Acrylic clears.

[onequiknova]

I'm quickly burning through my stash of Model Masters acrylic flat and semi gloss, which I switched to once I ran out of Polly Scale, and haven't quite found a similar substitute yet. Does anyone make a decent acrylic that can be thinned with water or windex anymore?

[Christian]

AK Interactive, Vallejo, Mission Models, VMS, Pro Acryl, and others. All better than the old-school Model Masters/Polly Scale. Mission Models and Pro Acryl are made in USA. All the brands listed have many clear coating choices. All/most are airbrush ready. #4 or larger tip - mid twenties pressure.

Windex might be a problem with modern paints, but water does the trick. As does Golden or Liquitex airbrush medium or each manufacturer's acrylic thinner.

I use all these brands interchangeably. I'm partial to Mission Models and AK Interactive.

EDIT: I just looked and on my bench are VMS gloss, Mission Semi, and AKI ultra matt which makes Dull Coat look glossy.

[onequiknova]

Jul 11, 2023 1:04:34 GMT -8 Christian said:

AK Interactive, Vallejo, Mission Models, VMS, Pro Acryl, and others. All better than the old-school Model Masters/Polly Scale. Mission Models and Pro Acryl are made in USA. All the brands listed have many clear coating choices. All/most are airbrush ready. #4 or larger tip - mid twenties pressure.

Windex might be a problem with modern paints, but water does the trick. As does Golden or Liquitex airbrush medium or each manufacturer's acrylic thinner.

I use all these brands interchangeably. I'm partial to Mission Models and AK Interactive.

EDIT: I just looked and on my bench are VMS gloss, Mission Semi, and AKI ultra matt which makes Dull Coat look glossy.

Thanks Christian.

Of those, I have tried the Vallejo, Mission Models and AK Interactive. The Vallejo probably acts most like the old Acrylics I'm used to. I have used Mission Models paints a couple of times now. I can't get their paint to lay down smooth. It goes on in little droplets. I thought for sure I ruined the model I was working on, but once I hit it with a hair dryer, it looked great. Still, I can't get over the way it lays down. When I had a similar problem with their clear, I haven't tried it again. I recently picked up the AK Acrylic clear and had the same results regarding the way it lays down. Granted, it looked a little thick straight from the bottle, so I tried thinning it with my go to windshield washer fluid. Maybe I'll pick up some of their thinner.

[Christian]

Jul 11, 2023 3:17:03 GMT -8 onequiknova said:

I have used Mission Models paint a couple of times now. I can't get their paint to lay down smooth. It goes on in little droplets.

So hard to diagnose on a forum. But since you had issues with other brands, but not with Vallejo Air I can make a couple of guesses. Just GUESSES! If the droplets are consistent and not splats you might not be moving your hand slowly enough. The paint should go on wet, but not so much as to cause runs which I hate. Changing hand speed isn't simple since that is a muscle memory problem. Sometimes I try to spray a bit closer, but, again, that is actually hard for me. My personal tendency is to back off and that results in sandpaper. I almost always add a drop of retarder to my paints so they stay wet a bit longer and the droplets flow together. Sometimes I'll toy with the pressure. Sometimes using water to thin makes the paint lose its "stickiness." Thus airbrush medium or manufacturers thinners.

Folks hate to hear it: airbrush work is more an art than a science. Every time I change colors I test spray a junker and work the mix until that color works.

Usually, not always, a quick trip to the sink and a warm water faucet can take care of the just applied paint. Sometimes you have to blast with Windex and sacrifice those wonderful lower coats of paint. When it happens with the final clear coat it can drive a fellow to tears. I've shed a few.

[grahamline]

Windex/windshield washer fluid is going to accelerate the drying time of your paint, probably the exact opposite effect of what you need. I discontinued thinning with water when I was living in a house with fairly hard water. You don't need more than a couple of drops of extender.
www.dickblick.com/products/golden-gac-100-primer-extender-acrylic-polymer-mediums/

[12bridge]

I like the VMS clears. It sprays like nothing you have ever seen though. Its very thick in the bottle, but it airbrushes great and levels out perfect. Very good quality product.

[onequiknova]

Jul 11, 2023 4:36:26 GMT -8 Christian said:

Jul 11, 2023 3:17:03 GMT -8 onequiknova said:

I have used Mission Models paint a couple of times now. I can't get their paint to lay down smooth. It goes on in little droplets.

So hard to diagnose on a forum. But since you had issues with other brands, but not with Vallejo Air I can make a couple of guesses. Just GUESSES! If the droplets are consistent and not splats you might not be moving your hand slowly enough. The paint should go on wet, but not so much as to cause runs which I hate. Changing hand speed isn't simple since that is a muscle memory problem. Sometimes I try to spray a bit closer, but, again, that is actually hard for me. My personal tendency is to back off and that results in sandpaper. I almost always add a drop of retarder to my paints so they stay wet a bit longer and the droplets flow together. Sometimes I'll toy with the pressure. Sometimes using water to thin makes the paint lose its "stickiness." Thus airbrush medium or manufacturers thinners.

Folks hate to hear it: airbrush work is more an art than a science. Every time I change colors I test spray a junker and work the mix until that color works.

Usually, not always, a quick trip to the sink and a warm water faucet can take care of the just applied paint. Sometimes you have to blast with Windex and sacrifice those wonderful lower coats of paint. When it happens with the final clear coat it can drive a fellow to tears. I've shed a few.

Consistent little droplets, like the worst orange peel you have ever seen, but it levels out perfectly.

Yes, the muscle memory is hard to overcome. I've been spraying almost nothing but Polly Scale, Model Masters and now Vallejo (not model air) Acrylics for over 25 years. I have dabbled in Tru-Color, and have been able to get some good results after some practice, so there is some hope for me. I'll just have to pick up some retarder and practice with these new acrylics. I normally spray the old acrylics at sub 20 PSI, so more air pressure might be the place to start.

A majority of my weathering these days consists of oils, and enamel paints and washes, so I need the Acrylic clear's resistance to mineral spirits.

[tony]

I was reading an article once on military models and someone said they used Future floor acrylic wax as a foundation before adding decals. The next day while at Home Depot I found a bottle. Tried in on a model and very pleased with the results. Applied floor wax by a brush to the area to be decaled and allowed this to self level and dry. Next day applied decals and after this set and dried, I coated the area with floor wax again. Next day applied Dullcote - no visible decal film, edges. Lettering is as perfect as pad printed.

Area being defined as a boundary with left, right, top, bottom - ie, Locomotive cab side, car side panel between posts. You don't want to see any elevation differences - if you do drywall this will make sense.