Xtracrylix paints

[Nick]

I need some advice on using these paints from Hannants. I've got a couple of pots already and was wondering...

Do they need undercoat/primer?
Should/can they be thinned and what with?
How long to let them dry for?

Nick B)  

[P1127]

Brush or spray?

Drying time either way is about half an hour

[NARSES2]

Nick

I've used them for quite a while now and brush paint. I don't tend to use a primer on plastic (resin I always prime), just a good wash. Two coats, unthinned and quite often I find by the time I've painted the underside of a Spit for instance then the part where I've started is dry !

They do need a good old shake up prior to use though.

I do use Xtracrylic thinners in the Varnish otherwise I find it drys to quickly, but I'm told good old distilled water works just as well - and probably tap as well ?

Chris

[Jennings]

I've played with them via airbrush, and LOVE them.  By far the best acrylics around next to Tamiya.  If Tamiya would do the range of colors that Xtracrylic has (or almost anyone else has), I'd stick with them.  However... Xtracrylics are wonderful stuff.  They go on like any other paint, only with no mess and no smell at all.   I thin with distilled water and a tiny drop of denatured alcohol (I have no idea what that's called in the UK, but it's sold along side the paint thinners at DIY stores here).  The alcohol just breaks the surface tension a little and makes it spray better.

The stuff sprays like a dream.

J

[waynos]

Complete amateur that I am I find an enamel basecoat helps the durability of the finish and then I brush on two coats of xtracrylix, I found that as I was painting the model the paint was thickening as I went and left an uneven finish, I cured this by putting a small amount of paint into the bottom of the yellow cap and thinning it down with a single drop of (tap)water from a medicinal syringe (for giving medicine to babies, not the injecting type - a few pence from any chemist). This made all the difference and now I won't paint with anything else. As I needed more paint I just put in a bit more and another drop of water, and so on, so that I was only thinning as much as I needed.

[Jennings]

Oops... forgot to add that.  The only and only drawback I've found to them is that without another brand undercoating them, they don't stick well on bare plastic or resin.  I typically use a light (which is all it takes) coat of either light grey or white from another manufacturer (Tamiya usually) to give the Xtracrylics a tooth to bite into.

J

[AirJim]

I haven't tried to airbrush them yet, but I tried to brush paint some Interior Green.  It sucked.  Streaky, poor coverage, big time brush strokes, and some of the paint dried glossy and some flat.

What did I do wrong?

Jim

[Jennings]

I haven't tried to airbrush them yet, but I tried to brush paint some Interior Green.  It sucked.  Streaky, poor coverage, big time brush strokes, and some of the paint dried glossy and some flat.

What did I do wrong?

Jim

Brush painting.  It's for little old Englishmen with huge bushy eyebrows and nose hair that reaches their lower lips

J

[Leigh]

Brush painting.  It's for little old Englishmen with huge bushy eyebrows and nose hair that reaches their lower lips

J

Well that's me, maybe that's why my airbrushes hate me so much I should be brush painting.

OK thread Hi-jack but it seems silly to start a new one on such a similar subject, I usually brush paint all me details, interiors etc with Testors enamels. Do they have a shelf life of oh say 18 months to two years, 'cos I've noticed recently alot of mine are going bad and no amount of stirring and thinners seems to be able to save them. Thrown out three jars of black already today.

[Allan]

If I could i'd go for Agama enamel but it's hard to get here in OZ nowadays.

Good thread, this one.

allan in Canbera

[Nick]

Thanks guys. I realised I needed to prime the kits after a masked pre-painted area peeled off with the Tamiya masking tape . It may dry in 15 minutes but letting it set overnight is a good move.

I will go with the 'drop of water' thinner trick as I've seen how fast the stuff dries! It leaves some tough and ugly splodges if not careful.

What paints are there now that work well, other than Xtracrylix?

Nick B)

[Leigh]

What paints are there now that work well, other than Xtracrylix?

Nick B)

There is an Italian brand called "Misterkit" don't know a U.K. distributor but a quick google came up with alot of hits so you could probably find them.
Now though I own some Xtracrylic I've not used them yet but from what I've heard they and Misterkit have similar qualitys . They spray beautifully, go on suberbly, dry gloss and dry quickly. The draw back is they only make WWI and WWII colour's nothing modern, but they are my paint of choice followed closely by Gunze Sangyo, and if necessary I'll use Tamiya, but I'd rather use testors enamels than Tamiya paints. The rotodyne is gonna be done with Xtracrylics so the pecking order may change, but I thouroughly recommend anybody to give Misterkit a try.

[NARSES2]

Nick

I use Xtracrylic wherever possible now but for French, Russian and Italian schemes I use White Ensign enamels. They are formulated by the guy who did Xtracolour (I'm told) The range of colour and colour matches are excellent, coverage is good and they dry in at least half the time Xtracolour took, not difficulat I know, but it sure helps.

Still use some Tamiya & Lifecolour acrylics although Lifecolour are not great fans of the brush, and of course some Humbrol including some hoarded "authentics".

Revell - don't like, but havn't see their new acrylic range yet.

Chris