SPA Modeler

I’ll post it as soon as I know...

So today was the first attempt at airbrushing these paints. Among other things I wanted to check out, was compatibility with other thinners besides Humbrol’s own acrylic thinner. That would be a no brainer.
So my first attempt was made using Testors Universal Acrylic Thinner. Why that one? Because is at widely available at Hobby Lobby, and any other store/shop that carries the Testors and/or Model Master lines.




So I used a stainless steel cup to try mixing Humbrol acrylic and Testors Universal Acrylic Thinner. I mixed at a 50/50 ratio of paint to thinner and the two mixed flawlessly. No obvious incompatibility.



I cleaned up my mixing cup and then went to the paint cup and again mixed up another batch at the same 50/50 ratio for airbrushing. For this test I used my Badger Anthem 155 at about 18 psi air pressure. I am using Satin White, as white is one of the most difficult colors to airbrush. I did no prep work on the plastic such as a wipe down, and I used no primer. Due to the high Thinner to paint ratio the paint went on very translucent, and also it behave like older acrylics such as Gunze Aqueous and Polly S. Also due to the high thinner ratio I experienced some pooling an low areas. But that is typical of white as well. It is a tough color to airbrush on (in my experience) with no surface prep or primer. On the plus side, I experienced no tip dry problems what so ever, and clean up was a breeze with Windex. I am also noticing that these paints do not dry as quickly surface as say Tamiya. Perhaps with a different thinner, or thinner to paint ratio that will change.



I’ll check on adhesion and scratch resistance tomorrow after the paint has time to dry and cure.

Hmm. no tip drying out using Testors Universal Acrylic Thinner? Sounds promising after all. Looking forward to hearing more results.

I'm glad to hear you had a good test Stik - I love the paint ''mule''

This is excellent news. One reason I haven't switched to acrylics is because I haven't found one that sprays and paints like the Model Master enamels. I also don't want to get hooked on a paint/thinner set that costs an arm and a leg to keep stocked. This is the closest I've seen in reviews that comes the closest to my current experience. Looking forward to more tests.

BTW, I usually thin my paints to a 60-40 ratio, or sometimes 70-30; but then again, I'm using enamels....

Mark, I usually thin my paints at a 3 parts paint to two parts thinner or a 2 parts paint to 1 part thinner ratio. I just went with the 50/50 ratio to be sure that cleaning my airbrush would be no hassle. The only times that I use such a high proportion of thinner to paint is when the paint is very thick like some of my oldest tins of Humbrol can get. My next test will be at a more conventional ratio. Probably the 60 percent paint to 40 percent thinner next. And also with a Satin finish color.

Just a guess, but I suspect that if I encounter any tip dry issues, it will be with a Matt finish color.

One step at a time. And I’m glad that you guys are liking my review so far and find it helpful.

So nearly 24 hours after I airbrushed the Satin White on my “test mule”, I tried some adhesion tests with 3-M Blue masking tape and Tamiya masking tape. In both cases, perfect adhesion for the paint over an unprimed and unpreped surface. I then tried a scratch test using my fingernail. With light to moderate pressure, a very scratch resistant surface. Almost like enamels in scratch resistance. With increased pressure, I was able to scratch thru the paint down to the bare plastic. Close, but no cigar. But then again, I have yet to encounter ANY acrylic paint brand that is 100% scratch resistant inside of 24 hours.

I did take a couple of photos, but this is after I had sanded the scratched areas a bit to feather the edges and get those areas ready for another coat of paint to be applied by airbrush.





More updates soon...

Looking good. Still watching with interest.

Well, it’s back to normal work for me today after a two week training course and an extended weekend. So no airbrush time again likely until my days off next week. Oh yeah, my son has competed his deployment overseas and is home on leave now so family time is the big priority right now...