Triarius

Doesn't matter, lacquer, enamel, acrylic, whatever—they all yellow eventually with exposure to UV and air. How long depends on the formulation of the binder, and how resistant the molecule is to UV radiation and oxygen, and assorted pollutants.

White paint, particularly gloss white, yellows with age and exposure to UV light. The best way to avoid yellowing of a white paint is to avoid exposing the model to UV. Adding blue to a white paint doesn't keep it from yellowing, it only fools the eye. White gloss paint has a low pigment to binder ratio, which is why it appears to yellow more than other gloss paints. Clear coats yellow with time, too. The most resistant to yellowing of which I know is Future, but I've yet to hear of one that won't yellow, given enough time and exposure.

Thought I might have one in my scrap bins, but I can't find it. Wonder what I used it for?:blink:/>

You might be surprised by what you find in such places.:woot.gif:/>

Jewelry and beading supplies. Michaels, Widget Tool, Rio Grande Jewelers Supplies (expensive).

I'm no expert on the Zero. However, I have some familiarity with the administrative chaos of war. The originals (~Dec. 7, 1941) were probably a shade of gray. As the need for ground camouflage became apparent, first local, front line units (China?) may have applied green over the gray. This effective, field expedient may have made its way up the chain of administrative command to the point where they left the factory that way. I'm not saying that is what happened, only that it is a typical of the way things tend to work: a mixture of necessity, expedience, and logistics. As a case in point fr

Rule of thumb for thinning any bottled paint for airbrushing : to the consistency of 2% milk. It doesn't get any more precise than that outside of a paint lab. Even here there are exceptions, as some are so thin they don't need it. Everything ChippyWho said is pretty much spot on. As for retarders, I use them depending on conditions. If it's very dry, I use them. If the temperature is high, I use them. If the paint is Tamiya or Gunze, I use them. NOTE: Tamiya X-20A does contain a retarder. I don't use X-20A because I essentially mix my own, but I have more familiarity with paint technology t

Yes. I generally agree on Tamiya kits—They got me back into modeling in college (late 60's early 70's). That's why I was so surprised—first dog I've ever had from them. I did hear that it might have been a very old kit, from old molds. Thanks for all the help!

Box face (top)says: "1/48 Scale Aircraft Series No. 16; Mitsubishi A6M2 Zero Fighter (Zeke)"; box end says: "1/48 Item 61016•1500"; Side panels show markings for Lt. Cdr. Shigeru Itaya, Akagi Aircraft Carrier FG, Hawaii, Dec. 8, 1941; and for 261st Air Group, Kagoshima Base, 1944. Everything else is in Kanji except the word Tamiya.

Now, this is what prompted my question. Tamiya 61016, which we own, is an absolute dog. Terrible fit, poor molding of small parts, poor detail in obvious places, and a mix of raised and engraved panel lines. Comments?

Many thanks to all—very useful information! Jennings: Sorry to hear that.:(/>

Can you be more specific as to the kit, (kit number)? This is for a gift, and I haven't bought a kit in years (~400 kits in the stash, I won't live long enough to build them all. ) Any thoughts on other Tamiya versions? Bought one about four years ago, and it was a dog. The last Hasegawa kits I've bought or built were disappointing. (Admittedly, that was some time ago.:blush:/> Thanks!

What are your opinions on the best A6M2 (or other variants) kit currently available in 1/48?

That's an excellent idea. Hadn't thought of it. :thumbsup:/>

Can't resist: Maybe you should wash your ears more often … :lol:/> just kidding. Some people have more oily skin than others, though as you age, this tends to decrease. My ears are much too dry. Human skin "oil" contains a plethora of things, including various salts (potassium and sodium are most prominent) and is thus corrosive, not to mention the host of mostly beneficial—to your skin—bacteria. Now, if you're carrying your airbrush in the field, where cleaning and lubrication can be challenging in the dust, dirt, mud, and blood, it's an interesting adaptation. <tongue firmly in cheek

If you use enamels, shouldn't be a problem. If you use acrylics it might be. Otherwise, there are only two possible problems with WD-40: it does eventually get gummy; and it is a penetrating oil, specifically intended to creep into and onto everything. "A little dab 'll do ya." Bonus points if you remember the product that used that slogan. It probably would have been a decent lubricant … :woot.gif:/>

I spray it straight, without thinning. Do not use any kind of a retarder or flow aid. Like all gloss coats, it's tricky to get the right coverage, though Future is more forgiving than some. I find I prefer to apply it in a fairly heavy coat, others find building up mist coats works best for them. I suspect it has a LOT to do with the ambient conditions. Unless you work in a climate controlled environment, these can vary enough to cause problems at different times of the year. If in doubt, spray a paint hulk with it before spraying your model to get the hang of it. Probably the most important

All of the above, precisely. :thumbsup:/>

It's not necessarily abnormal. There are many factors involved, and your description does not supply enough information to give you definitive advice. Not your fault. If you were able to supply that much information, ARC would have a sudden bandwidth problem.:woot.gif:/> If the coats of paint are thick enough, or were thinned a little too much, they may still be outgassing solvent, which will not be good if you apply Future too soon. Enamel solvents tend to migrate out of cured coatings for quite some time. To be on the safe side, put the model somewhere warm (not hot, not in direct sunlig

Another reason for using lacquer thinner for cleaning airbrushes, thinning true lacquers, and NOTHING else. Mose commercial lacquer thinners contain one or more types of alcohol, because there are lacquers that are thinned with the most common alcohols: isopropyl, methyl, and ethyl. Isopropyl has the lowest evaporation rate of all these, and thus will be the last to evaporate. Paint, including enamels, that has not fully cured is surprisingly porous and will absorb an applied solvent. That is why getting an uncured enamel wet with even water, which is incompatible with enamel components, can r

Bare Metal Foil and a very sharp knife Paint clear decal film with the interior color, then the exterior color. Coat with liquid decal film. When dry, cut to length/shape and apply as a decal. This sometimes looks best if you sand off the canopy detail and repolish the canopy.

Defin "polishing." Start sanding with ~800 to 1000 grit. Go up by stages to ~1500 or 2000. Then start polishing with either the commercial paint polisher kits, Novus plastic polish, or one of the fine metal polishing compounds like Pol or something similar. If you want to get really manic, finish with tooth polish. Then dip it in Future. BTW: dipping it in Future in the first place will save you this grief in the future (Ba-dong…Bing). If it gets smudged with paint, just dip it in Windex, removing the Future and the paint with it.

There are actually several stages of drying and curing, and they overlap, to make things even more complicated. But then nothing about paint isn't complicated. When a paint reaches the point that it can be touched without permanent damage, it has reached first tack stage. Curing begins before this, as soon as enough solvent has left the coating to allow the binder molecules to start to link togethert. The next stage is characterized by a soft sticky surface that will take a fingerprint, but not be damaged. The next stage does not take fingerprints readily, but is still tacky. When it reaches

A few misconceptions, here: Acrylics dry fast, but cure slowly. Enamels dry slowly, but cure rapidly compared to acrylics. An enamel paint may continue to outgas solvent for many days (the new paint smell) after they are fully cured. The compositional difference between enamels and acrylics is a fundamental difference in the film-forming component, or binder. Enamel paints use various binders that are soluble in a variety of organic, hydrocarbon solvents, but not alcohols (which are also hydrocarbons). These solvents include, but are not limited to, mineral spirits. Turpentine is rarely, if

I've also heard Ceramacote works well, but haven't used it. Some craft paints may contain coarser pigment, which means a thicker coating that can obscure detail. However, something called "Ceramacote" appears to be intended for painting on glass and glazed pottery, which would require finer pigment. Have to try the stuff, someday.