Painting with Tamiya paints,

dougeagle · Post by **dougeagle** » Mon Nov 28, 2011 10:12 pm

Anybody have any idea about how to keep Tamiya paint from drying too fast for hand painting? I've got several tanks that I want to do but I'm finding the paint dries too fast.

ferret701 · Post by **ferret701** » Mon Nov 28, 2011 10:36 pm

I've totally given up on Tamiya paints. They go on too thick, dry too fast on the brush, and separate too easily in the container. Only one I regularly use is NATO Green. I've also found them far too difficult to thin.

Cav Dog · Post by **Cav Dog** » Mon Nov 28, 2011 11:26 pm

Try creating a wet palette. Use the plastic blister from a recent GHQ purchase, cut a piece of soft foam or sponge to fit inside the blister. put a couple of drops of their proprietary thinner on the foam and then cover the foam with a piece of wax paper. Puish the wax paper into the foam until it appears wet but don't soak it or let the thinner run over the sides. Put a dab of paint on the wax paper to use as your resevoir and paint away. You may have to clean the brush occasionally if it dries out, but this method should keep the paint from seperating and drying out as quickly. I hear windex works as well as their own thinner but I can't verify that through personal experience.

RedLeif · Post by **RedLeif** » Wed Nov 30, 2011 3:14 am

try denatured alcohol as a thinner with Tamiya paints. I found it worked great. But even with this they still dry faster than water based acrylics I've used. The denatured alcohol with Tamiya paints worked GREAT through my airbrush too. I actually liked it better through my airbrush than the water acrylics I use now.

Good luck
RedLeif

WWIICentral · Post by **WWIICentral** » Wed Nov 30, 2011 8:53 am

Tamiya paints are actually formulated for airbrush painting and as such they excel in that area. That doesn't mean they can't be brushed on, they just aren't as good as some other brands for brush painting (Vallejo for example).

As RedLeif has mentioned, Tamiya are alcohol based and that's probably why you notice the speedy drying times.

Personally, I've never had luck with brush painting Tamiya...

Tanner

piersyf · Post by **piersyf** » Wed Nov 30, 2011 4:08 pm

All brush painted, all using Tamiya acrylics. I don't have a problem with them.
They are designed for airbrush, not hand brushing, so don't behave as well with a brush as has been described. They are also designed for plastic, not pewter. Different bonding surface. They go on too thick if you try to get a good and full cover with one coat. Not likely to happen with a brush application. It takes several. The images above have on average three coats of paint, and the detail is just fine.

Essentially you have two options; either adapt your methods to suit the paint, or shop around for a paint that suits your methods. I do not have access to either Vallejo or Model Master; my only paint options are Tamiya or Gunze. Both work for me, and have done for decades.

As to separation of pigments/colours, it happens in the pot with XF62 (olive drab) but still paints on fine. No separation/streaks on the model. I have paint pots that are over 15 years old and still work fine (I doubt I'll ever finish the 23mm bottle of flesh colour).

I've got easier results if I base paint first with a spray paint. If you check the forum posts on methods you'll see that is common across paint brands.

RedLeif · Post by **RedLeif** » Wed Nov 30, 2011 5:19 pm

that Panther image insights several feelings, awe, admiration and a twinge of jealousy. thanks for the motivation to try harder Piersyf.

piersyf · Post by **piersyf** » Sat Jan 28, 2012 10:27 am

It appears that Tamiya make a retarder for their acrylic paint range, and have done for about 3 years or so. I didn't know, and when I asked about it at my local model shop they said 'sure, it's over here'... on the opposite side of the store to all the paints. Anyway, I bought some as its function is to slow down the drying time of the acrylics to allow it to settle (implying it is to make it more brush-able).
I had been having one horror paint job with a Tamiya paint refusing to cover a Tamiya spray lacquer; the paint just dried on the brush, was lumpy and streaky... worst reaction I'd ever experienced. It had been put aside for 2 months as a 'challenge' project.
After getting the retarder home I mixed some of the offending paint (XF80) with about 15 to 20% retarder, a few drops of distilled water and a drop or two of thinners, and the paint flowed like a dream! With that one mix I finished the offending ship and went on to paint 2 more destroyers before the paint showed signs of returning to old form. I think it looks like a winner of a product.
I then pushed the 'friendship', mixing a 'glaze' of about 90% retarder and 10% paint. It took half an hour to dry completely (dry around the edges in a few minutes), and gave a decent but translucent cover. I use the word glaze rather than wash because of the type of coverage... maybe check some art pages on oil paints to get an idea of what I mean. Oh, and it stayed matt as well!
Final test was a dual mix of olive green with retarder, water and thinners and a mix of clear matt with retarder, water and thinners. I then painted a camouflage pattern in the olive over a base of German Dark Yellow and while the paint was wet, went along the edges with a brush loaded with the matt clear mix to soften and feather the edges. For a first go (make up the technique as I go) the results were very promising.
Anyway, just thought I'd pass it on and hopefully ease some frustrations out there.

stenna00 · Post by **stenna00** » Sun Jan 29, 2012 6:02 pm

I use Acrylico Vallejo almost exclusively and have done for 10 years or so. I occasionally use Tamiya paints but I think they are too thin and the paint leaves brush marks. Also the Tamiya paint dries up quickly in the pot because of the large bottle openings.

Acrylico Vallejo paints come in little bottles with a small hole in the top and so the paints do not dry up in the bottle. You can also easily control how much paint you use. The paint covers well. It does not dry too quickly and does not leave brush marks even on larger surfaces. Also the colour range is huge. I find it does not dry too quickly on the pallette either and I can usually take my time painting.

Acrylic paint dries quickly relative to enamel paint but I have never found this to be a problem with AV - in fact I prefer it as I can cover up mistakes quickly!

AV paints are a little more expensive than Tamiya (Â£2.20 v Â£1.75) but you get more paint in the pot (17ml v 12ml).

Hope this helps.

Cav Dog · Post by **Cav Dog** » Sun Jan 29, 2012 9:55 pm

Are Tamiya paints back on the shelves? I was told at my LFHS that they had to change their labels and wouldn't be available in the US for quite some time.

voltigeur · Post by **voltigeur** » Sun Jan 29, 2012 10:17 pm

I hope Tamaya is still going to be available.

I use them when I need a spray can and a bottle to match. I can spray a base coat and touch up with the bottle. They are the best for that, and easier to work with than Testors.

I have an airbrush but don't really have a place to use it. Don't have a part of the house that is over spray friendly.

Great work shown here tho.

fullmetaljacket · Post by **fullmetaljacket** » Mon Jan 30, 2012 10:49 pm

I use Vallejo and Tamaya both for micro, micronauts, and other modeiing. I agree Tamaya paints dry up to quickly, but when using them i use either a wet palete or use a retarder to help slow the drying process. I believe its called liqutex-slo dry, dont quote me on that, but its something close to that. 4 oz bottle like 5 to 7 bucks, but only takes one or two drops for most painting. The tamaya xf range of paints are awesome for micronauts great colors for naval especially world war two era. But overall i would say i use vallejo more than any other color brand.

fullmetaljacket

piersyf · Post by **piersyf** » Thu Feb 02, 2012 5:18 pm

Cheers, Cama! I think it looks OK for a 30 year old repaint too!