Enamels and Acrylics (ah that old chestnut again!)

[Guest]

That's an intersting-looking aircraft/model (I just looked in your gallery). Somehow the shape reminds me of Thunderbird 2.

Lovely paint job, as usual.

[Guest]

Yeah the '119's an "oddball" (pardon the tenuous connection lol) but a darned effective machine in its' day. Nice job!!

[Guest]

Noticed the Italeri C47 as well - same model as mine, minus the miniguns and a different cargo bay floor - some of the sprue is spare cos it's got the duplicated parts on it!!

[Guest]

Do any of you guys put Humbrol Mattcote through an airbrush? Mine kept blocking.

So I decided to apply a slightly thinned version by brush, but it's still got a "satin" finish - not really matt.

[Guest]

Well, I finished my Sturmovik. Please see my gallery pictures. Finished mainly in Humbrol and Revell colours, over a Halfords primer. Exhaust and gun stains were done with very thinned acrylics mixed to a mucky brown. Tried chipping again with a very brush and Humbrol aluminium - doesn't look very convincing to me. Fairly pleased with the rest of it though.

[Guest]

If mattcote's anything like the old humbrol matt varnish, it takes a SHEDLOAD longer than any other paint to mix properly so could be that...other than that i dunno what's up with it!!

[Guest]

Nice job with the Sturmovikc - I particularly like the subtle exhaust staining....I always tend to overdo these things - just need to restrain myself hahaha!!

re the mattcote - if it's anything like humbrol matt varnish it takes a SHEDLOAD longer than other paint to mix properly so could be that....other than that I dunno, but I hope you find a solution!

[Guest]

It finally went matt, but as you say the bottle needs to be stirred/shaken like crazy. In fact, I ended up putting a twisted length of fuse wire into my Dremel-clone and using it as a stirrer - that did the trick! The gunk at the bottom was like treacle (not the same colour thank goodness).

[Guest]

Jus for my own info can I ask what proportion of white spirit/thinner to paint you use when using enamels? I was spraying my brother's boat humbrol gloss yellow and it seemed to be flying all over the place when it hits the surface of the boat!

Is this caused by too much pressure (I just use enough to get a sedate spray pattern) or have I made the mix too thin??? (about 1:1 with white spirit) I don't actually think I've ever sprayed gloss enamel so maybe I'm doin something totally daft!

It's all primed and everything so I dunno what I'm doing wrong!!

[Guest]

I must tell you that I am a relative beginner at this airbrush lark. However, there was a distinct difference between how Humbrol went on, and how Revell went on. Revell was much more "watery" and did not need much thinner at all. Humbrol was thicker and did. All the hints pages I've read on many websites says to mix it the consistency of milk.

From what you say, I think you've made the mix too thin. 1:1 sounds too much. Make sure the yellow is well mixed in the tin before decanting it to another container and mixing in the thinner. Dip a cocktail stick in a tap it against the side; the fluid should run down the side like milk.

Keep the pressure to about 18 psi and don't get too close - lots of thin layers is better then one thick.

Good luck.

[Guest]

Yeah it does seem to be thinner than milk, I'll probably make the next batch a bit thicker even though I'll probably need more paint, it's important to get the job done right!

Will let you know how I get on, thanks