question about Tamiya clear paints

[mydesign]

 

when it comes to "clear coloured" paints, I have the usual jars of the Tamiya clear paints like X-23 clear red, X-27 clear blue etc.

 

But I never seem to be able to thin it well with the Tamiya thinner X-20 and paint bigger areas like a canopy without uneven results. And the paint in the jars get sticky very quickly after a few months and become almost unusable. Airbrushing the clears is for me almost impossible.

 

Is this something others recognize with these Tamiya Clears ?

 

and is there a way to better use and preserve these clear Tamiya paints?

 

or any alternative clear paints?

 

[Gazzas]

I find they spray well with Mr. Color thinner.  I mix them 50/50 for air brushing.  AS far as getting them perfect on transparent parts...  not sure how I'd go about that.

 

Good luck!

 

Gaz

[Guest Maxim]

Gaz is correct. Mr color or Mr color leveling thinner. I have good results spraying Gunze clear colors on clear plastic such as tinting canopies or lights etc.

[Ivan Ivanovich]

TAMIYA X-20 or X-20A?

X-20 = enamels, X-20A = acrylics

 

A couple of suggestions based on my personal experience with TAMIYA clears:

• Switched to Gunze Mr.COLOR LEVELING THINNER > contains retarder > extended "open" time to ensure a smoother and more homogenous finish.
• Wet-in-wet application on larger parts > 50:50 thinning ratio, applied at pressures between 1.2 and 1.5 bar (depends on your individual airbrush setup).
• You may also lightly mist a fresh coat of Tamiya Clear with Mr.COLOR LEVELING THINNER prior to applying another coat of Tamiya Clear.
• Make sure the screw cap as well as the thread of the jar are clean of any paint residues and carefully wipe away excess paint.

I usually decant 50% from a fresh bottle into an empty and clean Tamiya jar and top up the rest with Mr.COLOR Leveling Thinner = ready to use and less prone to thickening.

[Bill_S]

I've found the Tamiya clear colors to be thicker than their other colors. You may want to increase the the thinner to paint ratio. As others have said, the Mr. Color products work very well with Tamiya acrylics; they're the only thing I use to thin them.

[LSP_K2]

Interesting question. I almost never use them for anything except brushing onto wingtip lights and such, the one exception being the warp engine clear parts of a Romulan warbird that I'm working on. Covering smoothly was not too big of a deal, but getting uniform density sure was.

[gwana]

Another vote for Mr. Color thinner. I mixed some Tamiya smoke with clear blue and it worked great sprayed on brass gun barrels over a metallic base. I'd say 60% thinner 40% paint, but I was doing almost filter coats. I now use Mr. Color leveling thinner almost exclusively with Tamiya acrylics. Much less tip dry than X-20A.

Edited August 2, 2018 by gwana
a letter

[gwana]

12 hours ago, Gazzas said:

I find they spray well with Mr. Color thinner.  I mix them 50/50 for air brushing.  AS far as getting them perfect on transparent parts...  not sure how I'd go about that.

 

Good luck!

 

Gaz

 

I'd be inclined to mix some with Klear and dip a spare canopy.

[ringleheim]

Decant the Tamiya TS clear spray cans instead.  You'll have much better luck using those.

 

If you must use the acrylics in the bottle, thin with Mr. Color Leveling Thinner.

 

Don't forget you can combine your favorite clear with different opaque paints and make your own "clear" paint as well.  You might be able to come up with a combination that has better spraying characteristics than the Tamiya acrylic bottles.

 

 

 

 

[DonH]

As others have said, plenty of Mr Color Leveling Thinner, easily 60/40 as the Tammy Clears do seem to be thicker.

 

Also, I have tried putting some in Future to tint canopies but not too successful from a constant density perspective. Others may get better results due to my low skill set.