Model Forum / General / Railroads / January 2008

On 1/18/2008 12:52 PM Anthony Fremont spake thus:

Good choice. You should be happy with that brush for many years to come.

Suggestion: Be super-paranoid and anal about keeping it clean.
Especially when you spray acrylic or other water-based paints.
(Solvent-based paints are much easier to clean up after.) I keep a
bottle of soapy water handy, and IMMEDIATELY after spraying paint run it
through the brush. You'll also need to learn how to disassemble the
brush and clean the parts (the needle and the nozzles). Small price and
worth it.

On 1/18/2008 12:52 PM Anthony Fremont spake thus:

I missed this part of your post before, thought I'd chip in my $0.02.

Major differences betwixt water-based (acrylic, etc.) and solvent-based
(enamel, lacquer, etc.) paints. Plusses and minuses for each.

Water-based:

Advantages:

o Low odor, no dangerous fumes
o Easy to thin (use water)
o Fast drying
o Widely available in non-railroad (i.e., less expensive) paints in lots
of colors
o Gives excellent flat or matte surfaces, which can be coated with any
type of paint

Disadvantages:

o More difficult cleanup, even though only soap & water needed (dries
faster on brushes and in airbrushes)
o May not adhere well to some surfaces, requiring surface prep or priming
o Doesn't lay down as flat as solvent-based paints

Solvent-based:

Advantages:

o Flows more evenly and lays down flatter than water-based
o Better gloss surfaces, if that's what you want
o More durable finish than water-based (in most cases)
o Easier to clean airbrushes; even dried lacquer, for instance, can be
dissolved with solvent

Disadvantages:

o May not be usable directly on plastic without causing damage,
requiring a barrier coat or primer
o Unpleasant or toxic fumes requiring ventilation
o Slower dry time
o Gloss surfaces can't be coated with water-based paints without surface
prep or priming
o Paints getting harder to find, due to environmental regulations

Some notes:

o For models you expect to get handled, enamel or lacquer would be a
better choice than acrylic.
o You may be able to scrounge the good-quality enamels from the back
shelves of a local hobby shop. If these are being phased out by the
store, now would be a good time to buy them and stock up. Don't worry
about them going bad. To give you an idea, I still have a few of those
little teeny-tiny bottles of Testors enamel--remember those? They're so
old that the prices are around 15-25 cents each (ca. 1965). The ones
that haven't dried up are still completely usable.

When I alluded to paints cheaper than "official" model railroad paints,
I was referring to craft paints like Delta Ceramcoat, widely available
at craft store (like Michael's) in lots of colors, much cheaper than
Official Model RR Paints, excellent quality and easy to airbrush. (Need
to be thinned first.)