrap pieces of plastic.

[IScustom]

Thank you for all sharing the helpful information.

I personally do not suggest to do that. I was once did airbrush painting for a model airplane in a closed lab. Maybe I am too sensitive to the smell, and it took about 2-3 weeks to let the smell go. In this period, I felt dizzy each time I entered the lab. Doing the painting In an open area is still the best way to health.

[Jasonc]

Thank you for all sharing the helpful information.

I personally do not suggest to do that. I was once did airbrush painting for a model airplane in a closed lab. Maybe I am too sensitive to the smell, and it took about 2-3 weeks to let the smell go. In this period, I felt dizzy each time I entered the lab. Doing the painting In an open area is still the best way to health.

It's a great way to get high, but definitely not suggested. I've done airbrushing in my apartment. While not suggested, I am very careful. I tape a large box shut on the bottom except where I'm painting into. I keep my fan blowing into the box, so that the spray stays inside as much as possible, and I wear a respirator. I also keep the door open, windows open, and do it as close to the open door as possible. It works, and I've never had an issue with it, but again, not suggested.

[Mark Warlock]

GU-11

Check your local hobby shop or check on line auction places like "fEeBay" and look for back issues of "FineScale Modeler" they often have step by step How to articles on painting and detailing. The January 2012 issue has a nice step by step on using Metallic paints on aircraft. You might also try www.finescale.com for more information.

Hope this helps.