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Tamiya Acrylic clear green, red, yellow, blue paint..


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I am thinking of getting some Tamiya clear acrylic green, blue, red and yellow to try to do some wingtip lights.

 

I have never used clear paints like these. Many years ago I tried MM clear green, but did not work to great ad gave up on using it.

 

So now I want to try using Tamiya clear acrylic colors using a brush for small parts like wingtip light, Etc.

 

Any advice you can give me on using this stuff. I don't think it needs thinning..

 

Scott

CNJC-IPMS

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I have also found a couple of additional uses for those clear colors. The blue, orange, and yellow can be dry brushed on exhausts and exhaust collecting front cowl rings (Gladiator, Blenheim, etc) to help replicate the heat tarnished metal. Also if you do WWI aircraft with unpainted wood surfaces (Albatros), a light mist of orange or yellow can help give some depth to the wood's appearance.  

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Hello Scott

 

I use tap water to thin Tamiya clear color, also give me better control for brushing small details, since the water is "thicker" than alcohol I can put a blob over the part without fear of paint spilling over; when the water dries, it takes a thin, smooth finish. As Phantom mentioned, a base coat of silver gave a better look for navigation lights.

 

I used alcohol before, but it dried so fast that the paint took the consistency of honey.

 

Carlos

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5 minutes ago, RichardL said:

 

You mean water has higher "surface tension" than alcohol.

 

Yes indeed, wasn´t sure to use the term but surface tension is what did the trick.

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WOW! Thanks for the tip on  using water.

 

What about using soapy water? That usually breaks the surface tension when applying decals?

 

Once the ST is broken the water/paint should level out smooth...right?

 

Scott

CNJC-IPMS

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17 minutes ago, F-16 said:

What about using soapy water? That usually breaks the surface tension when applying decals?

 

Not for applying clear paints over wingtip lights.  You want the paint to bead up and stay in one spot, not spreading out.  Otherwise why use water at all?

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The more prolonged drying time of water diluted paint helps level it smooth. As RichardL says, you don't want it to spread out but to stay in place.

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  • 1 month later...

Has anyone had this happen with Tamiya clear colors? This is what I discovered when I peeled back Tamiya tape from the Tamiya Smoke sprayed top windows. I know I can polish them back but was surprised to find this mottled effect.

 

pwgQ9wP.jpg

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I've never encountered this before but, I always leave painting the clear parts until the very end of the build. Looks like the smoke wasn't thoroughly dry before you masked it and the tape impression was left behind. This will happen on any paint if you mask on it too soon.

 

Steve

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18 minutes ago, A-10 LOADER said:

I've never encountered this before but, I always leave painting the clear parts until the very end of the build. Looks like the smoke wasn't thoroughly dry before you masked it and the tape impression was left behind. This will happen on any paint if you mask on it too soon.

 

Steve

Good point on painting the clear parts at the end. The paint was about 3 days dry which is why I figured it would be ok. I suspect you're right and it needed more time as it was a few layers.

Thanks Steve.

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On 6/6/2018 at 6:53 AM, paulsbrown said:

Has anyone had this happen with Tamiya clear colors? This is what I discovered when I peeled back Tamiya tape from the Tamiya Smoke sprayed top windows. I know I can polish them back but was surprised to find this mottled effect.

 

Hmm when I did my ESCI Viking I sprayed the Tamiya smoke from the inside so no issue with paint as the clear plastic was on the outside.

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1 hour ago, skyhawk174 said:

 

Hmm when I did my ESCI Viking I sprayed the Tamiya smoke from the inside so no issue with paint as the clear plastic was on the outside.

Yep, think I'll do that on the Viking waiting in my stash, definitely. Thanks 

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Yep, I've had the same problem with the Smoke on a canopy, on an F-16. Think it had been left a week or so before masking, and when the tape came up, so did half the smoke paint. You may have heard the shouting and cursing from wherever you were on the planet.

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On ‎6‎/‎6‎/‎2018 at 7:34 AM, paulsbrown said:

The paint was about 3 days dry which is why I figured it would be ok. I suspect you're right and it needed more time as it was a few layers.

 

Time is not the issue here as three days should be sufficient.  Your problem is the clear paint was applied to unprimed smooth bare plastic, which greatly increased the chance of the paint lifting off.

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2 hours ago, RichardL said:

 

Time is not the issue here as three days should be sufficient.  Your problem is the clear paint was applied to unprimed smooth bare plastic, which greatly increased the chance of the paint lifting off.

 

Yep...except that when the surface in question is a clear canopy, therein lies the catch-22.... :soapbox:

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1 hour ago, Andrew D. the Jolly Rogers guy said:

ep...except that when the surface in question is a clear canopy, therein lies the catch-22.... :soapbox:

 

And you wouldn't be encountering the catch-22 if you paint the canopy last after the base coats + clear coats to avoid masking it, as some others have suggested.

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