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Let's Talk About Craft Acrylic Paints


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This is definitely an advanced topic.

For me, it's only technical when I try to figure out what went wrong 5 years ago after I had re-entered the hobby and tried to use acrylics. I was already interested in airbrushing, and was looking for something to practice on. Car models seemed a good place to start, and holy cow Mabel, I got hooked on building model cars again! Of course, then came the endless testing to try to find a way to duplicate the beautiful cars I'd seen, using acrylics, and it kinda went downhill from there. When I finally came to the conclusion that it simply could not be done, I turned to other paints (lacquers) and can say that I am very satisfied that I did. Like the hobby itself, that hasn't changed a whole lot in the last half-century, acrylics, which started out like a bang, have kind of fizzled since the bang, because no one had come close to the kind of finish you can get from other paints. The automotive industry has already moved on the acrylic enamels and lacquers, and they've even cured one of the worst problems of enamels (odor), while our hobby is stuck in status quo...

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There was a cool article on Tamiya's site regarding decanting there spray cans for use in an air brush. I suppose the popularity of it promoted the articles writing.

I have been decanting lacquers for a few years now, and I did one can of Tamiya, only to find out that their 3oz can held less than 2oz of paint! Regardless, their nozzle is very modern, and their system is very easy to use. In fact, compared to Testors, it's almost "fool proof"! So, there really is no need to decant Tamiya any more. I still decant Testors, Model Master and Duplicolor.

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I've certainly learned some things from this discussion. Great stuff!

I don't need any convincing on Tamiya TS lacquers. Cost and availability are the issue. After shipping, I've got about $8/can, if I only order 1 or 2. It drops to about $7.25 if I order several. But anything I've painted with them has come out pretty good for my skill level.

As for the acrylics, it's just tempting to put in the time to try to master them but I'm starting to feel like a dog chasing it's tail. The Paasche H can be had for about $50-60. Maybe I'll find a deal and can try one some time. In the meantime, I build mostly race cars which have large amounts of blacks and metal colors (aluminum, steel, etc). The acrylics will work for that.

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