Tamiya Paint

[Guest]

Someone that works in a model shop that I get my models from had said that I needed to thin down the Tamiya paint for the airbrush which I did and worked. Now I have a new airbrush and I though that I would put some paint in the cup without thinning it and it worked can anyone explain this.

Graham

[Guest]

Hi Graham, cann't answer your specific problem but I have been putting Tamiya and Gunze neat through my airbrush (IWATA 0.5 Nozzle) for quite a few of my models especially good if you are covering a dark colour with a light colour. My recent F-16 and Tornado were all done straight from the bottle. Cheers Derek

[Guest]

Most paints, Tamiya included, can be sprayed straight from the bottle if wished but you need a decent nozzle size and good pressure to maintain a consistent flow. I know I have sprayed just about every paint type I have at some point without thinning but I still believe that thinned paint gives a better finish and more control and, potentially, less blockages.

As Derek rightly points out, any big colour change is covered faster with un thinned paint but in reality, assuming the paint isn't too thin, the effect is just the same if you used more layers of thinned paint, a process which I personally prefer but others may not.

[Guest]

What you have noticed is the fact that any paint can be sprayed through an airbrush and it will have a range of viscosities which will work, but which have advantages and disadvantages. A number of paints, particularly acrylics could be sprayed straight from the tin but it is almost certainly always better to thin it slightly to give you a better range of control. So, as always, no-one is right or wrong, but there are other considerations to take into account with such a thing.

[stona]

It's about control as the chaps above have pointed out. You can force just about anything through an airbrush with enough pressure behind it! For fine or detailed work I find I need to spray at around 10-15 psi and for that I have to thin the paint. I just build the paint up gradually,acrylics dry so quickly that this is not as long winded as it sounds. You are much less likely to lose things like surface detail or preshading this way. You are also much less likely to build up raised ridges against masking and similar nasties.

Cheers

Steve