Testors Acryl paint over Tamiya acrylic...Does this work?

crowe-t · Post by **crowe-t** » Fri Jan 14, 2011 12:39 am

A friend of mine suggested using Testors Acryl instead of Tamiya acrylic paint. He likes how durable Testors Acyl is. The problem is I was going to use Tamiya XF-12 JN Grey on a TOS Enterprise since it's a match to the WalMart 'Concrete' color sample that is mentioned in Paul Newitt's article: What Color is the Classic Enterprise: http://culttvman.com/main/?p=7718

Has anyone used Testors Acryl Clear over Tamiya acrylic paint to seal it? Will this work? I'm concerned they won't be compatible.

I applied both Testors Acryl and Tamiya acrylic paints to a piece of plastic and and after both cured I wiped them with Windex and the Tamiya came right off. The Testors Acryl didn't budge.

Any tips or advice will be welcome.

seam-filler · Post by **seam-filler** » Fri Jan 14, 2011 4:00 am

Experiment. I'd lay down a couple of coats of the Tamiya colour on a scrap, let that cure for a couple of days and then try the Testor's.

crowe-t · Post by **crowe-t** » Fri Jan 14, 2011 12:32 pm

I'm going to try this. I painted some Tamiya acrylic on scrap plastic last night and am waiting for it to fully cure before I apply the clear Testors Acryl on top.

If anyone has experience with this I'd like to hear the results.

Post by **TER-OR** » Sun Jan 16, 2011 9:17 am

Yes, I put layers of different acrylic paints over each other all the time.

Gunze and Tamiya can be mixed, but neither can mix with Acryl.

You may want to put a thin clear coat between layers if you're masking. Future works great for this.

crowe-t · Post by **crowe-t** » Sun Jan 16, 2011 11:55 am

TER-OR wrote:Yes, I put layers of different acrylic paints over each other all the time.

Gunze and Tamiya can be mixed, but neither can mix with Acryl.

You may want to put a thin clear coat between layers if you're masking. Future works great for this.

By mixing do you mean Gunze and Tamiya can be mixed wet?

I'm going to apply some clear Acryl over the Tamiya paint on some scrap plastic. I'll look at it tomorrow to see if it worked.

Whether I use the Testors Acryl or Tamiya acrylic paint on the model I'm still going to give it a coat of Future before and after I apply the decals. I'll then apply a final coat of Testors Acryl flat clear to seal it. I'm hoping I can start with the Tamiya, then Future for decals and then Teastors Acryl on top.

Kylwell · Post by **Kylwell** » Sun Jan 16, 2011 12:53 pm

Yes, you can mix Tamiya with Gunze or vice versa with no issues. You can also thin either of them with lacquer thinner if you're so inclined.

I've layered acrylic on acylic with just about every type paint imaginable without issues.

crowe-t · Post by **crowe-t** » Sun Jan 16, 2011 1:41 pm

Kylwell wrote:Yes, you can mix Tamiya with Gunze or vice versa with no issues. You can also thin either of them with lacquer thinner if you're so inclined.

I've layered acrylic on acylic with just about every type paint imaginable without issues.

Thanks! I just figured I can seal the Tamiya with Testors Acryl. Testors Acryl is a very good solid paint. I tried removing it with both Windex and Alcohol and neither will take it off.

crowe-t · Post by **crowe-t** » Sun Jan 16, 2011 6:33 pm

Kylwell wrote:Yes, you can mix Tamiya with Gunze or vice versa with no issues. You can also thin either of them with lacquer thinner if you're so inclined.

When Tamiya is mixed with lacquer thinner does it then behave more like lacquer?

Can Testors Acryl be applied over Tamiya that was mixed with lacquer thinner?

Post by **TER-OR** » Sun Jan 16, 2011 6:44 pm

I've never thinned Gunze or Tamiya with anything but isopropyl alcohol or Tamiya thinner. I've never seen much reason to do otherwise.

kenlilly106 · Post by **kenlilly106** » Mon Jan 17, 2011 7:29 pm

Are there any compatibility issues with mixing Gunze and Tamiya acrylics before application?

I know that sometimes they don't play nice with each other if you spray one over the other (Tamiya over Gunze I think).

Ken

Post by **TER-OR** » Mon Jan 17, 2011 10:26 pm

Nope, we mentioned earlier the Tamiya and Gunze acrylics are completely compatible mixing liquids. Remember, though, Gunze does make a lacquer (or something like a lacquer) called Mr. Color. That I wouldn't mix with the acrylics.

kenlilly106 · Post by **kenlilly106** » Tue Jan 18, 2011 9:48 am

I know that Gunze makes an acrylic lacquer and I know not to mix it with regular acrylics, just wanted to make sure that Gunze and Tamiya acrylics were compatible beyond the mixing stage, a thousand pardons Sahib.

Post by **TER-OR** » Thu Jan 20, 2011 7:59 pm

No problem, I just wanted to make sure we weren't talking about the two different products.

FYI, I find the Tamiya flat paints are WAY too flat. I like Gunze's semi-gloss and often use the Gunze or Tamiya Flat Base to make the gloss paints a semi-gloss. The Tamiya flats are nearly chalky, in my experience - they always look like they cover more than they really do, so when I overcoat with Future or something it becomes obvious the coat's not as good as it looked..