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Tamiya or Lifecolour


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I want to use either of these paints for my airbrush. I want to know which of the paints will spray through a fine .21 airbrush better. I noticed tamiya paints are easily cleaned with Methylated Spirits. Are Lifecolour paints also easily thinned/cleaned with methylated spirits? How well do they stick to the surface, are they strong when sprayed really thinly. I mean compared to tamiya. Also, what paint do u suggest, if its not tamiya or lifecolour. I don't exactly have a problem with Tamiya, it works fine for me, it just tip dries easily, and doesn't flow as well as I would want it to. Maybe i'm just not thinning it correctly. thinning it about 50/50.

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I want to use either of these paints for my airbrush. I want to know which of the paints will spray through a fine .21 airbrush better. I noticed tamiya paints are easily cleaned with Methylated Spirits. Are Lifecolour paints also easily thinned/cleaned with methylated spirits? How well do they stick to the surface, are they strong when sprayed really thinly. I mean compared to tamiya. Also, what paint do u suggest, if its not tamiya or lifecolour. I don't exactly have a problem with Tamiya, it works fine for me, it just tip dries easily, and doesn't flow as well as I would want it to. Maybe i'm just not thinning it correctly. thinning it about 50/50.

Use a bit of retarder and maybe some flow aid, and Tamiya will spray with less tip dry.

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I went Tamiya a few years ago and couldn't be happier. Use their thinner or make your own with Iso-alcholhol + retarder. Cleaning with Windex or Simple Green couldn't be easier. There are several well documented color-matches for Tamiya on the web.

Lifecolor on the other hand, I've had trouble adapting to it. Not saying its a bad product, I just need more practice with it using Lifecolors proprietary thinner this time.

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Get Tamiya's lacquer thinner! I used to thin Tamiya paint with 90% rubbing alcohol, a drop of windex, and a drop of retarder, but then I discovered Tamiya's lacquer thinner. Get Tamiya's lacquer thinner! It makes Tamiya paint airbrush fantastic, and the lacquer thinner gives it a bit more bite so it sticks to the plastic better. Thin it way down too--like 1/3 paint, 2/3 thinner and build up the color slowly, it looks great when done. Downside is you definitely need to use it in a well-ventilated area with a respirator, but that's not a bad idea anyway. I use straight hardware store lacquer thinner for cleanup, but it doesn't work with the paint--it separates it in the cup before you can even spray it.

YMMV

Curtis

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I use both paints through airbrush (0.3mm tip, tho). I find that Tamiya is superior in every way over LifeColor, except for range of colour. I usually thin Tamiya with either Methylated Spirit or Tamiya X-20A at 50:50 ratio. Many people say that thinning Tamiya gloss with methylated spirit will make the finish less glossy, which I do not find to be the case at all! I'm thinning my Tamiya (and Gunze Aqueous) with metho all the time, no worries at all.

As far as LifeColor is concerned, the best way to thin it is with mixture of methylated spirit and distilled water (50:50 metho and water), and thin the paint with 50:50 ratio as well. LifeColor clogs up airbrush much more than Tamiya or Gunze Aqueous Hobby. Another possible thinner mixture for LifeColor that I'm yet to try is mixing distilled water with Windex instead of metho.

As far as cleaning up goes, you already know Tamiya can be cleaned with metho. An alternative is using Windex, which can be used to clean up LifeColor as well.

HTH. :cheers:

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Tamiya's lacquer thinner is the best way to go with Tamiya paints I've found. As far as life color, I use their thinner.

Regular hardware store Laquer thinner works fine with Tamiya Paint and its so much cheaper than Tamiya Laquer thinner. I use it to thin for airbrush and cleanup.

Bill

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Once you get the proportions of thinner/paint down, Tamiya sprays like a dream. Great stuff. As has been said, I wish they had a wider range of available colors, though. I'm about to order some Lifecolour and give it a shot, for that very reason. Can't beat their color selection.

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