fseva

Second time I'm hearing it from ya, Nick!

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.

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...

I also use a Badger Patriot! I found that it was not really capable of airbrushing thick paints without thinning them into practical transparency. It would seem that if you're going to stay with the thicker paints, you'll probably have to go with some form of "external mix" airbrush (see my message to Sidney). The solution to my problem with acrylics (after having purchased an airbrush with a 1.5mm tip) was to use thinner viscosity paints - and that became... for me... lacquers. Granted, I do have to be concerned with fumes, but I always used a spray booth, and I added a Honeywell air purifier to the spray area, which I can turn on only when it's needed, and that works for me.

I visited the Badger website to do some more research. While I did not find a written spec saying that they top out at 20psi (which is generally what I use - therefore my confusion), but they did say that "normal operating pressure" is 30psi. However, to get that much pressure, your compressor obviously must be capable of producing more than 30psi, and most recent compressors can produce up to 60psi. I remember doing a test of my brushes when I was using craft paints, and I recall how increasing the pressure beyond 20psi did not produce any noticeable changes in ease of spraying thicker craft paints/auto air, etc. Therefore, I've come to the conclusion that even with the operating pressure set to 30psi, I would still have had to thin the heck out of them to get them to spray. BTW, in my checking I found that an external mix airbrush will work better for "higher viscosity materials", but that it produces a "coarser spray pattern" than an internal mix airbrush. All in all, it would seem that if you're stuck with craft paints, you've probably chosen the right airbrush!

I have tried that! Just because there are 100s of messages on a general topic does NOT mean that my answer is buried somewhere in the mess, and I'll be darned if I'll spend HOURS and HOURS trying to FIND an answer to a specific question when a simple NEW question and answer would do the same for me and you would be without work! I have never seen a forum that has been so MICRO-MANAGED as yours! You waste my time constantly taking questions from one area and posting them in an entirely different area, just because someone started a thread years ago, and most of it is a waste of time! I have complained to Gregg about your heavy handed editting, and I will complain again! You are making this forum a MOCKERY! By the way, if you didn't want this to be posted in a public area, you SHOULD have sent me an email! You know - if you make things any more hostile and wasteful of my time, I'll be happy to have you close down my account!

I checked with my retailer, and he said that his entire inventory of the "small" slicks looks that way. He is going to check with his supplier and get back to me...

Are those the jumbo slicks - my question was about the "small" slicks - but that got lost in the moderator's shuffling of my question into a big bin of generalized thoughts - sure wish he wouldn't do that!

Wow - if that's really a roll bar, the one in the middle is half the size of a hood!?

Tom, can you weigh in here and be specific about the equipment you're using - internal or external, tip sizes, etc.? I think a lot of the things you're experiencing are very much like what I was experiencing, and I'd like to know if it's because of similar equipment...

No problem, Sidney! I appreciate our banter! In regard to the mechanics of airbrushes, could it be that the Paasche actually allows you to use the higher pressure? My airbrushes control the upper end of the air pressure my compressor can pump out - even if I have the compressor set to 40psi, the airbrush won't use more than 20psi. Consequently, my airbrushes can't spray the thicker paints that need 30-40psi to correctly atomize!? I remember trying Auto Air (they actually recommend higher air pressure), and not being able to apply them without thinning them to practically transparency - I thought my problem was tip size - I bought a Badger Crescendo with a 1.5mm tip. That did make it easier to airbrush them, and they didn't have to be thinned that much, but I still wasn't that impressed - maybe, like you said, it was blowing too much paint, and I felt like I was losing control... hmmm... could be. Maybe that's the main difference between single and double action, where the latter has to restrict air pressure because of the internal mix. Sure would like an expert to weigh in here right now...

Did the printing look a bright white, or a faded light gray?

Wow - I see now that with patience, it would be possible to set glass "into" a frame! Thanks for the info!

Sorry for offending you, Sidney... I didn't mean to sound contentious; I was just sure that I had the reason for the difference in airbrushes (not being the brushes themselves, but rather the tip sizes). I can see, now that you've given the sizes, it was surely not that, that makes the Paasche better at spraying craft paints. Especially if you're using a .45mm setup, which is just a bit finer than my Patriot. And you don't thin very much? What in your opinion makes the difference then? Is it that the paint is being atomized when it's already in the air?

I received this Parts Pack and I'm very disappointed - compared to the quality of the blue line slicks, these are very poorly done - the lettering is so light, it looks like they were running out of ink when they were printed!

I can't say for sure that's exactly what I was thinking - I'm not as concerned with getting the window as close as possible to being dropped in from outside - I just want to get away from the "glued to the back of the opening" look that would naturally occur when you... glue a clear piece of flat plastic onto the back of the windshield's frame... This is the main hurdle I have in taking on a resin body like the Jimmy Flintstone 32 chopped top replacement for the Revell 5-window Ford. The original kit offers a nice chrome framed support that makes it look like it's let-into the frame. Replace the body and you lose all that... BTW, I would be willing to use my foam-safe CA by Bob Smith Inds and the recommended activator, which is what I've been using lately to install glass... without fogging...

I would like to read that, but one thing I would still have to get a handle on is cutting the glass to fit the opening... there's no way windows are ever going to be straight-sided polygons... you're still going to have to follow the "shape" of the window, and keep the overlap to a minimum... on glass, that could be very difficult, or very time-consuming...

I'll give you a dollar to a doughnut your Paasche simply has a larger needle/nozzle than the Master! That would make it easier to airbrush thicker paint!

Yeah, his technique hinges on saving as much money as possible - he even recommends replacements for products that worked very well, just to save a couple of bucks. I recently tried every one of his recommended products, and they didn't do even 10% of what the old standbys did! For example, his replacement for Future - it looks like regular milky acrylic before it hits the surface, but it dries DULL/FLAT! Even a single coat of Future looks better! So, where is the money savings if you have to use twice the amount of product (and this is just an estimate - it could take a half-dozen coats of his currently recommended Future-alternative). Also, his procedure will require the use of a hair dryer... why? Because these paints must be thinned to the point where they are practically transparent to airbrush them, and to make up for paint coverage, you have to dry the paints artificially so you can add more coats and finally get decent coverage.

Personally, I gave up on airbrushing craft paints a LONGGGG time ago. They are just too hard to work with, and they're not created specifically for our hobby, but rather for a hobby that uses craft paints with brushes... or fingers... There are other acrylic paints that are much better for the purpose of plastic models - my fav being Aztek Airbrushables. However, they still don't give me the same kind of drop-dead finish I get with lacquers.

I still haven't heard anything that I didn't already know. Bill's technique doesn't look bulletproof to me (gaps around the upper part of the window), and it still shows only the old way - attaching the glass behind the frame (therefore, the need for round plastic rods to help hold it in place). So, I guess I'll leave this topic open for a while longer, and see if someone comes up with something new that would eliminate the look of being held in place from behind. I'm hoping that when I'm ready to tackle a chopped body, I'll be ready to install my glass so that it'll look as good as kit glass! BTW, thanks for your effort, Bill!

I think you did a very good job, Steve! Next time, you should consider using the decals, and perhaps try a black wash in the wheels.

It might be advisable to look up some websites that deal specifically with model ships. (I'm wondering why you asked here... unless you're a former car modeler...)

Thanks Ace! I have Canopy Glue, but lately, for normal window installations, I've been successfully using "foam-safe" CA and Insta-Set activator. Please, anyone who has done this, please provide some recommendations about measuring, cutting and setting the glass so that it looks like it's in the frames rather than tacked on to the back side...

How do you install clear plastic window material (glass) in windshields and backlights where either no window glass was provided (aftermarket resin bodies) or due to having chopped the top of a injection molded kit, the included window glass can no longer be used. I know it's obviously possible to glue clear window material to the inside of the body, but I'd like to know if there are any bulletproof techniques so that they look like they are inside the frames?