RC Tank Warfare community hobby forum

I'm in the process of camouflaging my Tiger 1 tank i have bought all the gear,complete airbrush kit,German Acrylic war colours, weathering pastel only thing i couldn't get was the proper thinners.Went to one of our biggest hobby shops (wow what an eye opener) this shop was huge had everything except the thinner i needed,he suggested using Windex i also saw a section on you tube on it so i decided to try it.
Well everything went well on the primer then the base coat now i decided to use another colour for the camouflage effect and that's where things started to go wrong,paint wouldn't stick to the base coat and started running when i was spraying it on my first thought was that i had thinned the paint to much so i added some more paint with the same result ,tried a bigger section and still the same results.
So i completely stuffed up my good undercoat and base coat, now i have gone and given it another coat of primer and will wait until my proper thinners arrive...

HELLO DIESIL

What kind of paint are you using? if you are using Tamiya.. or Gunzie.. alcohol works fine.... also in general you don't need to undercoat with a heavy primer.... just use a neutral color of whatever brand of paint you are using... you loose less detail ...

What kind of primer did you use? acrylic or oil based? oil base will not work well with Tamiya or Gunzie .... as they are water based Acrylic paints...Testors or Humbrol works with oil based... but for some reason never really dries to the point that you can handle your tank

I know you bought your paint already... sounds like acrylic.... use the windex to clean your house... don't use it in the paint.... the soap will make the acrylic "funky" for lack of a better description ... plain ol' alcohol works best ... the one thing you will have to pay attention to is the reduction.... especially if you are airbrushing...2 to 1 or 3 to one depending on the airbrush you are using... takes a little bit of experimentation..spray it on paper first .... once you get a smooth flow.. remember your mixture ... and have fun

oh just an added note... if you use clear .... gloss requires no reduction... you have to shoot it straight.. so a shading airbrush head and needle is recommended... flats and satins you can reduce a little...but be careful of room temperature... as they will flash (turn white) quite quickly if you don't


ALPHA

I just remembered something Diesil

since you already primed the body of your Tiger...I would recommend you scuff the entire thing.... just use anything similar to a scotch green scrub pad and some dish washing soap


dry with a paper towel ... and you should be good to go

ALPHA

Diesel, as Alpha says clear spirit is the answer, I use supermarket own brand vodka, it is half the price of tamiyas thinners, and does the same job all you have to remember is it has a measure of water in it so the paint dries a little slower, I happen to see that as an advantage but I know some like a fast drying finish, I cannot emphasise enough especially now winters coming that the area where you paint must be warm, painting a cold surface in a cold room will ruin the best paintjob. Good luck. shaun

Thank you Alpha & jarndice, I'm using AK interactive acrylic paint..

Diesel wrote:Thank you Alpha & jarndice, I'm using AK interactive acrylic paint..

Hey there again Diesel .... I never heard of that brand... but i assume it's similar to Tamiya or Gunzie...use the alcohol ..... the kind you buy in a drug store ... usually a buck fifty a bottle ... it goes a long way... even better if you have a store like Walmart near by... they usually carry larger bottles...

I also never heard of using Vodka .... the concept intrigues me though...

ALPHA

Alpha, Hi, The reason I use supermarket own brand Vodka is it's a cheap clear spirit and readily available whereas buying most other spirits entails finding a pharmacy/chemist who stocks the right product at an affordable price, and do expect quizzical looks when you ask for it, some DIY stores also stock it but the point is that there are supermarkets everywhere and they all sell own brand spirits and cheaply, oh and it works which certainly helps. Perhaps I should add I am UK based and I know that the laws on the purchase of alchohol varies country to country. shaun

O.K. boys,

Some humble advice, vodka is pretty expensive. what I use to thin Tamiya is rubbing alcohol that you can get at any drug store. Try and find 99% pure but 70% will work. I'm not sure what it's called over there but the technical name for it is Isopropyl alcohol. Over here it costs about $3.00 for 1/2 a quart so very cheap.

As far as AK brand goes I have been using for many years. I like it for washes and filters but prefer Tamiya for actual paint but that's just my choice. DO NOT use alcohol to thin AK. Usually you will end up with a globby mess. Use distilled water or better yet honestly get their thinner. I know it is expensive but it really does work best for AK paints.

I always have a piece of plastic beside my tank that I actually do exactly the same as the tank I am painting so I can make sure as I go that that is what I want to do. I have been painting for over 40 years and I found when I cheat and am impatient I pay for it!

I am no pro and these are just my opinions learned the hard way!

Thank you dgsselkirk you have come in at the right time,yes i have bought the recommended AK thinner from ebay but it will be weeks before i receive it,i guess i was just impatient to try my hand at painting,will wait now. Thank you again, cheers Diesel

Hello Diesel , I'd avoid rubbing alcohol sold in british pharmacy's as it will contain lanolin oil (skin softener) for a cheap source of alcohol try Methylated spirit ( meth's /wood alcohol ) Vodka is only 40% meth's is 100 % - so you can still dilute it with a little water to retard the drying time if you want , or try and get isopropyl from a hardware dealer .