Colour change when airbrushing decanted Tamiya rattle can lacquer

[Matt Bacon]

There have been a couple of occasions recently when I’ve needed to spot apply some Tamiya TS paint because there was no easy way to fill and fix specific seams before final assembly. Both times I was using a metallic colour: light blue and light gunmetal. In both cases, the airbrushed colour came up a lot lighter and brighter than the areas that had been sprayed using the can. In the case of the “gunmetal”, I’m going to have to mask the windows and do the whole body again, because the difference is stark...

Anyone else had this happen? I think it’s to do with the much more even distribution of the metal flakes in the airbrushed coat. Any ideas how to get the same colour, or should I just resign myself to using decanted paint or the new LP pots with metallic colours?

best,

M.

[Plowboy]

When I have to spot paint, I just spray it out of the can. I cut a hole in a piece of paper a little larger than the area, hold the paper just above the body and shoot paint through the hole. No masking and it works like a charm!