Vimto 0 Posted December 11, 2008 Can anyone tell me what the best mix of paint to thinner to use in an airbrush when using Tamiya Polycarbonate paint and thinners. Cheers Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
94eg! 834 Posted December 11, 2008 I was not aware that Tamiya sold their Polycarbonate paint in bottles. Do they offer the same colors as their spray cans? Airbrush paint should be mixed to the consistency of milk to spray properly. If it's a laquer based polycarbonate paint, you will know it's too thick if it's leaving a cotton-candy/cobb-webb like substance on everything... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bakaguyjean 7 Posted December 11, 2008 I was not aware that Tamiya sold their Polycarbonate paint in bottles. Do they offer the same colors as their spray cans? The bottles are the 8 basic colors and a few strange ones like purple and a light green. I love them but i dont think to many people sell them outside of Japan. They are not that popular here either. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
HunterZero 76 Posted December 11, 2008 The bottles are the 8 basic colors and a few strange ones like purple and a light green. I love them but i dont think to many people sell them outside of Japan. They are not that popular here either. Yes, the pots of paint are PC paints. They stopped selling them here in Australia, they only sell the PS paint now. Annoying, since the PC paints were a lot cheaper. I haven't tried these paints with an airbrush. PS paint is pretty nasty and is fuel resistant so is resistant to a lot of thinners, so if you decanted some to use with an airbrush, you'd probably have to use acetone or MEK to clean the airbrush with afterwards, and then your normal airbrush cleaner. I'd imagine Tamiya X20A acrylic thinner would work fine for thinning? - James Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Vimto 0 Posted December 12, 2008 I'll have to give it a try! I was told that they are very thick but should be Ok! I've got a cheap air brush so acetone would probably melt my airbrush!!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WillyChang 1814 Posted December 12, 2008 no, PC paints are waterbased and not fuelproof i use them in my SprayWork diluted with Tamiya X20 thinners they are quite thick and cover quite well... 2-3 coats brushed neat from bottle is always enough to be totally opaque, more important to negate all brushstrokes by crosshatching the layers wet paint can be washed out with water, dried paint i use methylated spirits or any thinner Once you're done, just give it a coat of PS1 white or PS5 black to fuelproof it They are definitely available from distributors in Oz, its usually just your LHS not buying them in. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
HunterZero 76 Posted December 12, 2008 no, PC paints are waterbased and not fuelproof Yes, but I was talking about PS paint. The PS ones of course are a different formulation and are fuelproof. Which is annoying, since you can't strip PS paints with nitro when things go wrong. i use them in my SprayWork diluted with Tamiya X20 thinners Used to do that while I could find PC paint, and TS paints can be decanted and airbrushed too... But not really game to try PS decanted paint in my airbrush, since it's so nasty to clean up. I tried decanting PS paint to brush on, but it's too thin and eats PS layers that are already sprayed down. I'd like to know what thinners are in the PS paint... They are definitely available from distributors in Oz, its usually just your LHS not buying them in. All the hobby shops near me and Hobbyco in the Sydney QVB building no longer carry them. Haven't been able to find PC paints for some time now, and all I have left is some Frog pink. The Tamiya USA site seems to indicate quite a few of the PC colours have been discontinued. I need to get some black for painting details on some shells. If you know where I can find some, please share! - James Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
