Airbrushing (and stripping) Tamiya clear

[Ovidius Incertus]

So I'm trying to paint a clear plastic cockpit windscreen in order to achieve a transparent colored effect and know that FW uses Tamiya clear, which was also recommended here.

 

Tried air brushing some Tamiya clear red on a cockpit last night (from the inside) and the results are not as desired.  It's not transparent, but extremely cloudy and more like a pink than a red (i.e. not at all like the pics on FW's Fire Raptor page).

 

I thinned it, thoroughly, I thought, with distilled H2O and Liquitex.  Is this the culprit of the cloudiness?  I searched the Google and saw people thinning with alcohol?

 

Second, of course I didn't do a test, so now I've got some slightly screwed up pieces.  Can the Tamiya clear be stripped with Simple Green?  I read somewhere where alcohol should be used?

 

Any ideas on how to get my mess cleaned up and do it correctly?

[JeffTibbetts]

I've seen it brushed on, and I think it was too far in the other direction. It looked a bit gloopy and there were lots of brushstrokes. The color was fantastic, though and it wasn't cloudy. I'm sure there's some trick... I wish I knew it. I think Brother Chaplain Kage has used it, but I'm not 100% on that. 

[Gurth]

Tamiya paints thin extremely well with isopropanol; their own thinner is basically that with a few additives, but you can use windscreen wiper fluid instead if you’d rather not pay through the nose to thin your paints. Plain tap water, without anything else, also works quite well — I used that for at least a decade to thin Tamiya paints, until I learned about the windscreen wiper fluid.

 

Also, in a distant past I’ve airbrushed Tamiya clear red without thinning it at all, to paint glass for the lamps of my parents’ vintage caravan (“travel trailer” if you’re North American) when red pieces were needed for the tail lights, but they could only find colourless ones for sale. Note, though, that this was using a pretty simple modeller’s spraygun (an external mix, single-action airbrush) which coped with the paint well enough; not sure how easily it would flow through a more intricate airbrush if you don’t thin it at all.

[Rik Lightstar]

This is what you need..............

 

 

http://www.swannysmodels.com/Tinting.html

 

Good luck,

Rik

[JeffTibbetts]

This is what you need..............

 

 

http://www.swannysmodels.com/Tinting.html

 

Good luck,

Rik

 

Yes, sort of. You get a much lighter color using Future/food coloring. I've done it on a Stormtalon canopy and it's really much lighter than what he's talking about. I can take some pics later as I'm at work. Also, a dipping a second time doesn't do much since Future removes Future, so it doesn't really build up. It's a very different effect. 

[Ovidius Incertus]

Will isopropyl alcohol harm the clear plastic if I try to strip with it?  I've got a jug in the first aid kit that I barely ever use, so I've got plenty to go around.

[Rik Lightstar]

 

This is what you need..............

 

 

http://www.swannysmodels.com/Tinting.html

 

Good luck,

Rik

 

Yes, sort of. You get a much lighter color using Future/food coloring. I've done it on a Stormtalon canopy and it's really much lighter than what he's talking about. I can take some pics later as I'm at work. Also, a dipping a second time doesn't do much since Future removes Future, so it doesn't really build up. It's a very different effect. 

 

 

Does future remove spray varnish?

If not then how about..

 

1. Dip
2. Varnish
3. Dip
4. until colour is correct

??

 

Rik

[Gurth]

Will isopropyl alcohol harm the clear plastic if I try to strip with it?  I've got a jug in the first aid kit that I barely ever use, so I've got plenty to go around.

It won’t dissolve cured acrylic paint, to the best of my knowledge. However, methanol will, and I doubt it’ll affect the plastic. The best thing to do would be to test it: take a piece of GW clear sprue, paint it with the offending paint and let that dry thoroughly, then attempt to remove it with something. This will show you whether it works at all, and if it does, what effects it will have on the plastic.

[JeffTibbetts]

 

 

This is what you need..............

 

 

http://www.swannysmodels.com/Tinting.html

 

Good luck,

Rik

 

Yes, sort of. You get a much lighter color using Future/food coloring. I've done it on a Stormtalon canopy and it's really much lighter than what he's talking about. I can take some pics later as I'm at work. Also, a dipping a second time doesn't do much since Future removes Future, so it doesn't really build up. It's a very different effect. 

 

 

Does future remove spray varnish?

If not then how about..

 

1. Dip
2. Varnish
3. Dip
4. until colour is correct

??

 

Rik

 

 

That's a good question, actually. I have no idea. I've never actually used any clear varnish on a canopy, because I think the texture of it (no matter how well you spray) might cause some clouding or undesirable effects. Any scale/military modelers know if that would work? 

[Ovidius Incertus]

For future reference, Simple Green tears up Tamiya Clear.  I just chucked the offending canopy in some SG and water (maybe 60:40) and within 15 minutes, most of the paint simply poured off, totally liquidized.  It all came off within an hour of soaking and there wasn't an ounce of scrubbing needed.

 

Now at least I know I can try again safely thinning the paint with alcohol.