Cataclysmic Lacquer Problem

[Jdog71]

I don't have an airbrush yet. Yes, I know. To work around this temporary inconvenience, I use an occasional rattle can. I bought a can of Tamiya Pure White...thinking "hey, its Tamiya, so its probably an acrylic". Nope.Nowhere on the can did it say "Lacquer" or "Acrylic"...unless it was in Japanese. So I joyfully spray my MkII Viper after spending 20+ hours building, sanding, priming, cockpit-ing, etc.

I would get better results by dipping the model in a can of Elmers glue and throwing flour on it. Its a disaster. Sure, its a little humid here in RI, but this seems to be over and above the occasional run or bubble...I'm talking epic cataclysm here. Its still wet (16 hours later) and I'm getting nervous about being able to sand away the galaxy of eyesores that my hard work has become.

Is there any hope to save my investment or should I just chalk it up to being a noob (again)?

 

[ScaleModelMadman]

I think this sounds like a good reason for a strip.

Count five threads down in this very subforum and there is a thread on methods. I've never done it myself but there are some people here who have and should be able to help you.

 

[Jdog71]

I think this sounds like a good reason for a strip.

Count five threads down in this very subforum and there is a thread on methods. I've never done it myself but there are some people here who have and should be able to help you.

Thanks! I checked the thread...didn't say much about lacquer. I guess I'll wait another day or so until it hardens then spend another day sanding it down to primer. I'll post a pic in a little while for the lulz.

 

[ScaleModelMadman]

I just googled 'stripping lacquer paint from model' and I found a thread about a guy using oxi-clean...

It's an old thread but you can read it here:

http://www.hobbyfanatics.com/index.php?/topic/7881-how-to-strip-acrylic-paint-fast-safe-and-easy/

 

[Elm City Hobbies]

Castrol Super Clean or Simple Green should and will strip lacquer, might take a little longer, but maybe not so bad where the paint is fresh.

Tamiya rattle cans are lacquer based, but it perplexes me that it is still wet/tacky, as lacquer is usually dry to the touch inside of 30mins max, still a good 24hrs for a good cured paint, but should be dry to the touch in no time.

Was there a primer on the kit before you sprayed the Tamiya? If so, what? If the primer wasn't cured, lacquer being pretty hot may be reacting with it.

Using lacquer, especially white (which IMO is one of the hardest colors to paint and make look right), the plastic should have a primer coat so the main paint coat has some "teeth" to hold on to, as well any oils from your hands, mold release will cause the paint to fisheye and run without a good primer down.

 

[Jeep]

ECH, nailed the truth of it, especially if there was mold release on plastic or resin parts. I am always VERY careful with lacquer paints especially around plastic.

Floquil paints even made a "Barrier" so you could use their lacquers on plastic with out it turning into a melty ruin. You could get away without using Barrier if you were willing to risk it all and apply with a airbrush. Floquil paint attacks plastic BIG TIME, but it was such a nice paint to brush and came in some ultra rare railroad colors. I would try to strip it. but be careful and watch it like a hawk. I melted a HO scale GP38-2 loco shell using brake fluid before. You want to cleaning agent to soften the paint up enough that it will lift off with a soft toothbrush. Once you have the paint off its off to the dishpan for hot water and DAWN dish soap to get all the cleaning agent off. Once dry you can reattach everything that got knocked off in the process. As for primers, I have had really good luck with GW citadel white primer (good stuff but at $20+ per can WHY) and ARMY PAINTER white primer, (go light it is very thin pigments and go to heavy and it will run, but it does NOT hide details) The armoury primer chalked up on me, but may have been old.

 

[Elm City Hobbies]

Tamiya Fine Grey or White (I would use White for your Viper since your top coat would also be white), work great, and about half the cost of the Citadel (not sure the size of the Citadel cans though).

Alternatively, the new Vallejo Urethane primers in Grey, White and Black are excellent, but need an airbrush to apply them.

 

[Jdog71]

Castrol Super Clean or Simple Green should and will strip lacquer, might take a little longer, but maybe not so bad where the paint is fresh.

Tamiya rattle cans are lacquer based, but it perplexes me that it is still wet/tacky, as lacquer is usually dry to the touch inside of 30mins max, still a good 24hrs for a good cured paint, but should be dry to the touch in no time.

Was there a primer on the kit before you sprayed the Tamiya? If so, what? If the primer wasn't cured, lacquer being pretty hot may be reacting with it.

Using lacquer, especially white (which IMO is one of the hardest colors to paint and make look right), the plastic should have a primer coat so the main paint coat has some "teeth" to hold on to, as well any oils from your hands, mold release will cause the paint to fisheye and run without a good primer down.

Thanks for all the great tips here.
Jeep: "Melty Ruin" is a perfect description.
ECH:
I was surprised by the mess too. I've been using cans for primers on everything I've made so far. I washed it thoroughly after sanding (twice actually). I used a few light coats of Tamiya gray surface primer, sprayed on a calm day with low humidity. It dried quickly and I let it sit in a plastic tote for at least a week.

 

[Jdog71]

Just bought a 1 gallon pancake compressor...I'm picking up an airbrush tomorrow...that'll be my permanent solution to this problem ;D