Well this is my first post and I have to say it’s a big one. As the title suggests I’m having a lot of growing pains with Polly Scale, but I’m determined to figure out how to best airbrush it without getting dry tip.
Just to give you a little background, I’m also a member over at FineScale.com where I post under the same screen name. I have tried just about everything to try and thin the paint so that I won’t get dry tip, but no matter what I try nothing seems to work. I’ve even contacted Testors and had no luck with their advice. Now, the folks over at FineScale gave a lot of great tips as well, but I’m just hoping to get another opinion seeing that Polly Scale seems to be a paint used more by train modelers.
Please visit this link: http://cs.finescale.com/forums/1101872/ShowPost.aspx so that you can view all of the things I have tried. Thanks so much and hopefully I can figure this out. I’ve got a lof painting to do, but am affraid to move on until I figure this out.
Sorry you’re having so much trouble with the PS paint. You didn’t mention in any of your posts what size tip you’re using, it should be a medium or # 3.
I’ve been using PS (amoungst others) as a custom painter for 10 years or so, (whenever they were introduced). I will share some of my experience and maybe you’ll see something that’ll work for you. First off,I have never used a retarter with PS or any other acylics. As opposed to solvent paints which should hit the surface almost dry, acrylics should hit the surface wet, just short of running. Acrylics are self-leveling and shrink as they dry. With PS I get the best results at about 20-25 PSI. Always and I mean ALWAYS screen the paint, I use nylon stockings, (as others have said, don’t stretch them too much). I strain the paint after thinning.
For thinner, I use water with about 15 to 20% Isopropl alcohol (70%). Alcohol does help the water evaporate faster. If you want to slow the evaporation down , use the detergent as the Testors guy recomended. I use one of those acrylic thinner bottles to dispense from.
On water: If you have soft or filtered water, you don’t need to bother with distilled water, if you have hard water you should use distilled water to prevent staining by the minerals in the water.
As PolyScale is a flat paint and therefore dries pretty fast, adding 20 to 30% PS clear gloss can also help with dry tip, but then of course may require more coats for full coverage. You can substitute Minwax Gloss Polyurathane, a quart will last a long long time, but it’s a lot cheaper than those little 1/2 oz bottles. The satin and flat work too, you just have to do a lot of thinning and screening, but it’s worth it.
Another option is Modelflex paint, it has a semi-gloss/gloss finish and many model railroaders swear by it. I use it as well, depending on the color I need and does seem to be more trouble free and it comes more or
Like Jay, I’ve been using Polly Scale paint for many years, and I like it very much. I do a few things differently than he described, based primarily on the manufacturer’s recommendations.
First, I thin the paint for airbrushing with distilled water, but only about 10 percent per the manufacturer’s recommendation. I also add 6 to 8 drops of acrylic flow enhancer (Liquitex and Badger are two brands I’ve used) per 1-ounce bottle of spray mixture.
To save a preparation step, I use in-bottle stainless mesh filters to strain the paint as I spray it. The filters clean up easily under running water.
I spray the paint at a high pressure, 40 psi, again per the manufacturer’s recommendation. I use a Badger 200 single-action, internal-mix airbrush, and I don’t have trouble with the paint drying in the tip. I do spray Badger airbrush cleaner through the airbrush every time I change colors, and I disassemble the tip after each painting session and rinse the parts in clean water to discourage paint buildup. If I see any sign of paint sticking I’ll scrub the tip parts with an old toothbrush.
For painting lighter colors, including most freight car reds, I first give the model a coat of Undercoat Light Gray. It’s easier to get a thin, uniform coat of the final color over this undercoat.
To prepare for decal application I give the model a coat of Polly Scale Clear Gloss after the paint is dry, and then I use Polly Scale Clear Flat to seal and hide the decals.
Thanks for the quick response. I use the Iwata HP-CS which I believe came with the standard 0.35-mm needle and nozzle combination. The only thing I haven’t tried yet is straining the paint. It sounds like that will be my next step. The think that gets me is that I’m mixing this stuff really well. I don’t see any clumps or pieces of paint “crap” in the mix. I guess it could slip by without knowing so I will definitely try to strain.
I’ll also try and increase my PSI. I’ve been spraying around 15 PSI, so maybe uping the pressure will help as well. I know when I spray with Tamiya I can spray all the way down to like 8-10 PSI which is nice, but this is about PS [:)]
I’ll continue to try the different thinning methods and just hope that it’s all about the straining. Thanks again Jay. I’m sure I’ll report back soon.
Thanks for the tips. I too tried to thin with distilled water and Liquitex as I’m sure you saw in that post on FineScale. It’s so odd, because I fee like I’m doing the right stuff, but maybe I’m just not mixing it in the right ratios or maybe there really is something that is sticking in the brush.
So even if I thin my paints and mix them really well, do you think that something could still be getting in the mix?
What other kind of strainers could I get besides the ones I see on Micromark.com? Anything I could use in the meantime? I saw nylon stocking and possibly a tea strainer. Anything else that I could find local?
ABSOLUTELY! I use a lot of craft paints for my structures and clogging from chunks in the paint was THE problem I had. The crustys around the top of your paint bottles can fall into your mix and clog your brush. All that stuff settles to the bottom and immediately gets sucked up into your brush.I bought a very fine strainer from the kitchen isle in some store. I thin and mix my paint and then pour it through the strainer into my airbrush bottles. You’ll be surprised at the crud it catches.
Water based paints don’t like small brush tips either as mentioned. I always use a #3 or #5 with my Paasche.
I too was ready to give up on acrylics till I started using a strainer.
As Jay said, Polly Scale paint is self-leveling, and I find the high pressure makes it easier to spray light coats. You just have to train yourself to keep the airbrush moving.
I like the Polly Scale Clear Gloss just fine. I can’t compare it with Future because I’ve never tried that. I’ve heard and seen a lot of people talk or write about using it, but I’ve never run across an explanation of why. What is it supposed to do that other products, like the Polly Scale gloss, don’t?
I’ve been useing Polly Scale for a while now and my paint jobs were somewhat hit and miss until I took this advice directly from a painter from Polly Scale. He covers everthing from air preasure, to thinning paint and the best way to spray it.
I thin my paint with distilled water instead of the airbrush thinner he uses. I also have an “in the bottle” paint strainer from Badger. My paint jobs have come out smoother and more consistant since using his meathods.
I meant to ask earlier what a #3 size tip was? The only thing I’m aware of is the size of the needle itself. How can I tell if I’m using a medium or a numbered size when using an Iwata HP-CS?
Ok guys I finally got my strainer in the mail today and was hoping this would solve the problem. I’ve followed all the steps, I’ve thinned the paint as recommended using the Testors acrylic thinner 1 part to 4, my airbrush is completely clean, I’ve strained the paint using a micromesh grade 100 strainer, and yet I still have issues spraying.
It’s really odd because I will open the airbrush a little to let the air out and paint will start to flow, but then within a couple of seconds nothing comes out. I continue to hold the needle in the same position and the paint just stops coming out. If I rock the needle back and forth a little paint will start to flow again, but then eventually it just stops again. Something is stopping the paint, but I can’t tell what it could be if I have strained it. The thinner should help with any dry tip and so I can’t imagine it’s that. What else could it be?
I should add that I had no issues spraying PS clear gloss without thinning.
I would order the 5mm tip for your air brush. What you are discribing sounds like the paint isn’t thinned enough, but you said it was, so that leads me to believe your tip is too small for acrylics. Again I have no problems painting them with the 5mm tip.
Thanks John, I think I will order the 5mm tip just to see what happens. And as previously discussed I’ve thinned the paint down to the point where it’s almost a watercolor. Slightly thinner than 2% milk.
One thing I will add, actually someone mentioned this before… check that you are using fresh paint. If the bottle is dusty when you pull it off the shelf, it is probably pretty old. I have seen a difference between two bottles of the same exact paint myself. I thought it was me at first but it seems to make a difference. I usually order online rather than getting paint at the LHS.