Please share your experiences — plus and/or minus — with this paint brand. They appear to have an excellent color palate, and be readily available. Things I’d like to know are:
what thinner do you use or are they water-based
how well do they adhere to metal and plastic surfaces
how well do they airbrush
what problems have you had
anyhing else you want to share
Tom
They’re water based,I’ve used them a lot but I always prime any surface before I spray.
No problems so far
Steve[tup]
[;)]
I don’t use any thinner, it’s pretty thin already. The manuf. says you can spray the paint directly from the bottle with an airbrush and that’s what I do. Saves the trouble of cleaning the paint mixing bottle.
I’ve never tried them on metal. but I expect you’d want to prime metal before using any acrylic paint. The paint does adhere very well to plastic. For bare styrene I make sure it’s clean, no residue from the molds or fingerprints, and spray it on.
The paint is actually made to airbrush, you can brush it on but it doesn’t cover as well as spraying and the finish isn’t as smooth.
Only problems so far is having the paint dry in the airbrush tip…I use Passche H and VL brushes and the H tips are bad about getting clogged with paint…and the Modelflex seems to dry rather quickly in the tips. Some alcohol will clean it right up though.
I like Badgers paints and they have a good selection of road-specific colors, I use Testors Gloscote to seal tham before decalling and haven’t had any problems. Some acrylics I’ve
I too use the Model Flex, very pleased with it. I diluted it just a little with distilled water.
Modelflex is a high quality acylic. I use an 80/20 mix of water/alcohol mix for thinning and cleaning. It does tend to dry at the airbrush tip after spraying for a while, I just make a couple of swipes with a wire brush to clear and continue painting. Generally the paint doesn’t need thinning for airbrushing, but thats a matter of taste and technique. Always strain the paint as dried particles from the cap can fall into the paint. I only use paint cups, never bottles - only one thing to clean up (besides the brush itself).
Modelflex dries to mostly gloss to satin, but some dry flat.
PolyScale is another excellent acrylic. It basically duplicates Floquil’s colors in acrylic form. It is thicker and does require thinning for airbrushing, (you get more paint for your $) and all Polyscale dries flat. Both brands can be intermixed for custom colors.
Both Modelflex and PolyScale make excellent non-yellowing acrylic clear coats. To save money I use Minwax polyurathanes (acrylic) gloss and flat, (a quart of each goes a long way after thinning for airbrush use), Minwax finishes are also available in pints. (I’m a custom painter, so I use a lot more than the average modeler)
That’s my [2c]
I have some limited experience with Model Flex since I am new to air brushing. Badger says it should be thinned to the consistency of skim milk. I add a dropper full of extender to each bottle. That keeps the paint from drying in the AB nozzle. You need a size large tip for spraying acrylics. Clean up works well with window cleaner that contains ammonia.
Hi tom, I have used the NH colors and they are spot on spray directly from bottle I used no thinner. Here is result
http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd294/edokeefe/New%20Haven/swift1.jpg
straight from the bottle with external mix el cheapo airbrush
MP Eagle Blue, Grey, and roof, grey.