Question about Tamiya Acryls

[zemigod]

Hey, I've been using both Tamiya and Model Master Marine paints. For whatever reason the Tamiya paints seem to leave these huge visible brush marks whereas the MMM brushes on well. Is Tamiya meant more for airbrushing, or am I doing somethign wrong?

[Devin]

There are some that say they have good luck with Tamiya paints and brushing them on, but I've never done well with them. They airbrush beautifully, but with a brush I can't get them to behave.

-Devin

[Gordon Bjorklund]

Zemi, I use Tamiya, Polly S and MM Marine paints for my ships. All three have their own quirks, Tamiya and MM seem to be thicker than Polly S. The local temperture and humidity have alot to do with the way these paint behave. I always put a drop of dish washing soap in each bottle, this helps with the surface tension and allows the paint to flow more smoothly. If you are using the small 1/2oz bottle of Tamiya paint put one drop of dish soap in it. If your using the large 3/4 oz bottle start with one drop and see if it smooths out with out the brush marks. Now, if the brush marks are still there add a little thinner and try again. Keep up the process of adding a little more thinner until you get the results your happy with. If you don't get the results you like then dump the Tamiya paint and use the MM that you get the better results with.

My Tamiya paints are gatthering dust at this time.

HTH

Gordon

[RNfanDan]

I gave up on Tamiya paints. Unfortunately, I have a dozen brand-new bottles of the stuff here. None adhere well, even on primed styrene, and I will gladly provide them to anyone wanting these for airbrushing, free of charge--just cover my shipping. I'm don't mean to turn this into an advert, but to point out that these paints seem to have some undesirable characteristics--in addition to the horrible ODOR these paints emit!

I've had the best results of all time with the old Polly S brand, but the new Testor's Polly Scale brand---which appears to be the old stuff, under new management---is all I can find. It works pretty well for me.

Another one that works here is Testor's Model Master Acrylic, but I have only a few colors that are appropriate to my RN needs. Their "Radome Tan" makes a good wood-decking color. Except for generic colors--black, white, deck colors, hull reds, and prop bronze/copper, I have almost lost my faith in acrylics.

Again without meaning to sound like advert, I am quickly becoming a believer in WEM Colourcoats. I've not seen anyone else's product line get close to their range and authenticity, and I have now essentially replaced most of my acryls with the WEM tinlets. I also like their packaging--so much nicer than the screw-capped glass jars of other brands.

My nickel's worth...

[kennylibben]

I mainly use normal testors, tamiya, and model marine. lately i haven't used normal testors much cuz i dont need those colors. Tamiya works good and flows consistently with the brush but i just dont like it for some reason. one reason would be that its really expensive for the small amount you get... but i dont like the way it works out, a bit thin and crude.

i prefer the Model Marines. i'm outraged that they've decided to discontinue it. Its a larger bottle than the others, and cheaper than tamiya. it is also fairly thick depending on how well you stir it and gives a nice crisp look. Its also carried in large amounts around my area....where tamiya is not....and normal testors military colors are rare.

[Timmy C]

i'm outraged that they've decided to discontinue it.

They're not discontinuning the colours, just the 'Model Marine' label. They'll still sell it under the Model Master regular line.

[Pieter]

I have a lot of experience with both Tamiya and MM acrylic paints. I haven't found a source for Polly Scale yet in the Netherlands so I can't comment on those. I agree that MM is easier to work with than Tamiya (as long as you clean the upper part of the paint bottles before closing them) and some of their wargamer - oriented colors can easily be used for ship projects. My Seals Models Shirase for example has has its upper works painted in MM 4392 Bone and some of my predreads have a Dragon Black hull.
Tamiya acrylics on the other hand are difficult to work with. The main problem seems to be that Tamiya paints start to dry rather quickly when they are on the brush and that the paint becomes very sticky when this happens, and it takes rather long for the piant to become so dry that it does not stick to the brush anymore. This means the brush will tend to drag a small amount of previoulsy applied paint with it, hence the stripes. I have tried to remedy this using a product called 'acrylic retarder' (can be found in artists' supply shops) but this made the paint even more sticky. Using a 1:1 mixture of Tamiya thinner and the paint itself, as suggested by someone on the other site, did not work for me either. I have obtained some good results (winning the 2003 dutch Nats with a vessel so painted for example) using the following technique for larger surfaces like a hull. Prime you parts firts, I use Tamiya Primer but other brands shoul work also. Put a reasonable (more than enough for the area to be covered) amount of Tamiya paint in a small cup. Put a few drops of Tam thinner on your brush, then load it with paint. NB: you don't' want to get Tamiya thinner in a Tamiya paint bottle as over time it will ruin the paint. And Tamiya paints have a rather expensive learning curve -:(. Anyway, back to painting. Use the largest brush you have sufficient control over (practice first). Start covering the hull using broad vertical strokes, one next to the other. Cover the area in one series of brush strokes keeping the brush wet and loaded with paint all the time. Never, ever go back for touching up!
Wait at least 24 hrs before doing anything else, applying a second coat for example. This should get you a good result. For smaller pieces the same applies except that you can use more thinner. Tamiya piants drybrush very well. Like all early acrylics Tamiya paints cure rather slowly. And dry to the touch is not really dry, like with all paints.
BTW I have just bought a tin (or rather cube) of the new Revell acrylics. The box lid is very user unfriendly so i have already lost part of the paint when the box suddenly popped open in the wrong direction. I have just applied (using a brush) it to part of a wingy thing over tamiya primer. I will report oo the results in a few days time.

[zemigod]

Thanks for all your tips guys, I will try some of the stuff described here since I have a bunch of Tamiya lying around anyways. Worst comes to worst I'll stop using it and stick with MMM. I'll practice on scrap first so I don't ruin the ship

[zemigod]

Okay, I tried two drops of dishwashing liquid and the paint seems to be working MUCH better. Thanks!

[kennylibben]

i'm outraged that they've decided to discontinue it.

They're not discontinuning the colours, just the 'Model Marine' label. They'll still sell it under the Model Master regular line.

ah! GOOD! except i just found out that prices of the bottles have raised to $3 at hobby lobby! they used to be $1.50!

[Timmy C]

They cost $3.99 here anyway =(

[Thomas E. Johnson]

I only use Tamyia, and Pollytranspare paints lately. I never had a problem with Tamyia ethier handbrushing or airbrushing. At this stage I find myself doing more airbrushing than hand painting.