What would you do with these paints?

[TimM63]

I threw out my entire stock of Vallejo paints and purchased Tamiya's entire line of X and XF paint. That's what I use exclusively

 

[Pantherman]

I threw out my entire stock of Vallejo paints and purchased Tamiya's entire line of X and XF paint. That's what I use exclusively

I love using the vallejo paint range. Pantherman

 

[Jakko]

For the base coat, I normally use Tamiya or Mr. Aqueous, because they cover well and adhere to the surface. After that, I use almost whatever paint gets the job done and is the colour I have in mind. I have given up spraying Vallejo, Mig etc. over bare plastic because they just don't like that, and — in addition to ditching lacquers as I mentioned above — I don't buy any Hataka acrylics anymore because they really don't want to cover worth a damn.

 

[Littlemarten]

For the base coat, I normally use Tamiya or Mr. Aqueous, because they cover well and adhere to the surface. After that, I use almost whatever paint gets the job done and is the colour I have in mind. I have given up spraying Vallejo, Mig etc. over bare plastic because they just don't like that, and — in addition to ditching lacquers as I mentioned above — I don't buy any Hataka acrylics anymore because they really don't want to cover worth a damn.

Vallejo primers cover and adhere very well on clean plastic. Vallejo paints are intended to be used with an undercoat of one of their primers.

 

[MJY65]

Vallejo primers cover and adhere very well on clean plastic. Vallejo paints are intended to be used with an undercoat of one of their primers.

I'd say adhesion is relative. In my experience, Vallejo adheres adequately on areas that are never going to be handled or masked. It still sits on the plastic and doesn't have the chemical burn-in of a lacquer.

 

[Littlemarten]

Depends on the "lacquer." Technically, lacquers only dry, they do not cure. Many people, knowing that Tamiya and Gunze paints use alcohol as a primary solvent, think of them as lacquers. They are not, because the film-forming portion of the paint does polymerize into something quite different from the original paint component. Furthermore, although they appear to be resoluble in alcohol, they are not. If you redissolve one of those paints after it is cured, you cannot re-use it as a coating, as you could with a true lacquer.

As for the "chemical burn-in," I assume you are using "lacquer thinner" as a reducing (thinning) solvent. "Lacquer thinner" is a blend of multiple solvents. It has no set composition. It usually contains one or more alcohols, and a variety of hydrocarbon solvents such as acetone, toluene, xylene, etc. which may or may not be compatible with the binder (film-forming portion) of the paint you are using. What it does do is partially dissolve the plastic surface, embedding both pigment and binder in that surface. This is what you call "burn-in." Essentially you are fusing the color to the surface, which will certainly be durable. To see the effect on a visible scale, put a drop of lacquer thinner on a spare part.

Now if you want to use, and expose yourself to, such nasty chemicals, that's your business. Personally, I prefer to use 90% isopropyl alcohol and a drop or two of Tamiya retarder when using Tamiya paints. (I don't use Gunze for a variety of reasons.)

 

[MJY65]

Now if you want to use, and expose yourself to, such nasty chemicals, that's your business. Personally, I prefer to use 90% isopropyl alcohol and a drop or two of Tamiya retarder when using Tamiya paints. (I don't use Gunze for a variety of reasons.)

As they say: The poison is in the dose". I don't use lacquer paint as after shave, but am fairly comfortable spraying a few ml per day in an exterior vented Pace hood. As you said in another thread, we are exposed to all kinds of things in our daily lives. This is not the one I'm particularly worried about.

 

[Jakko]

Vallejo primers cover and adhere very well on clean plastic.

That is my experience with their spraying cans of primer, but not with the airbrushable type. That could be wiped straight off a model even after drying for 24 hours.

 

[Jakko]

Many people, knowing that Tamiya and Gunze paints use alcohol as a primary solvent, think of them as lacquers.

That's not a misconception I've yet encountered — what I have seen quite frequently is people thinking that Tamiya X- and XF-series (and Mr. Aqueous, but mainly Tamiya) acrylics are water-based because they can be thinned with water. They also think of Mr. Hobby (and Tamiya LP-series) as "lacquer paint" but not as alcohol-based, in my experience.

 

[Littlemarten]

That is my experience with their spraying cans of primer, but not with the airbrushable type. That could be wiped straight off a model even after drying for 24 hours.

Huh! My experience with their airbrushable primers is exactly the opposite of yours. Go figure. Maybe you weren't "holding your mouth right?"

 

[Jakko]

A few years ago, someone I know who had recently bought an airbrush for priming his wargames figures, asked me if Vallejo primer really was as bad as it seemed. He complained he could wipe it off the metal and resin figures days later. I had never used it so I didn't know, but he brought his bottle of it over and we gave it a try through my airbrush, both onto some unpainted plastic and on the underside of a model that already had a layer of (IIRC) Mr. Aqueous acrylics on it. This confirmed what he had found: it just didn't stick, which makes it useless as a primer, IMHO.

 

[Pantherman]

A few years ago, someone I know who had recently bought an airbrush for priming his wargames figures, asked me if Vallejo primer really was as bad as it seemed. He complained he could wipe it off the metal and resin figures days later. I had never used it so I didn't know, but he brought his bottle of it over and we gave it a try through my airbrush, both onto some unpainted plastic and on the underside of a model that already had a layer of (IIRC) Mr. Aqueous acrylics on it. This confirmed what he had found: it just didn't stick, which makes it useless as a primer, IMHO.

I have always used vallejo primers and after 3 years of building have never had a problem with it. Pantherman

 

[Littlemarten]

Guess the primer and finish coat:

 

[OldManModeller]

Throw them away or give them away.

I use acrylics 100 percent now due to easy cleaning of the hand and air brush. I use the Folk Art and cheap paints on cheap models. And Tamiya and Vallejo on the kits that are more expensive. But all acrylics. Usually.

My days of Humbrol quality and such are over. Now its water cleanup and it's done.

I didn't paint models much as a child. All enamels back then. I built them but didn't paint them because it was a hassle and my mother didn't like the smell and mess that I made. But now its a wife issue. So I built a man cave. But acrylics are so darn easy.

I do use oil paints for weathering on my prized builds... for weathering.. but at my age nobody cares what the kit looks like or what I build because it's only for me. My wife doesn't care. She just sees money wasted on my 'art'. With this forum we can share with like minded scale modelers. I don't feel as much alone.

Be well. Model on.

Eric

 

[OldManModeller]

Guess the primer and finish coat:
View attachment 132164

Vallejo and patience.

 

[MJY65]

Vallejo and patience.

+ Single color with no masking and minimal handling. Of course it works. It just has some quirks many of us prefer to avoid.