synthetic laquers

[Guest]

hi guys.

for my F-16 i am going to be using tamiya's AS range of sprays which are synthetic laquers.

what exactly is ment by synthetic laquers? I know if spraying laquers onto styrine you have to use a base coat first so it dosnt carrode the plastic. Is this the same with the "synthetic" laquers?

...and why are they synthetic anyway?....why not just make normal laquers? or do you think it is to creat a more "friendly" way to use laquers without the fumes n' all.

Richard

[wonwinglo]

Be careful here RJ, and this is cerainly a case where you should get out the paint hack before use on your new model,there is a mixture of terms here which worries me a bit,the original term lacquer just means a resin dissolved in a solvent,this used to be acetone or cellulose based product,in more recent years manufacturers have gone over to products such as Tuolene, and ethyl Methyl Keytones,all highly volatile products which do you no good if you breathe them.

Historically 'lac' came from the secreting Lac insect,hence the name Shellac which was the basic product dissolved in agent,this made a fine product used to preserve and polish furniture.

Anyway back to our paint,without getting too technical modern so called Lacquers can be built up from many products,the term 'Synthetic' is the addition to the paint of a man made substance, usually two or three chemicals within the paint,the name can mean anything.

My bet is that this product is acrylic based,with synthetic driers,the driers evaporate leaving the lovely base coat finish,most of your modern car finishes are now synthetic,all of the rattle cans have gone over to a finish that emulates good old fashioned cellulose paint without the more harmful ozone layer destroying solvents,but that is not to say the new ingredients are safe for the environment,far from it,all atomised spray finishes cause damage in some way collectively.

So the moral behind this little lecture is never believe what is actually on the can !

Treat this finish as a cellulose type of paint,and that means a good base white primer coat will be needed on the model,even then be careful as volatile driers can even attack primers.

So test and retest on a similar plastic to your model,I hope that the above will give you a deeper understanding of the misnomer 'Synthetic Lacquer'