Painting Tamiya FLAT white

[g0_command0]

But its appearing to be somewhat grainy as a finish, does that mean i need to smooth it out and shoot a finer coat onto the top of it?

[RookieLSP]

I'm not sure why but it seems like almost ALL white paint is a giant PITA. :)

If you have a micro-mesh pad (12000 or so) you should be able to smooth it with that. You may have to go over it again depending on how much paint you have to remove in order to get it smooth.

[Rodney]

I shoot my Tamiya white pretty thin to avoid that problem. End up with several layers but it works.

[g0_command0]

Do you paint one layer, let it dry, then paint the next? or just slowly build the color up?

[Rodney]

Do you paint one layer, let it dry, then paint the next? or just slowly build the color up?

The right way would be to let it dry but I'm to impatient for that. I slowly build up 2-3 layers.

HTH,

Rodney

[g0_command0]

The right way would be to let it dry but I'm to impatient for that. I slowly build up 2-3 layers.

HTH,

Rodney

I too have the same problem of not being patient, i think im in the wrong hobby

[marine4 ever]

I too have the same problem of not being patient, i think im in the wrong hobby

amen brother! patients is for the birds!!!

Semper Fi

Dan

[The Dude]

The only white I ever had any good luck spraying is the Model Master RLM21 white semi gloss enamel. Covers and sprays good with a little thinner.

[David Walker]

Floquil Reefer White. Nothing else I've used even compares.

Edited February 28, 2008 by David Walker

[Supertom]

Hey G0, Tamiya's flat white and gloss white are tricky - you don't thin it as much as the other Tamiya colors, and you gotta build it up slowly (2-4 coats). The easy way to do white, especially if it's flat white, is to use Floquil's Reefer White (available in acrylic and enamel). Thin with a few drops of distilled water. For some reason this covers really well.

[g0_command0]

Hey G0, Tamiya's flat white and gloss white are tricky - you don't thin it as much as the other Tamiya colors, and you gotta build it up slowly (2-4 coats). The easy way to do white, especially if it's flat white, is to use Floquil's Reefer White (available in acrylic and enamel). Thin with a few drops of distilled water. For some reason this covers really well.

They have floquil acrylic reefer white? I tried Polly Scale's reefer white and thought it was pretty cruddy

[Jose]

Try Vallejo Model Air white. It is the whitest of the whitest and its finish is flat, not slightly gritty like others.

Jose

[Rodney]

One trick that I was pretty happy with on the bottom of my Corsair was to use a MM Light Gray (looks white) instead of White. It sprayed good and didn't have the problems that white has. Next to the blues on the rest of the plane it looks white.

[lgl007]

Yup... always have this problem with Tamiya white... but after gloss coat goes on for the decals... and 4 coats of matt after the 'graininess' it is not noticeable...

Thanks for the hint about multiple thin layers to avoid this :-)

-Greg

[zeus60]

They have floquil acrylic reefer white? I tried Polly Scale's reefer white and thought it was pretty cruddy

If it says "Floquil" on the bottle, it is enamel. Polly Scale is the equivalent acrylic, but it does not say "Floquil" on the bottle.

Both are good paints.

[StevenJ]

For spraying large areas white, Tamiya White Primer works best in my experience. It's been about 2-3 yrs since I've needed to paint a large area white and it was on a 1/48 Tomcat gray/white scheme and I was very impressed with how that worked out. I'd go light on the primer but it covers very well and then just finish off with your normal Tamiya bottle white and easy as pie. The Tamiya Primer snuggles down well when it dries so it's not going to clog panel lines unless you go nuts with the stuff.