# Airbrushing Metallic Acrylics



## linksinachain (Oct 23, 2007)

Hi folks!

I have VERY limited experience with airbrushing. Feel free to dumb your answers down. 

I have some Tamiya X12 "Gold Leaf" that I'd like to apply to the whole of a 1/48 Canadian Sabre Golden Hawk.

Any advice for spraying metallic paint? Should I thin it?

All input appreciated!

Cheers,
Craig


----------



## irishtrek (Sep 17, 2005)

Most metallic paints do not need to be thinned out for an airbrush, but you should however apply a good primer coat before you airbrush your metallic paints.


----------



## linksinachain (Oct 23, 2007)

Okay, excellent point! Would you mind expanding on why it's required?

Dark or light base coat? I assume a flat colour...

Thanks


----------



## djnick66 (May 2, 2008)

Myself I find many metallics to be very thick. I thin them as I would thin almost any other paint for airbrushing. Having said that, I also find many acrylic metallics to be somewhat poor. The Tamiya shades are IMHO rather coarse and "gritty". Their gold and silver are dull shades. I have always had much better luck with solvent based metallic paints.

Generally metallic MODEL paints (Testors, Tamiya etc) can be applied without primer. In some cases like Testors Metallizers they say quite clearly do not apply over any sort of paint or primer. Alclad 2 metallic finishes, however, should be applied over a gloss black base coat...


----------



## irishtrek (Sep 17, 2005)

It has been my experience that any type of metalic paint, wether it be acrylic or enamel has trouble sticking to the surface of what ever model one is building and as for primer paints they are meant to stick to almost any surface you put them on and any paint you apply over the primer will stick.


----------



## djnick66 (May 2, 2008)

irishtrek said:


> It has been my experience that any type of metalic paint, wether it be acrylic or enamel has trouble sticking to the surface of what ever model one is building and as for primer paints they are meant to stick to almost any surface you put them on and any paint you apply over the primer will stick.


I rarely prime kits unless there is a specific reason (like to seal putty, prime metal, etc.) and have not had any adhesion issues. I've been spraying model paints for about 35 years, going back to the old Pactra International paints. I thin enamels with a bit of lacquer thinner and often add a drop of Japan Drier to make them dry faster, as sometimes they dry/cure very slowly (days or weeks).

The reason you shouldn't prime under some specific metallic paints is that they go on in such a thin layer any underlying paint will effect their smoothness, or will show up under the metallic layer. For a given project you might want to or need to prime but it is certainly not mandatory and in a lot of cases just glops up the model with an unnecessary layer of paint.

There are obviously different approaches to finishing a model, though. 

This 1/72 Mustang was sprayed with Humbrol enamels over bare plastic. 










Likwise these astronaut figures were hit with Silver Leaf lacquer over bare plastic and came out very bright and smooth


----------



## falcondesigns (Oct 30, 2002)

I never prime,unless there is major putty work,then just the areas that were worked on.Because of where I live right now,I have been forced to find alternatives to my paint needs.I have been experimenting with craft paints.This is the Futura show car,painted flat with,then with a pearl white top coat.The very thick paint was thinned with Tamiya Thinner,2-1,thinner to paint.All the surface detail remains visible.


----------



## irishtrek (Sep 17, 2005)

I got the PL little refit more a year ago and when I went to paint it I didn't bother to apply any primer coat before I airbrushed it useing nix of MM acrylic
white primer and french blue and after it had been painted the paint came off fairly easy when I taped off a couple of areas for detailing. Any way the refit has been sitting in its box unfinnished for a long time now.


----------



## djnick66 (May 2, 2008)

Model Master acrylics have a poor reputation for adhesion. Tamiya acrylics stick much much better. But enamels/lacquers adhere the best. 

Acrylic primers may not be that great either... If I do use a primer, I like a solvent based primer with some bite that will etch into the surface of the model and not rub off.


----------

