Paints Enamel or Acrylic

[drk75]

Hello every one,

Getting back into modeling and starting off on some Star Wars kits.
Whats your preference on paint brand and type. Id like to start weathering as wel,l does the type of paint you use change your weathering technic.
Will be using an air brush and normal brush's.
Sorry if this question has been asked before of if its in the wrong area.

Thanks for your help.

[seam-filler]

Whatever floats your boat - just don't try mixing them together

There are advantages and disadvantages to both...

Enamels: On the plus side they can give excellent gloss and metallic finishes and you can often get away with fewer coats. On the negative they smell more, are definitely more toxic and cleanup (even with traditional brushes) is messier and smellier.

Acrylics: On the plus side, they usually come in larger range of colours, semi-gloss finishes are better than enamels and matt finishes are not as dead flat as enamels can be; cleanup is much, much easier and less toxic; they often don't need thinning (or at most a little thinning) for airbrushing, and drying time tends to be a bit quicker than enamels. On the minus side, they can need more coats (no bad thing) and you may need a varnish if you want a really glossy finish.

I do almost all my weathering on top of the primary finish with washes and or powders, so it doesn't really matter to me what paint is underneath.

Hope this helps.

[kenlilly106]

A few things to consider:

-What type can you get locally?

When I started I could ony get enamels locally so that's what I've stayed with for the most part, I'm familiar with how to thin and apply them, i've used some acrylics in the past when I needed a certain color match though. When (not if) you run out of a certian color will you be stuck until a new order comes in or can you stop by the store on the way home?

-Will you be able to ventilate the area properly when spraying?

Proper ventilation is much more of an issue with enamels than acrylics.

What types/brands have you used in the past? If you like brand ____ then you might be better off sticking with it unless you want to learn how to use a new type.

Ken

[Kylwell]

You can apply an oil wash directly to an acrylic paint, with an enamel you have to clear coat it first.

I use Acrylics (Tamiya) and Alclad II(Lacquer) paints pretty much exclusively. You do need to be careful about contaminants on the plastic with acrylics, skin oils, etc, but other than that I love the stuff.

[Tankmodeler]

It's not really an "either/or" question. I use Acrylics for the bulk of my painting, but use enamels when the colour match isr better or when Ii need a tough surface. I especially like them for brushing in small areas as they tend to cover better. I like Floquil laquers because, in the military range, they dry dead flat and there are some great weathering colours in their mixes. The Floquil Flat and Dust are two of my favourite top coats.

One "rule" when weathering is if you are using a brushed on wash, or when using what is now called a "filter" (rally the term should be "glaze"), then use a different type of paint for the wash than for the base coat. Acrylics dry pretty fast so are great for base coats, but enamels dry slower and are better suited to washes and drybrushing. Don't use lacquers for weathering by brush as you are likely to strip off the base coat, no matter what it is. Sprayed weathering (top coats, filters, splattered dust, exhaust, etc.) can be almost any type over any type, just don't let it get too wet if what you are spraying is lacquer. Then it will attack the base coat.

My paint drawer has a wide selection of several different kinds of paint for different usages. Tamiya acrylic sprays really well, but doesn't brush paint worth a d*mn. Gunze is good at both, but harder to get your hands on. Etc., Etc.

HTH

Paul

edit:I can not type worth sh&t

[TER-OR]

This topic belongs in the finishing forum, not construction. Great replies so far, btw, guys.