Why Is Paint Smudging??

[Supabuild]

Hello Folks, hoping somebody can help me with this.

I've got a set of 1/72 bombs for my B17-G FLYING FORTRESS. I used Tamiya XF-62 Acrylic paint Olive grab colour with Tamiya XF-3 Flat yellow tips.

However, when I try andprotect the paint job with Tamiya X-22 Clear, the paint begins to smudge and come off.C

 

[Supabuild]

Sorry,can somebody tell me what I have done wrong please.Thanks very much.

 

[Jim F]

Hi John,
Firstly welcome to the forum, how long did you leave between the colour coats and the clear ?
Jim

 

[Supabuild]

Hi John,
Firstly welcome to the forum, how long did you leave between the colour coats and the clear ?
Jim

Hi Folks, about 2 days.

 

[Jim F]

Hi John,
Then I'm stumped, be patient and wiser heads will advise.
Jim

 

[Supabuild]

Hi John,
Then I'm stumped, be patient and wiser heads will advise.
Jim

Thanks anyway,love your dogs.

 

[Steven000]

Hi, that's pretty strange indeed

• Both colors came off?
• I assume you handpainted the bombs?
• Did you degrease the bombs before the green/yellow paint?
• Did you use a primer?

Hope you'll find out why this happend.
Cheers, Steven

 

[Supabuild]

Hi Steven,I did not degrease the bombs or use primer. Could I ask which is the best way to degrease them.Thanks a lot for your help.

 

[Deleted member 4539]

Hi John.
Before I paint anything I simply wash all plastic/resin parts in warm soapy(washing up liquid) water to degrease everything.

 

[Steven000]

I use alcohol to degrease, it evaporates faster then water and works best for me, but that's a personal choice.

 

[Jim R]

Hi John
Very strange indeed. Degreasing the parts gets rid of any manufacturers release agent and any grease from fingers deposited during assembly. Ralph is correct, washing before painting with warm, soapy water will degrease parts but then you have to let things dry. You also have to be careful not to get water inside hollow parts. Like Steven I use alcohol or lighter fluid. Just brush over the part and it evaporates quickly and then you can paint.
A primer prepares the surface for paint and also allows you to see any blemishes which need dealing with.
Now your problem This is just a guess so could be rubbish but here goes. Tamiya acrylic is not a true water based acrylic. It has alcohol in it and can be thinned with water although Tamiya thinner is alcohol based. Tamiya X-22 Clear may contain more solvent being clear and if not well mixed so maybe that is why it affected the previous coat??? As I said that may be totally wrong . If painting with Tamiya acrylics maybe gloss coat with a true water based acrylic gloss.
Jim

 

[Deleted member 7181]

I'm leaning more towards Jim's thoughts here. I'd wager that the solvents in the clear are reactivating or softening the paint underneath, causing it to smudge.

I've never used it so can't be certain, but it sounds the most likely cause. Did you thin it? If so, what with? That might be the culprit.

 

[Supabuild]

Thanks a lot guys.I think I'll try another product and see what happens.

 

[Jakko]

Tamiya X-22 is pretty strong stuff, as I recall. In my memory it smells different (and also more) than other Tamiya paints, which I’ve always put down to stronger solvents in it.

 

[Supabuild]

Thanks for that Jakko.So my next question is can anybody suggest a varnisher to protect my Acrylic paints?Thanks again.

 

[JR]

Hi John and welcome to the forum.
Loads of types out there to choose from, gloss ,satin and flat . Are you going to weather it or just want to protect the finish ?

 

[Jim R]

Hi John
John is right. Loads to choose from and every modeller has their favourite. At the moment I rather like the VMS varnishes available from the Scale Model Shop.
Jim

 

[Jakko]

can anybody suggest a varnisher to protect my Acrylic paints?

Did you brush the Tamiya varnish on? Then I would suggest buying a spraying can of varnish, either from a model shop (if you need matt) or from a place that sells car paints (for semigloss or gloss — they don’t tend to have matt, in my experience).

 

[Supabuild]

Thanks guys.Good advice.I am going to weather the B17 just a bit so I can get the hang of it.Does this affect the type of varnish choice at all.

 

[JR]

Yes John,
I was told by the guys that an acrylic gloss would be preferable when doing any pinwash as the gloss finish enables the wash to flow easliy. Give it time to dry fully though, before attempting the weathering. I leave mine over night in a warm room in the house to be on the safe side.