rickoshea52
SMF Supporter
Vallejo (as you have chosen the Acrylic route {got to mention that or I will gather the wrath of the enamellers}) best to begin with as they are very easy to use and you only need water to clean them although best with a cleaner. Except for a few in the Model Range they are non toxic although never tried eating them. Toxic ones are noted on the front label. Nice thing about Vallejo it is kind. If you put on to heavier coat it will on average, unless ridiculously thick, flatten out. This probably more with Model Air (airbrush) than Model hand brush. All the water based acrylics do dry quickly an advantage sometimes at others a disadvantage. Normally second coat within an hour or less. In the pallet the paint thickens quickly and it is worth getting some retarder although this ironically will then lengthen the drying process for successive coats.\ said:This is my first model and the paints needed were advised and they happened to be enamels. I started off with them but got fed up having to clean the brushes with thinners and stinking the house out. /QUOTE]
Exactly why I use Acrylics Keith.
\ said:Thanks for all your responses. I see a lot of you use Vallejo acrylics and I get the distinct impressions that the majority on the forum consider them to be the best so I will definitely try them next time. Cheers. Keith.
To be honest I had never considered the health issues in using enamels but maybe you have a point. It is the blasted smell and that of the thinners that I can't stand, it stinks the house out and that causes my wife to complain, takes all the fun out of it\ said:
The primers do Dave. Top coats while adhering to plastic have not the same ability as the primer\ said:i thought the model paint acrylic had some kind of additive in it to help it adhere to the plastic.
I thin model colour with water or Vallejo's own brand thinner for spraying. It works for me.\ said:Thanks for that Barry, Vallejo Model Colour it is for me then as I only use a brush, total rubbish with a spray. Mind you I am not that good with a brush either.
Vallejo primer is OK for both brush and airbrush Dave. Large areas perhaps experiement with thinnercoats rather than one thick.\ said:thanks laurie i did plan to use a primer but i have never a rattle tin or an airbrush only ever used a brush so if you could get a brush on primer with no smell to it that would be perfect for me
I thin and spray them all the time with out any issues that are worth mentioning. I find that they are also very economical as well.\ said:Vallejo Model Colour are for the hairy stick.
Thanks Ian ........ I have never used Valejo Acrylics ....... I'll file that away for the future.\ said:I thin and spray them all the time with out any issues that are worth mentioning. I find that they are also very economical as well.
By the way Peter, Vallejo also do Day Glow....
Ian M
Enamel paints are not any more 'toxic' than acrylics. If you don't use a good extractor and/or mask then you will be inhaling an aerosol of either type when spraying, its just that generally you can smell the enamel solvent and not the acrylic, though have a whiff of one of Tamiya's so called acrylics. All paints are solvent based and not all acrylics use sympathetic (to us) solvents.\ said:To be honest I had never considered the health issues in using enamels but maybe you have a point. It is the blasted smell and that of the thinners that I can't stand, it stinks the house out and that causes my wife to complain, takes all the fun out of it
Actually with water based Acrylics Steve 24 hours at least and really to be safe best 48 hours. A lot depends on how the plastic has been prepared for the primer and that primer has in fact been used.\ said:I would leave your first colour over night at least before masking.
Cheers Steve
Thanks for the info Steve, I have decided I will leave it for a min of 24 hours before putting masking tape on it. As you say, what's the rush and why take the risk? Laurie suggests perhaps 48 hours to be absolutely safe and I may do that. Cheers.\ said:I'm not familiar with the acrylic paints you are using but now is a useful time to raise the difference between drying and curing. All paints dry and cure as a result of various chemical reactions. Acrylic paints dry much quicker than some other solvent based paints, but they still require time for the reactions to complete, giving a fully cured and hardened surface. I would leave your first colour over night at least before masking.
I often read of people masking after a few hours but always ask myself why they are in such a hurry? Why take the risk? If it does go wrong and they have to start again it will certainly take longer
Cheers
Steve
Good idea Laurie, thanks for that, I will do that for sure as it's the only way to be certain. I will defo leave it for 48 hours anyway.\ said:I would stick a bit of paint on spare plastic and test before you stick any tape on the model.
Laurie
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