True Acrylics

[hooterville75]

What determines a True acrylic paint ? Persay a True acrylic like Vallejo verses Testors or Tamiya ? How do you determine when researching paint what makes a paint a True acrylic ?

 

[Dusky]

There isn't any "true" acrylic. Any acrylic paint is an acrylic paint and that's it. When people say "true" acrylic, they are usually referring to an acrylic that is water based, like Lifecolor, as opposed to an acrylic that uses something more than just water as the solvent, such as Tamiya which uses alcohols for the solvent.

 

[Ravhin]

In my limited knowledge, I think you could say that a true acrylic paint is a paint in which the pigment is suspended in an acrylic polymer emulsion, which means most paint is acrylic. For some reason people more often use the term when the paint is water soluble and call the others oil, lacquer and so on.

 

[Elm City Hobbies]

You have some acrylics like Gunze, Tamiya, etc, that are in an alcohol carrier, or Isopropyl based carrier. (And actually Tamiya is more like a lacquer than an acrylic)

Then you have acrylics like Vallejo and Life color that are basically a water/resin based paint, which is what is usually referred to as a "True Acrylic"

 

[the Baron]

I second PharmPony. Scott (ECH) is correct, the carrier may be different from one brand to another, but there's no such thing as a "true" acrylic, just as there's no such thing as a true enamel or a true oil.

 

[hooterville75]

So Scott, the cheaper craft acrylic paints such as Createx, Americana, Appel Barrell etc are a "True" acrylic ?

 

[Dusky]

You might want to try rereading.

 

[Holden]

This article was very helpful for me figuring out all the different model paints not just acrylics:


http://www.scalemodelguide.com/guide/painting/paint-types/

Hope it helps

 

[Elm City Hobbies]

So Scott, the cheaper craft acrylic paints such as Createx, Americana, Appel Barrell etc are a "True" acrylic ?

I have no idea, as I haven't used them, but I think Apple Barrell and Americana are water based acrylics, having said that though, that doesn't mean they are all that good. They are more designed for doing crafts, ceramics, painting on wood projects etc, etc. The pigment in those are huge compared to model paints, and aren't really formulated to adhere to plastic all that well. Sure they are dirt cheap....but IMO really aren't a good "quality" paint.

Createx...I don't know either....the Createx I know that you can get at Michaels, AC Moore, etc, isn't cheap, usually $10-$12/bottle. I know someone said they could get it for $1/bottle, but I have a hard time believing this is the same product that I have seen at the above stores. As well I believe Createx is airbrush only, and has a limited color pallet.

 

[Grendels]

I have used createx in an airbrush and it is very tricky stuff. It will not thin with alcholol nor water. I used future to thin it. Not sure what it is, but it dries up with a very, very shiny coat if you use one of their metallics.

If you decide to try this stuff, make sure you experiement with it first. Light color coats, and it must fully cure between paint coats or you will end up with a gooey mess. But once cured, it is very tough. Curing time isn't that long, so it won't take days to paint up your model.

They do have limited colors, but the different colors mix well. Most of the colors are ment to go over either a white or black base and then the top color is applied.

 

[the Baron]

I agree with Scott, the craft store acrylics are mostly water-based (the brands I've seen), and their pigments are very coarsely ground. They have their uses, but they're not really suited to some others.

For example, I'm finishing a Fiat G50 in 1/72 (the old Airfix kit), and the color scheme includes a sky blue underside. I used Americana white and blue to mix the tint, thinned it with water and airbrushed it on (Paasche VL, at about 10 psi). It went on well, but the dried surface is very granular, too much so for the scale, and I don't think I'll use the paint for that kind of application again. On the other hand, the craft store paints are great for my toy soldiers, or for washes and weathering.