How do you decide what type of paint to use?

[Dave G.]

35 minutes ago, TransAmMike said:

I did a repaint on the Willy's i'm doing, the pearl gold Createx.   I've used this same color paint a couple other times with no issue (maybe lucky I guess).

Anyway, I did use the 4011 and 4030 Balancing clear and a few drops of the Liquitex, air dried with the hair dryer.  I just couldn't get it to spray good. Maybe I just had the mix formula wrong or it was the 4011. Almost like I was spraying water onto it.

I will get the 4021. I actually remember another discussion about the 4021 but I forgot about it.

Thanks again for your valuable info.

 

 

Well, Mike. I mostly use my Paasche H for Createx. Sometimes the VL. But in either case it's larger tips, like .7 or more. You can thin to 50% if need be. I use 15% 4030, unless it's Candy 2o of course.

Also if it doesn't spray right, it's usually a matter of a bit more thinner or more air. Sometimes both. I've had good results even using my own thinner formulas ( I have two or three of those). Additionally again, the first should be a mist coat and fully flashed off before trying to get more on.. I've put the first coat so misted you can barely see color, but it's enough of a tack layer that the rest of the coats can build on it.

I've seen it go on seeming like droplets but when it flashes it all levels off. I don't recall what thinner that was with, but it worked out. 4021 doesn't act like that at all, it's a nice reducer with any waterborne acrylic I've tried it with actually. And it was developed to work in 4030, 4050 as well. When you get your hands on some I think you will like it.

[TransAmMike]

43 minutes ago, Dave G. said:

Well, Mike. I mostly use my Paasche H for Createx. Sometimes the VL. But in either case it's larger tips, like .7 or more. You can thin to 50% if need be. I use 15% 4030, unless it's Candy 2o of course.

Also if it doesn't spray right, it's usually a matter of a bit more thinner or more air. Sometimes both. I've had good results even using my own thinner formulas ( I have two or three of those). Additionally again, the first should be a mist coat and fully flashed off before trying to get more on.. I've put the first coat so misted you can barely see color, but it's enough of a tack layer that the rest of the coats can build on it.

I've seen it go on seeming like droplets but when it flashes it all levels off. I don't recall what thinner that was with, but it worked out. 4021 doesn't act like that at all, it's a nice reducer with any waterborne acrylic I've tried it with actually. And it was developed to work in 4030, 4050 as well. When you get your hands on some I think you will like it.

Well what you described, "droplets", is what I was getting. I freaked out but as you said, flashing it with the hair dryer smoothed it. But my next coats didn't fair so well. 

I ordered the 4021, more 4030.

[Dave G.]

13 hours ago, TransAmMike said:

Well what you described, "droplets", is what I was getting. I freaked out but as you said, flashing it with the hair dryer smoothed it. But my next coats didn't fair so well. 

I ordered the 4021, more 4030.

4021 improves flow and leveling, reduced tip dry. Those droplets are caused by surface tension, where the paint didn't flow out evenly. 4021 addresses that. And also addresses compatibility with 4030 additive. Flash time will be increased slightly.

 

[StevenGuthmiller]

Well, this conversation just reinforces the reasons why I use primer and clear in a spray can, and premixed, ready to spray lacquer colors.

You all have me completely confused!

 

 

 

Steve

[TransAmMike]

5 hours ago, StevenGuthmiller said:

Well, this conversation just reinforces the reasons why I use primer and clear in a spray can, and premixed, ready to spray lacquer colors.

You all have me completely confused!

 

 

 

Steve

Ha Steve...I didn't realize you used spray can paint.  As evidenced by your great paint jobs I gonna wonder why I go thru all the trouble with different bottled paints, primers and clears.

So what is your go too paint brand in the cans?

[slusher]

I use Tamiya primer and paint and sometimes I use Krylon paint. All rattle can..

[StevenGuthmiller]

17 hours ago, TransAmMike said:

Ha Steve...I didn't realize you used spray can paint.  As evidenced by your great paint jobs I gonna wonder why I go thru all the trouble with different bottled paints, primers and clears.

So what is your go too paint brand in the cans?

I use Duplicolor "Sandable Primer", or more so, "Primer Sealer" for priming.

Either MCW or Scale Finishes air brush lacquers for color, or occasionally Duplicolor "Pefect Match" if it's a solid color such as red, black or white.

And Duplicolor Perfect Match "Protective Clear Coat Finish" in the short spray cans.

 

I then rely on my muscles to cut and polish for a perfectly smooth, shiny, flawless finish.

It's been a extremely reliable system for me for at least the past couple of decades.

 

 

 

Steve

[TransAmMike]

2 hours ago, StevenGuthmiller said:

I use Duplicolor "Sandable Primer", or more so, "Primer Sealer" for priming.

Either MCW or Scale Finishes air brush lacquers for color, or occasionally Duplicolor "Pefect Match" if it's a solid color such as red, black or white.

And Duplicolor Perfect Match "Protective Clear Coat Finish" in the short spray cans.

 

I then rely on my muscles to cut and polish for a perfectly smooth, shiny, flawless finish.

It's been a extremely reliable system for me for at least the past couple of decades.

 

 

 

Steve

Thanks for the reply Steve.  Something to consider.

[TransAmMike]

16 hours ago, slusher said:

I use Tamiya primer and paint and sometimes I use Krylon paint. All rattle can..

Hi there Carl.  IDK if you have a local place to get your Tamiya.  I don't so ordering and paying shipping is to much for me to justify for the spray cans.

[slusher]

2 hours ago, TransAmMike said:

Hi there Carl.  IDK if you have a local place to get your Tamiya.  I don't so ordering and paying shipping is to much for me to justify for the spray cans.

I have been ordering for a while it’s costs a lot bu Testors sucks except my old 90’s cans I had a stash of..

[Radretireddad]

On 5/18/2025 at 2:02 PM, StevenGuthmiller said:

If you’re main objective is something that you can slap on fast in one or two coats, enamel might be your choice, but if you want a truly high end, professional paint finish without a lot of rigmarole, lacquer is the only choice in my opinion.

My main objective is fantastic results with a minimum of work and expense. This is two coats of Tamiya white primer sprayed from the can, and three coats of Tamiya X-5 orange 50% thinned and sprayed using my ancient Badger 200 followed by a little Megiuars plastix polishing compound. That’s it. No multiple coats of toxic automotive primer, No multiple coats of toxic automotive lacquers and clears, followed by additional cutting and buffing. No toxic lacquer thinners or reducers needed for cleanup. I do hope you’ve been using a respirator. You say “without a lot of rigmarole” and then you describe a process involving multiple stages of primer, color, and clear followed by cutting and buffing. That doesn’t sound like a minimum of rigmarole to me. In my experience, lacquer is far from being the only choice.

 

 

 

 

Edited Friday at 07:00 PM by Radretireddad

[Radretireddad]

On 5/20/2025 at 10:19 AM, TransAmMike said:

Thanks Dave. I can count on you to make good suggestions/recommendations. 

And concerning Createx. I always seem to have issues with when spraying at the beginning it does just fine but when stopping between coats, sometimes as little as 10 minutes the airbrush stops spraying. Also the Createx is liquid in the cup but after a while gets very thick. 

What ya thing? 

Between coats, I clear my airbrush with a shot of isopropyl alcohol that I keep a small cup of in my spray booth. I also use it to thin out the paint that’s been standing out for a while.

Edited Friday at 07:44 PM by Radretireddad

[Radretireddad]

On 5/18/2025 at 9:59 AM, Bill Anderson said:

For most of my 70 plus years of model building, I've almost always used Testor's or Model Master's enamel paint.  But since my "come back" to building auto models, I've used Tamiya and Testor's lacquer a few times - mainly because they offered the color I was after.  While I used some acrylics on model railroad cars and structures, I have not used them on model cars.

So my question is, what drives you to use enamel, lacquer, or acrylic paint?  For me, its been the choice of color, but I'm sure you all have other reasons.

Thank you! 

I’ve gotten excellent results using Tamiya, Createx, and various craft store acrylics exclusively. They’re all locally available, priced very economically, can be thinned and cleaned up using Dollar store isopropyl alcohol. Although Tamiya’s pallet is somewhat limited, I’ve had no problem custom mixing what’s available to get any factory color not available in a premix. Createx’s color pallet is very comprehensive. Enamels, lacquers and the required primers and sealers are more expensive, require more steps to get right, and are way too toxic to use without a respirator.

[Radretireddad]

On 5/20/2025 at 3:02 PM, TransAmMike said:

I did a repaint on the Willy's i'm doing, the pearl gold Createx.   I've used this same color paint a couple other times with no issue (maybe lucky I guess).

Anyway, I did use the 4011 and 4030 Balancing clear and a few drops of the Liquitex, air dried with the hair dryer.  I just couldn't get it to spray good. Maybe I just had the mix formula wrong or it was the 4011. Almost like I was spraying water onto it.

I will get the 4021. I actually remember another discussion about the 4021 but I forgot about it.

Thanks again for your valuable info.

 

 

This is Createx 5310 Pearl white and 5604 clear thinned with only Tamiya thinner. I’ve found the Createx to be more opaque and requires several more thin coats to build up the color.

Edited Friday at 07:55 PM by Radretireddad

[peteski]

That orange Z looks pretty good!

Badger 200 might be an older airbrush, but it is a pretty good single-action internal-mix airbrush.  I've been using it myself for about 30 years.  Single-action airbrush is all that's needed for most automotive model painting needs.   It is like a precision miniature spray gun.  Fancy dual-action airbrushes are useful for things like weathering or fancy shading, but for basic paint jobs, the dual action is not needed.

[Rodent]

23 minutes ago, peteski said:

That orange Z looks pretty good!

Badger 200 might be an older airbrush, but it is a pretty good single-action internal-mix airbrush.  I've been using it myself for about 30 years.  Single-action airbrush is all that's needed for most automotive model painting needs.   It is like a precision miniature spray gun.  Fancy dual-action airbrushes are useful for things like weathering or fancy shading, but for basic paint jobs, the dual action is not needed.

Agree completely. I have been using a Paasche H for nearly 40 years. I think that my brain is too dysfunctional to paint a standard paintjob on a 1/24 1/25 model with a dual action.

[StevenGuthmiller]

20 hours ago, Radretireddad said:

My main objective is fantastic results with a minimum of work and expense. This is two coats of Tamiya white primer sprayed from the can, and three coats of Tamiya X-5 orange 50% thinned and sprayed using my ancient Badger 200 followed by a little Megiuars plastix polishing compound. That’s it. No multiple coats of toxic automotive primer, No multiple coats of toxic automotive lacquers and clears, followed by additional cutting and buffing. No toxic lacquer thinners or reducers needed for cleanup. I do hope you’ve been using a respirator. You say “without a lot of rigmarole” and then you describe a process involving multiple stages of primer, color, and clear followed by cutting and buffing. That doesn’t sound like a minimum of rigmarole to me. In my experience, lacquer is far from being the only choice.

 

 

 

 

By "rigamarole" I mean having to experiment with a dozen different products and doing it based on what particular color you can happen to find that is close to what you have in mind, and then having to worry about if it's going to be a successful combination or not.

I can't begin to tell you how often I see people beginning their paint job experimentation with a "hey, I really like this color" along with a picture of some obscure paint can that they found in some hardware store, and then they proceed to F up their paint job because they have no idea whatsoever what primers, or clear coats, or whatever, is going to work with it, and then they have the temerity to ask why it all turned to feces in the end.

When I paint a model, the amount of "work or expense" doesn't even enter the equation.

I'm not the least bit concerned about putting forth whatever effort is required to ensure perfect results, or how much it costs.

What I'm looking for is continuity and simplicity.

A painting procedure and the materials necessary to ensure that I'm going to get reliable results that I can count on every time, regardless of the color I choose.

Yes, I use multiple coats of primer, color and clear, but I don't do it because I like spraying paint.

Those multiple coats have reasoning behind them that I won't get into here.

 

When I begin a paint job, I don't have to check my inventory to see if I have the correct thinners, reducers, retarders, accelerators, etc, etc, etc.

All I need is the same small handful of the same products that I always use, and in the end, I know that the finished result will be a success every time.

 

If my memory is correct, I've stripped 2 paint jobs in the past 10 years, (possibly more) and neither of them had anything to do with a failure of the products or procedures that I use.

That's all that matters to me, and the philosophy has served me exceedingly well for a loooong time.

 

As I said, it's "my opinion" that lacquer is the only choice.

I didn't say that it had to be everyone else's only choice.

 

Use whatever you want.

I'll continue to produce excellent results without ever having the tiniest degree of stress over what my outcomes are going to be.

I know that before I even start.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Steve

 

 

Edited yesterday at 03:41 PM by StevenGuthmiller

[TransAmMike]

Very informative comments and insights into this topic.  Now, for me at least, to put it to good use😀