Switching from airbrush to Tamiya rattlecans (mostly)

[bluenote]

I've been changing my painting habits the past little while.  Up to now, I have been using my Iwata CR Revolution almost exclusively, using Tamiya acrylics, Tamiya lacquer primer and clearcoats, and Scalefinishes paint.  

However, I haven't had a spray booth, and have used my airbrush at my modelling desk with the help of fans and open windows.  With Tamiya acrylics, this isn't too much of an issue regarding smells, however, the lacquers are still a problem.

I finally bought one of those portable spray booths, and set it up on my furnace room.  I tested it out by using my various Tamiya rattlecans that I have had lying about, which I never really used due to the smell.

Well, the spray booth worked perfectly!  Couldn't smell a thing.  And, I realized these Tamiya cans work amazingly!  I seriously can't tell the difference between the finish of the spoons I sprayed with the spraycan vs the airbrush.  

So, this got me thinking:  Why set up the airbrush, fiddle with mixing ratios and pressure, and clean up, when I can just grab a can and shoot and be done in a minute or two?  The finish is exactly the same, as far as I can see.  

Plus, the range of Tamiya spray cans is incredible, upwards of 130 different colours.  For those muscle cars, that sometimes has factory colours that aren't available with Tamiya, I can still buy those via scalefinishes or MCW.  

The spraycans have really made me enjoy the hobby much more, as it really is so easy and quick.  Along with me now using Tamiya enamels for brush painting (which I talked about in another thread), I've really gone back to basics and quite frankly, I'm enjoying it more.

Anyone else primarily use rattlecans?  Any particular reason why?

[Snake45]

After using an airbrush exclusively for about 30 years, about a decade ago I started using rattlecans if I can get the color I want readily and inexpensively. I'd have to think a while to remember my last all-airbrush paint job, though I do recall using the airbrush to touch up some paint on at least three models in the last two or three years. 

Oh, just remembered my last all-airbrush job: a nice royal blue on a Mustang AWB funny car last year. Had been a while before that one. 

[TransAmMike]

7 minutes ago, Snake45 said:

After using an airbrush exclusively for about 30 years, about a decade ago I started using rattlecans if I can get the color I want readily and inexpensively. I'd have to think a while to remember my last all-airbrush paint job, though I do recall using the airbrush to touch up some paint on at least three models in the last two or three years. 

Oh, just remembered my last all-airbrush job: a nice royal blue on a Mustang AWB funny car last year. Had been a while before that one. 

Does make you think huh!!     I've never used Tamiya spray can paint but me being a bit of a cheapskate and having to order it online keeps me from trying it. Just sayin'😄

[Tom Geiger]

I use spray cans for the very reasons you state.  I’m apt to grab a can and give a part a ten second squirt with the Tamiya can, then go back to what I was doing.  

Just this morning I grabbed a bumper, mounted it on a stand and sprayed it gloss black. Then I went downstairs for coffee.  All I needed to paint that color was the bumper.. underlay for Alclab Chrome, which I also have in a spray can!

[iamsuperdan]

I only use Tamiya sprays. Mainly because I don't have an airbrush setup, and really don't see a need at this time to spend the money on an airbrush. aLthough, it has crossed my mind, mainly for things like spraying chrome. Or seeing some of the colour options from companies like Zero Paints. 

But for now, I'm happy with rattlecans.

As long as you do proper prep work you can get excellent results with a spray can.

 

If it ain't broke, and all that. 

 

[Daddyfink]

Tamiya rattle cans is what I mostly use, unless it is a strange color that has to be airbrushed on, other wise, warm up the can and shoot! 

Less airbrush cleaning is nice. 

[Tabbysdaddy]

I use whatever rattle can I find that is a color I like. Except Testors. Never tried Tamiya. I don't have an airbrush. 

[Snake45]

1 hour ago, TransAmMike said:

I've never used Tamiya spray can paint but me being a bit of a cheapskate and having to order it online keeps me from trying it. 

Tamiya is hard to find where I live and I don't feel like mail-ordering it. I've only used it on a couple jobs. The rest have been Testor/Model Master lacquers, with a couple Krylon and Rustoleum jobs thrown in. 

[Dave Van]

When I found Tamiya TS spray cans back early 1990's I have used my air bush very very little.....most times for weathering!  Add my food dehydrator and it has made building fun.

[NOBLNG]

The Tamiya cans spray the nicest of any aerosols I have tried. They work really great on a body or even interior parts. I find that they can’t compare to a good airbrush when it comes to painting something with a lot of nooks and crannies like a partially assembled engine or some dashboards. And colour options are limitless with the AB.🤔

Edited September 1, 2021 by NOBLNG

[Exotics_Builder]

8 hours ago, Snake45 said:

After using an airbrush exclusively for about 30 years, about a decade ago I started using rattlecans if I can get the color I want readily and inexpensively. I'd have to think a while to remember my last all-airbrush paint job, though I do recall using the airbrush to touch up some paint on at least three models in the last two or three years. 

Oh, just remembered my last all-airbrush job: a nice royal blue on a Mustang AWB funny car last year. Had been a while before that one. 

I'm in the same boat.  If I can use a good rattle can, I will.  If there is something intricate or color unavailable, the airbrush comes out.  For some small jobs like brake detailing, I recently bought  one of those battery compressors with airbrush (and it takes my Iwata gravity feed as well).  

[Zippi]

Not sure if I would switch from my airbrush to rattle cans.  I've sprayed craft paints & Testors through my Paasche H and I've used Rust-Oleum and Tamiya rattle cans.  I use the Rust-Oleum 2X gray primer pretty much all the time as it seems to lay down smoother that any other I've used.  I've used the Tamiya TS rattle cans (lacquer) and really like the way the paint goes down.  I don't mind the cleanup to much.      

[Pete J.]

Been using both for as long as I can remember and at my age that is over 30 years or just since my morning cup of coffee.  Nothing in between 😉.

The fact is that each tool has something that it is best at.  It is a little like using a screwdriver for a chisel.  It will work, just not as well.  Tamiya cans, for me, work best for a lot of small parts still on the sprue and large flat areas.  They don't work particularly well in areas with a lot of nooks and crannies.   Also they don't work well on sharp angles.  If not done very carefully, you get bubbles of propellent in the thick areas.  Airbrush works much better on these.  I like to decant the can and get the tight spaces with my airbrush and follow that up with a blast from the rattle can.  

Don't limit yourself to a single tool.  Use what is best for what you are doing. Much better results that way. 

[John Pol]

Well here in Canada Tamiya spray paint is like 15 bucks a can so I will stick to my airbrush alot cheaper and along run 

[StevenGuthmiller]

I still use spray cans for a great deal of my projects, but I use my airbrush for bodies, mainly because the color pallet from MCW and Scale Finishes is endless.

There's nothing I hate more than being limited in my color choices.

Tamiya has a large variety of colors, but their choices still pale in comparison to what is available from the others.

Plus, Tamiya paints are just as expensive, if not more so, and it's not available around here anyway, so regardless of what I use, I have to order it.

 

Another positive of airbrush paint is storage.

1 or 2 oz. jars take up a lot less space than rattle cans.

 

 

 

Steve

[bluenote]

good point Steve.  I will still use Scalefinishes or MCW for a paint colour that Tamiya doesn't offer

[jaymcminn]

I learned to airbrush as a kid because the Testors spray cans were so terrible. I was a total airbrush snob until I tried my first Tamiya spray paint about 15 years ago and was blown away by how nicely it sprayed. Now I use Tamiya when I can but will still frequently airbrush when I need a specific color. For interiors, detail painting, etc. I almost always airbrush and I usually do that with Tamiya acrylics. 

[jchrisf]

On 9/2/2021 at 12:00 PM, StevenGuthmiller said:

I still use spray cans for a great deal of my projects, but I use my airbrush for bodies, mainly because the color pallet from MCW and Scale Finishes is endless.

There's nothing I hate more than being limited in my color choices.

Tamiya has a large variety of colors, but their choices still pale in comparison to what is available from the others.

Plus, Tamiya paints are just as expensive, if not more so, and it's not available around here anyway, so regardless of what I use, I have to order it.

 

Another positive of airbrush paint is storage.

1 or 2 oz. jars take up a lot less space than rattle cans.

 

 

 

Steve

Steve for you and all the others who use MCW paints, where is the best place to purchase them?  And do you use the Lacquer or Enamel?

[Dragonhawk1066]

I use rattle cans, mostly Tamiya and some Model Master Lacquers strictly during the warm months as I spray them in my shed and live in Michigan where it gets too cold to paint outside for months at a time. I strictly spray acrylics inside through my airbrush. If there are any kits I want to paint using colors available from Tamiya (no more Model Master) or Testors Extreme Lacquers, I hold off until spring to start them, or at the end of summer I paint multiple bodies ahead of time. During the cold months, I use craft paints and have just started using Createx for bodies. I do use the airbrush on every kit anyways for small parts, engines, chassis', and interiors.

[unclescott58]

Cleaning an airbrush every time one uses it, for what I perceived as no better of a paint job than I could get from a rattle can, is the reason I never fell in love with them. The only advantage I could see with an airbrush, was mixing my own colors. The rattle cans for the most part offer me as much color variety in that department as I want. And the results I get, especially with Tamiya spray paint have always pleased me. 

[Pete J.]

17 hours ago, unclescott58 said:

Cleaning an airbrush every time one uses it, for what I perceived as no better of a paint job than I could get from a rattle can, is the reason I never fell in love with them. The only advantage I could see with an airbrush, was mixing my own colors. The rattle cans for the most part offer me as much color variety in that department as I want. And the results I get, especially with Tamiya spray paint have always pleased me. 

The main advantage I see is control over the paint and where it goes.  If you need to get into tight spaces using a rattle can is about like using a fire hose to water your house plants.  You can dilute the paint to use less pressure to get into the nooks and crannies. It also works well for fade paint jobs(e.g. Gene Winfield and Chip Foose).  Some can pull that off with a rattle can but it is never something I could make work.  

Don't get me wrong, I like rattle cans, especially Tamiya rattle cans.  Quick and easy.  However my airbrushes serve a purpose and I would never quit using them.   Oh and by the way, now that Tamiya has released their LP paint series in the US, I am even less likely to give them up. 

Edited September 4, 2021 by Pete J.

[StevenGuthmiller]

2 hours ago, jchrisf said:

Steve for you and all the others who use MCW paints, where is the best place to purchase them?  And do you use the Lacquer or Enamel?

As far as I know, the only place to purchase MCW paints is directly from them via their website.

Personally, I’ve only used their lacquers.

I wasn’t even aware of any ready to airbrush enamel, although I do know that they have recently begun selling brushable enamels in small jars.

 

 

 

 

Steve

[jchrisf]

13 hours ago, StevenGuthmiller said:

As far as I know, the only place to purchase MCW paints is directly from them via their website.

Personally, I’ve only used their lacquers.

I wasn’t even aware of any ready to airbrush enamel, although I do know that they have recently begun selling brushable enamels in small jars.

 

 

 

 

Steve

Thanks Steve.. I'll be ordering some directly from them.  I've seen them sold at a couple of online hobby shops and they advertise them as Enamels but was watching a guy on Youtube the other day who uses them and he said his were lacquer.  https://www.hobbynutmodels.com/ is a place that advertises them as enamels.

[BlackSheep214]

I’m a bit wary spray painting in the furnace room. As long as you’re far away enough from a gas furnace and with proper ventilation, I guess you’re safe. The only time I’ll use a rattlecan is outdoors. Never indoors. The missus don’t like the smell of any spray can paint.

[Dennis Lacy]

I have never used an airbrush. I almost exclusively use Tamiya spray cans.