Any tips for brush painting with acrylics?

[David Hingtgen]

Ok, so I'm not painting a valk, but I still need to get pale greys/whites on a model. For many reasons (#1 being that I truly suck with airbrushes, and that is NOT an option), I am going to have to brush-paint the entire thing. (1/350 battleship). Now, I have achieved "satisfactory" finishes brush-painting ships before with Testors acrylic, but this particular paint isn't as good. Dries faster, and is noticeably more transparent (usually 2, sometimes 3 coats). And it seems to REALLY like to pool in corners, ridges, etc. I'm going to be using flat light aircraft grey as a primer/base coat (lightest grey I can find that I know is compatible), but the biggest problem is actually little pieces. I can paint a nice smooth big area without difficulty, but little parts, or anything with lots of curves and surface details--big trouble. (Especially parts with small lips/ridges/overhangs--they're just killing me)

But it's the only way, so I'm wondering if anybody has any tips for brush-painting acrylics. Testors Model Master to be specific, MM marine 1943 5L to be really specific.

[Commander McBride]

I hate to say it, but that paint is most likely designed for airbrushes. I'd say that's why you're having so much trouble.

[Less than Super Ostrich]

Commander McBride is right. If you can't get an airbrush, I would still consider Tamiya Spray Paints for the large surface areas, and then the regular bottle paint (Tamiya, Gunze, or Polyscale) for the details.

[Gerwalker]

Model Masters acrylics: I hate them!! except for the clear coatings that are really great things. Every time I tried to handbrush with this paint I got terrible results. I also found that the results also depends on the color: black paint is one of the worst. I know they have a new formulation and maybe my experience was with the old ones.

[Commander McBride]

I personally avoid acryl paints like the plague. Not only are they hard to use, but compared to enamels, they are a nightmare to clean up. With normal Model Master enamel, I can clean the airbrush with a cupfull of thinner, but with acryl, it takes two or three loads of windex.

[Less than Super Ostrich]

I have also had nothing but trouble with Model Maste Acryls... clog up my airbrush, but when I thin it down then it runs with watery drips. I even used the MM Acryl thinner that they sell.

TAMIYA RULES TAMIYA RULES TAMIYA RULES TAMIYA RULES TAMIYA RULES TAMIYA RULES TAMIYA RULES

[omega20]

I've never tried this myself... but its just a though I had that you might want to try. Prime all the pieces with a flat grey (from a spray can) and then brush on alot of light coats with the apropriate color. I've used Acryls for a while and i get decent results with it. The trick is very light coats. I've just recently started using Tamiya paint after a long hiatus and I have to agree with Less than Super Ostrich it does RULE! But I think i'll still continue to use Acryls together with Tamiya.

[David Hingtgen]

Yeah, but Tamiya absolutely doesn't make anything remotely close to 1943 5L grey, nor 5N blue, nor Revised 20B blue. (Well, they do make modern 5N blue in a spray, but not a bottle--and it's not quite the 1940's version) I'd have to do white+black+ultramarine blue+purple and custom mix them all. When you start mixing color after color, you start to get browns, unless you've got pure pigments. (Yellow+blue doesn't make green, when dealing with paint--no pigment is PURE) Tamiya doesn't make a pure ultramarine blue do they? I do have the formulas for the actual colors, it's just that Norfolk Navy Yard tends not to have WWII-era stocks of paint, nor sell to civilians in small quantities...

As for MM marine--while they say on the bottle they can be airbrushed, they do need to be thinned (3:1 p/t) according to the site, and that does seem correct. And they brush better (as flats go) than just about anything I've used. (Tamiya is superior though). (Humbrol's the best for gloss)

But the whole reason for using Testor MM acryl is the colors. It's not like I'm doing 36375 Light Ghost Grey, which every paint manufacturer in the world makes, I'm doing WWII US Navy camo colors. (If there was any color even rremotely close to 1943 5L grey from any manufacturer, I'd use it in an instant, just to make life easier--but there's not)

My current theory is along the lines Omega20 said--multiple very thin coats over light grey. But 5L grey is VERY light, and very blue, and even camouflage grey is darker and browner than it, and isn't that much better than plain old grey primer.

Might have to buy a bunch of Tamiya this week and see how well it works, if I can mix up the right colors.

Edited August 27, 2003 by David Hingtgen

[wm cheng]

Hey Cmd McBride,

I don't think Windex works for ModelMaster Acryls. They do have a specific thinner and a specific solvent for the Acryl line. Although I haven't used any of their "real" paints, the thinner works really well for the clear-coats - like the Tamiya thinner, there is some flow agent that makes the paint really viscous (it could be just a simple detergent to break the surface tension) but I don't know. However the Solvent, is really good a cleaning/flushing your airbrush out - they may be a bit expensive, but they really go a long way - I think it will last me years.

[Grayson72]

Are you sure what you are using isn't specifically for an airbrush? It's kinda confusing because they have two product lines of MM Acryl, one for brushing and the other comes pre-thinned for airbrushes. It's one of the few companies that makes pre-thinned paints for airbrushes. I can't attest these products cuz I only use Tamiya and Gunze Aqueous.

[David Hingtgen]

It's WAY too thick to be airbrush ready. It's far, far thicker than stuff I KNOW to be airbrush-ready. (It's as thick, if not thicker, than most MM Enamels---close to Gunship Grey I'd say, but not as thick as Insignia Blue) Testors.com says 3:1 paint/thinner for airbrushing for that specific paint, but I think more like 2:1. I plan to experiment some more with sprayers, airbrushes, etc. (Having taken a good long look at just how much surface area a 1/350 battleship has)

If anybody is really curious, just head on down to your local hobby shop, and open up some jars from Testor's MM acryl *marine* line. Specifically 5L Light Grey (1943). (The 1941 version is a very different color)

Edited August 29, 2003 by David Hingtgen

[Commander McBride]

Hey Cmd McBride,

I don't think Windex works for ModelMaster Acryls. They do have a specific thinner and a specific solvent for the Acryl line. Although I haven't used any of their "real" paints, the thinner works really well for the clear-coats - like the Tamiya thinner, there is some flow agent that makes the paint really viscous (it could be just a simple detergent to break the surface tension) but I don't know. However the Solvent, is really good a cleaning/flushing your airbrush out - they may be a bit expensive, but they really go a long way - I think it will last me years.

No, I use windex for Gunze aqueous and for Tamiya, which I've heard reccommended a number of times. I only use MM enamels.