Lacquers, Acrylics, Enamels. Oh my!

[C.A. Whitecloud]

Shall we beat this horse a little more.

I'm not even sure where lacquers come into play. Then there's water based acrylic and lacquer based. How do you tell?

 

[urumomo]

There's many types of acrylic resin .
Some are compatible with alcohols and ketones ( the chief ingredients in lacquer thinners ) and some are not .
They are referred to as " lacquer acrylics " or just lacquers or lacquer based . ( these aren't technical terms )

Enamels used in hobby paints are all alkyd resins .
Unlike acrylics they change chemically thru oxidation during cure .

https://coatings.specialchem.com/selection-guide/acrylic-resins

 

[Jim62]

There's many types of acrylic resin .
Some are compatible with alcohols and ketones ( the chief ingredients in lacquer thinners ) and some are not .
They are referred to as " lacquer acrylics " or just lacquers or lacquer based . ( these aren't technical terms )

Enamels used in hobby paints are all alkyd resins .
Unlike acrylics they change chemically thru oxidation during cure .

https://coatings.specialchem.com/selection-guide/acrylic-resins

Whoa man you are blowing my mind.

 

[Pantherman]

Whoa man you are blowing my mind.

The question was asked and the question was answered in true urumomo style. Just Love it. Pantherman

 

[C.A. Whitecloud]

With the rattle cans, if it's best to stick with hobby brands for say a car body? I understand enamels work best for top coats. Is there a hobby brand to recommend? In a 60s Chevy purple/violet.

 

[C.A. Whitecloud]

The question was asked and the question was answered in true urumomo style. Just Love it. Pantherman

Always quickest with a link? This says it all...

 

[urumomo]

Enamels don't necessarily work better than acrylics .
The chief difference in the 2 is opacity and chemical resistance and durability ( adhesion ) .

You don't need hobby brands .
The big difference in the hobby aerosol cans is the spray pattern which is tailored to the smaller areas being sprayed with lighter coats .
I thought you acquired an airbrush , no ?
If you're going to be building and painting a lot of scale models it's much more economical and versatile to use an airbrush .

 

[urumomo]

https://mcwfinishes.com/
https://www.splash-paints.com/

and of course Scale Hobbyist : https://www.scalehobbyist.com/

 

[C.A. Whitecloud]

Enamels don't necessarily work better than acrylics .
The chief difference in the 2 is opacity and chemical resistance and durability ( adhesion ) .

You don't need hobby brands .
The big difference in the hobby aerosol cans is the spray pattern which is tailored to the smaller areas being sprayed with lighter coats .
I thought you acquired an airbrush , no ?
If you're going to be building and painting a lot of scale models it's much more economical and versatile to use an airbrush .

Push me on the airbrush! I'm right on the edge. So many options and where to set up. And what's the learning curve? Will I have to sacrifice a kit or two?

 

[urumomo]

 

[C.A. Whitecloud]

View attachment 113663

Ruthless People. Love that flick.

 

[urumomo]

Don't be afraid of airbrushing .
Nothing mystical about it .
No , you don't need to sacrifice a kit or two , just practice on scrap ... although I know how much you enjoy wet sanding .

 

[C.A. Whitecloud]

Don't be afraid of airbrushing .
Nothing mystical about it .
No , you don't need to sacrifice a kit or two , just practice on scrap ... although I know how much you enjoy wet sanding .

Awe, you remember. I'm touched.

 

[C.A. Whitecloud]

So at this moment these colors from MCW won't work out for a '64 Nova. Too bad. I'm digging on the purple. Is there a "Chevy" purple/lavender?

I know the cap does not tell the tale even in person. So I guess one has to take a guess. I'm not asking about any particular brand per se. Just looking for wisdom to educate my guess. Sadly I can't buy several to try out. Oh, then there's primer. Pink?

* I think I'll move my rants and queries to the WIP thread if anyone cares to continue. https://www.scalemodeladdict.com/threads/64-chevy-nova-resto-mod-moebius.15322/

 

[the Baron]

I was thinking of this topic over the weekend, too, because the questions come up repeatedly. I thought that we ought to pin a post explaining the differences between types of acrylics, and other details, to the top of this subforum, or some other prominent location in the forum.

 

[BlackSheepTwoOneFour]

So at this moment these colors from MCW won't work out for a '64 Nova. Too bad. I'm digging on the purple. Is there a "Chevy" purple/lavender?

View attachment 113771

View attachment 113772

View attachment 113775

View attachment 113774

I know the cap does not tell the tale even in person. So I guess one has to take a guess. I'm not asking about any particular brand per se. Just looking for wisdom to educate my guess. Sadly I can't buy several to try out. Oh, then there's primer. Pink?

* I think I'll move my rants and queries to the WIP thread if anyone cares to continue. https://www.scalemodeladdict.com/threads/64-chevy-nova-resto-mod-moebius.15322/

Mopar typically uses purple on their cars back then more than Chevy ever did. Either the MCW paint (even though it may not be an exact match) or the Testors One Coat Lacquer rattle can looks to be a close match.

I would use either white or silver basecoat for the purple you're lookin* to achieve.

 

[C.A. Whitecloud]

Mopar typically uses purple on their cars back then more than Chevy ever did. Either the MCW paint (even though it may not be an exact match) or the Testors One Coat Lacquer rattle can looks to be a close match.

I would use either white or silver basecoat for the purple you're lookin* to achieve.

I'm not sold on purple. I do want to give this a 60s hot rod vibe. Should I go metallic?

 

[athabascamaverick]

As a 60's re-paint (as in not stock) - yeah - got to be metallic.

 

[BlackSheepTwoOneFour]

Uh… Tamiya PS-18 purple is metallic. Look at the rattlecan image you posted. It clearly says:

Metallic Purple Spray paint……

 

[C.A. Whitecloud]

"For Plastics" vs. "For Polycarbonate", what does this mean in the styrene world?

 

[urumomo]

It's " hot " paint for adhering to polycarbonate race car bodies .

I was wondering if it contained dichloromethane , but it does not .
Higher weights of butyl acetate and methyl isobutyl ketone : https://www.hrpdealer.com/sds/tam86019.pdf

Tamiya says don't use it on styrene :

Tamiya PS-19 Camel Yellow Lexan Spray Paint, 3oz
Overview:
This spray paint was developed especially for decorating transparent polycarbonate Lexan bodies used in R/C car modeling. Each can contains 100ml of paint, which is the appropriate amount for finishing a model. Small detail work should be brush painted beforehand using Tamiya bottle paints for polycarbonate.

Paint the body from the inside, keeping the can about 30cm from the surface. After curing, apply another coat. These paints are impervious to oil and fuels, so they can be safely used on gas-powered R/C bodies.

Never use these paints on plastic models.

 

[C.A. Whitecloud]

Thank you. Good to know.