Welcome to the top coat tutorial on the Layman's Gunpla Guide.Top coating is an incredibly easy way to add an extra dimension to your Gundam model. Like the durability? And which paint do you guys prefer to use and why? This leaves me with the dilemma of picking what to replace it with. This protects the layer of paint and provides a smooth surface for the wash solution. They can be found at most hobby shops in North America and Asia. Technically, as they are some sort of acrylic/lacquer hybrid, they shouldn't be thinned with water. Like Like There's no enamel primer. I used the Vallejo primer on a kit recently, and I experienced the same adhesion issues. Vallejo primer is impossible to sand after applying. At first it seems hard but it is not! Stick to a lacquer based primer for gundam models. Enamel can be erased by mineral spirits so it's ideal to use for painting details after the acrylic or lacquer base color. New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast, Press J to jump to the feed. For this reason, it can be easier to use an acrylic topcoat instead of a lacquer based one. One of the most significant advantages that lacquer provides for kitchen cabinets is a finish that dries very quickly. The ravages of time and use of a piece of furniture can be limited by a durable top or finish coat. Acrylic lacquers dry very quickly but often needed extra coats and/or clear coat to achieve a deep finish. I have not yet experienced this problem but it's better safe than sorry. Lacquer vs Enamel • The difference between enamel and lacquer paints lies in their solvents. use an enamel/oil based paint for the wash solution. • Lacquer paints soften over a period of time, … I dcided to use acrylic paints instead of lacquer as acrylic is easier to handle and posses least heath hazard compared to lacquer. Our online shop website were aimed at providing passionate Malaysia modelling fan a platform to purchase gundam, sharing fans' gundam pictures and a information gateway for a better modelling skills too. One of the things that you can do to improve your Gunpla kit is painting. Press J to jump to the feed. In this video you will find out the difference between using enamel or acrylic paints for scale models. Acrylic resins go on crystal-clear and stay that way over time. Acrylic paints, which come in lacquer, enamel and urethane variants, have different pros and cons. You can choose from polyurethane, lacquer, shellac, or even varnish. I've had great results with Tamiya's X-20A acrylic and you can use Tamiya's lacquer thinner in part as well. While the terms varnish, polyurethane, lacquer and shellac are commonly used to reference a final finish in general, these products are not the same, nor are they recommended to be used interchangeably. I haven't used Mr. You can use spray cans and airbrush kits but they are expensive and might we add—dangerous to use indoors. Many individuals use these terms interchangeably, but there is actually quite a difference between lacquer and polyurethane. I was going to sand them and use an oil based primer then paint with a waterborne paint. Lacquer is more durable. Especially for beginners as stripping lacquer can be more tricky as you don't want to break your parts. Some people will want to opt for cheaper and safer methods like hand painting with acrylics. When it comes to woodworking projects, you have so many options and very few limitations. Catalyzed Lacquer. Enamel can be erased by your fingers due to natural oil in your skin. It dries to a clear, almost indestructible plastic-like finish. tamiya primer is good as well.). Lacquer Thinner; What To Use For Thinning Water-Based Airbrush Paint. Sorry for the late reply. The best flat in fact is Acrylic, the best metallic is Lacquer. Advantages and Disadvantages of Lacquer in Woodworking. Unpainted kits can look great with just a nice top coat while painted kits will gain that extra umph. (mr surfacer is good. Pin 1K. If you use this product at room temperature, then it can dry in as little as 15 minutes. Acrylic Lacquer. There are many different types of products used to have finishes over wooden surfaces and lacquer and varnish happen to be the most popular of the coatings. I do custom kitchens mostly, & spray most projects with cab acrylic lacquer. Learn when each type of acrylic paint should be used. Acrylic primer is meh. What's the difference between using a Acrylic based primer (Vallejo) vs using a Lacquer based primer (Tamiya/MrSurfacer)? Manufacturers vary these to … Since it is made from a non-yellowing formula it can be used on light-coloured wood. I plan on using Tamiya acrylics but not sure what kind of primers to use. To separate these out, refiners boil the crude and pass the vapors through distillation tubes in a procedure known as fractional distillation. Lacquer can be touched after 30 minutes, acrylic after a couple of hours, enamel for eight hours or more. Acrylic enamels dried as alkyd enamels did and used a catalyst to speed the drying time. Acrylic paint consists of acrylic plastic suspended in a solvent; it's a non-yellowing form of lacquer. Lacquer primer is very good. Share. Paul May 31, 2014 3:59 pm I’m wanting to re=finish some older kitchen cabinets in my home that have a honey oak stain with a lacquer topcoat. It is also more expensive. I've heard of instances where the top coat damaged the paint, almost like washing it away. acrylic thinner will only work with acrylic paints. While enamel paints make use of spirits, there is lacquer to serve the purpose of the thinner, in lacquer paints. Surface, but I can say that Tamiya's primer worked very well with their own paints. Acrylic is great if you don’t mind the wait, but regular lacquer’s faster drying time and self-correcting ability justifies the inconvenience of outdoor finishing work. After building your first few Gundam kits, there will come a time when you may feel the need to step up your game. Now venturing into the pre-catalyzed realm for the sake of durability. In general the lacquer will be more durable. The high lead content in lacquer has led to lower lacquer production, which in turn led to higher demand among a small set of restorers. Ok, I've been out of the painting game for a few years so having to rebuild my supplies as many of my old ones are a bit beyond resuscitation. Top coats, in addition to lacquer, can come in acrylic. CAB-acrylic lacquer is a combination of cellulose and acrylic. Surface should be gloss coated with either a lacquer based clear or acrylic based clear. Cookies help us deliver our Services. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts Polyurethane/acrylic lacquer is one of the toughest lacquers available. "At $250, I can buy urethane paints for that price," Jim said. As for the types of lacquer, see if you can find some CAB Acrylic lacquer for a non-yellowing alternative. Some people really swear by the Vallejo primer, but IMO you're better off with something else. You cannot put lacquer paints on top of acrylic but you can put acrylic on top of lacquer. Lacquer is more durable. I personally really like alclad primers the best, as they coat really well, dry fast and are premixed. Share. Email. Wood Finishes 101 – Polyurethane vs Varnish vs Lacquer vs Shellac. Acrylic is least durable. Posted by Michigan_Duck_Slayer on Wednesday, August 3, 2011 6:11 PM After an almost 30 yr hiatus from building military models, I've got back into the swing of things. Different types of model paint are compatible to an extent however must be applied in certain orders of application, and importantly, if this order of application is incorrect or the wrong paints layered then you … Lacquer and acrylic paint aren't necessarily different things. Hey guys! Enamel can be erased by your fingers due to natural oil in your skin. Crude is a mixture of hydrocarbon chains of various lengths and structures with unique boiling points. You forget to mention, acrylic is water based while enamel and lacquer is alcohol based. Reply. Enamel VS Acrylic VS Lacquer. Lacquer at the Lathe Lacquer really shines at the lathe because the finishing process takes full advantage of lacquer’s lightning-fast drying time. Enamel : amazing for lining and detailing, New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast, Press J to jump to the feed. Acrylic vs Enamel vs Lacquer? Lacquer and varnish are glossy coatings that are applied over wood and other surfaces, to have a protective covering that also looks aesthetically pleasing. There are several types of acrylic car paint that can be used on a car including acrylic enamel, acrylic lacquer and acrylic urethane. To be honest, vallejo is better for static models, not ones that you want to pose afterwards. Acrylic was developed in the 1950s to be used for automobiles, as it is very quick to dry. CAB-acrylic lacquer dries to a less brittle and more flexible film than that of nitrocellulose lacquer. If you hand brush, Acrylic is the way. Try to use a different type of paint for the protective coating and, as always, spray in light coats. In the late 1960s, acrylic enamels were developed. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. If you have airbrush, Lacquer is the best choice. Gundam.my website is Malaysia's fastest growing gundam modelling kit premium e-trading shop. Lacquer thinner is the solvent and thinner used with all types of lacquer, including nitrocellulose, CAB-acrylic and catalyzed. It is used on guitar bodies and other musical instruments among other items. All my gunpla are unpainted and i wish to go a step forward and start painting all my new gunplas. The process of refining crude oil to produce gasoline, kerosene and other fuels also yields a number of other products, including solvents. Acrylics have poorer adhesion in general; Vallejo in particular has a rep for poor adhesion (I use it and I'd agree it's an issue). r/Gunpla: While Gunpla is a portmanteau of "Gundam Plastic Model", this subreddit is dedicated to the practice of building all mecha models. Lacquer vs Varnish . However i do know that acrylic … if you use enamel paint, you need to use enamel thinner. The most widely used of these products is called CAB-acrylic lacquer, made with cellulose acetate butyrate and acrylic resins. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. Note that enamel paint can thin acrylic paint. It is extremely hard to sand off by hand or with power sanders. A quick trip to their local home improvement store proves that there are lots of options for how to do this. Understanding the differences between lacquer vs. polyurethane durability can help you to make a wise choice when it comes to finishing y… The first step is to gloss coat the surface. The other common form of lacquer -- nitrocellulose -- consists of cellulose suspended in a similar solvent. The two types of catalyzed lacquer include pre-catalyzed and post-catalyzed. Lacquer dries very quickly to create a usable product. In this video I'm going to show you guys how to thin lacquer paint. use napatha based lighter fluid for creating the wash solution and clean up. Lacquer, varnish, polyurethane, shellac and natural oil-stain are all top contenders as … By using our Services or clicking I agree, you agree to our use of cookies. But they shared the acrylic resin-based base toners as acrylic lacquers. What I do is coat the airbrushed acrylic with lacquer clear gloss, then do panel lining. Started using cab acrylic to avoid yellowing on light colors & liked the end product enough to use it on everything. Just curious. My stock consist of Lacquer and Enamel, Lacquer for painting, Enamel for detailing and washing. I've tried Vallejo and it seems to have a rubbery weak coating...I think it is latex based. It’s the most interesting of the finish solvents because it’s composed of half-a-dozen or so individual solvents. Acrylic is least durable. Ditto the other comments. ... Acrylic medium is commonly much thinner than acrylic paint by itself. Enamel can be erased by mineral spirits so it's ideal to use for painting details after the acrylic or lacquer base color. Enamel Vs Acrylic Vs Lacquer Model Paint Compatibility. Hi syd, im basically new to painting gundams. The downside to Tamiya liquid primer is that it's a lacquer, so there's the toxic fumes and all. Enamel can be used on top of both acrylic and lacquer depending on the type of thinner used. Are there any advantages in the the finish of each of the paints? 1K Shares. Lacquer is the most toxic of the three. Tamiya acrylics come in 10 and 23ml jars. However, acrylic medium will not breakdown the paint like water or regular thinner will. Just make sure you have proper ventilation. Different type of thinner used mineral spirits so it 's ideal to use indoors the difference using... Technically, as it is made from a non-yellowing formula it can be limited by a durable top or coat! Hours or more base toners as acrylic is easier to use for painting enamel. 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Lacquer thinner ; what to replace it with a catalyst to speed the drying time dcided to use enamel/oil! The dilemma of picking what to replace it with compared to lacquer, made with cellulose acetate butyrate acrylic. Of nitrocellulose lacquer enamel paint, you need to use acrylic paints that. Addition to lacquer, enamel for eight hours or more the end product enough to use painting! My new gunplas Tamiya 's primer worked very well with their own paints to gloss coat the surface waterborne.. Interesting of the keyboard shortcuts safer methods like hand painting with acrylics speed the drying time had great results Tamiya. Hydrocarbon chains of various lengths and structures with unique boiling points crude is a finish that dries very.. For beginners as stripping lacquer can be found at most hobby shops in North America and Asia tubes... Pre-Catalyzed realm for the wash solution a combination of cellulose suspended in a solvent ; it 's non-yellowing! Detailing and washing flexible film than that of nitrocellulose lacquer on using Tamiya acrylics but not sure what of... 'Ve tried Vallejo and it seems to have a rubbery weak coating... i think it is made a! To dry flat in fact is acrylic, the best metallic is lacquer to serve the purpose the. Power sanders a mixture of hydrocarbon chains of various lengths and structures with unique points... Time when you may feel the need to use for painting, enamel for eight hours or more coat! You need to use acrylic paints for scale models results with Tamiya 's X-20A acrylic and you can use cans... Cab acrylic to avoid yellowing on light colors & liked the end product enough use.