Dumb question time......

[Deleted]

and I'm sure I know the answer.   Can any other brands of paint be mixed with Gunze Mr Color?  Or should I just order some more. Need to tone down some corsair blues. 

[M1Carbine]

Personally, I would not. mix a small amount and test.

Bob

[JimD]

Tamiya would probably work ok since it and Gunze respond similarly to lacquer thinner. I used to mix Aqueous and Tamiya all the time. The most that will happen is they won't mix. It's not like they are going to react since reactions are usually based on the thinning agent which would have to be lacquer.

I'd test it first thought.

[Deleted]

Uh this would be a NO!!! Got a nice ooeey gooey snotty blob.

[4bogreen]

First, there are no dumb questions bluenosers. Here are people with tons of experience, so ask away. Everybody has to start somewere.

The best you can do, is for looking for the type of paint you use. Gunze is (mostly) a thinner/enamel based paint. You can mix thinner/enamel based with thinner/enamel based paints. A small refference card for you.

-Thinner/enamel based paints- Gunze Mr. color, Humbrol, Revell, White ensign models (better known as WEM), Testors, Alclad.
-Water/acrillics based paints- Vallejo, AK ineractive (not the filters!!), MiG or Ammo pains, Lifecolor.
-Alcohol based paints- Tamiya, Akan.
-Oil based paints- Panzer Abteilung 502 (a MiG or Ammo brand), Rembrand, van Gogh. (these can be used with thinner or enamel dillutants)

If you want to tone down your Corsair color, the best you can do this with light filters and/or using oils for fading. A good book about fading techniques is the MiG book ''FAQ volume 1''. Although its no dedicated aircraft building book, there are some nice techniques and how to use different products discribed.

Regards,

Remco

[JimD]

Nov 30, 2014 1:59:12 GMT -5 4bogreen said:

First, there are no dumb questions bluenosers. Here are people with tons of experience, so ask away. Everybody has to start somewere.

The best you can do, is for looking for the type of paint you use. Gunze is (mostly) a thinner/enamel based paint. You can mix thinner/enamel based with thinner/enamel based paints. A small refference card for you.

-Thinner/enamel based paints- Gunze Mr. color, Humbrol, Revell, White ensign models (better known as WEM), Testors, Alclad.
-Water/acrillics based paints- Vallejo, AK ineractive (not the filters!!), MiG or Ammo pains, Lifecolor.
-Alcohol based paints- Tamiya, Akan.
-Oil based paints- Panzer Abteilung 502 (a MiG or Ammo brand), Rembrand, van Gogh. (these can be used with thinner or enamel dillutants)

If you want to tone down your Corsair color, the best you can do this with light filters and/or using oils for fading. A good book about fading techniques is the MiG book ''FAQ volume 1''. Although its no dedicated aircraft building book, there are some nice techniques and how to use different products discribed.

Regards,

Remco

With respect, I must address this because there's a lot of misinformation here that will make things really difficult on someone with less experience with paints should they find it. My apologies, I'm not attacking you, just looking to help.

In the hobby there are three types of paint: Enamel, Lacquer, and Acrylic. Now...it gets a little more involved than that, but for most purposes that will do.

Paint is made up of three things: pigment, carrier, and solvent.

Pigment: Easy one. Pigment is what gives the paint its color. Traditionally (with all types of paint) pigments have varied being both organic and synthetic in nature. Pigment has zero bearing on how paint is labeled or classified. No future discussion needed.

Carrier: The carrier is the property of the paint that causes it to stick to what it’s applied to. Carrier chemical properties vary themselves and detailed information for the modeler’s purpose isn’t really necessary beyond their relationship with the solvent.

Solvent: this is what is used to dissolve the paints vehicle (in Tamiya’s case alcohol with some form of retarding agent…I suspect glycol). All bottles of model paint you buy have some solvent in them. Otherwise the paint wouldn’t be a liquid. The modeler adds more solvent to the paint to get it to an acceptable consistency for their uses.

The modeling community, in general, seems to apply the terms “acrylic,” “enamel,” and lacquer to solvency; which is a bit of a misnomer. In a broad sense enamel and lacquer are terms used to describe the drying features of a paint which stems back to its carrier.

Enamels: Enamels both dry and cure (there’s a difference). As the solvent in the paint evaporates the vehicle causes the paint to cure. By cure we mean there is a chemical reaction. The vehicle causes the paint to harden. Though, this process can take a good long time (relatively speaking). In the case of modeling this curing causes the paint to etch into the plastic.

Lacquers: Lacquer paint does not cure. The solvent merely evaporates leaving the paint to dry. A water-based lacquer paint can easily be wiped off a surface with water even after drying (there are no paints of this type in the modeling world). Lacquer hobby paints leave a layer of paint on the surface. Once an enamel if fully cured it's solvent will not do much good at removing it...however, a lacquer can be cleanly removed with it's solvent far removed from the actual laying down of the paint.

Note that “enamel” and “lacquer” refer solely to how the paint reacts as the solvent evaporates from the surface. The term “acrylic” on the other hand refers to the vehicle of the paint.

Acrylics: These are a little more complicated because the term acrylic actually refers to the vehicle which is in fact plastic (acrylic). Solvency varies. Modelers and non-modelers alike often refer to acrylics as water-based. No. Tamiya isn't water based. It so happens that you can sometimes thin acrylic paints with water...and yeah, you can make them work, but that doesn't mean water is actually breaking down the carrier.

Most enamels are petroleum based. As such you obviously can't thin them with water because oil and water don't mix. Enamel thinners are required.

All that being said the most important part is:

Mr. Color and Alclad is a lacquer. You CAN NOT thin it with an enamel thinner. You can't thin Alclad with lacqure thinner either. It comes straight from the bottle ready to spray.

Model Master, WE, Humbrol, Revell, Testors, and the tubed artist oils all have petroleum carriers and will thin with enamel thinners. Lacquer thinners also work for the liquid paints, I wouldn't suggest mixing up an artist oil wash with it though.

The acrylics are a can of worms. They aren't all water based/soluble. However, most will dilute enough to paint with water. If you want to see how different the chemical makeup of acrylics can be thin some Tamiya with alcohol. It works perfectly fine. Though it dries a little fast to paint well. Then go thin some Vallejo (not in your airbrush) with alcohol and enjoy the disgusting mess it makes.

[4bogreen]

No problem Jimmy. Its great that you are trying to help. Thats were forums are for. I don' wanted to make things to complicated. Your info is great. You can mix Akan with Tamiya X20 thinner. Perfect for in the airbrush. I painted my lavochkin with it.

[Deleted]

Thanks for the input guys! I was impatient so I just grabbed some Tamiya and mixed my own. I got some more Mr Color coming, so on the next WWII Navy build I'll give it a whirl.

[Deleted]

Nov 30, 2014 1:59:12 GMT -5 4bogreen said:

First, there are no dumb questions bluenosers. Here are people with tons of experience, so ask away. Everybody has to start somewere.

The best you can do, is for looking for the type of paint you use. Gunze is (mostly) a thinner/enamel based paint. You can mix thinner/enamel based with thinner/enamel based paints. A small refference card for you.

-Thinner/enamel based paints- Gunze Mr. color, Humbrol, Revell, White ensign models (better known as WEM), Testors, Alclad.
-Water/acrillics based paints- Vallejo, AK ineractive (not the filters!!), MiG or Ammo pains, Lifecolor.
-Alcohol based paints- Tamiya, Akan.
-Oil based paints- Panzer Abteilung 502 (a MiG or Ammo brand), Rembrand, van Gogh. (these can be used with thinner or enamel dillutants)

If you want to tone down your Corsair color, the best you can do this with light filters and/or using oils for fading. A good book about fading techniques is the MiG book ''FAQ volume 1''. Although its no dedicated aircraft building book, there are some nice techniques and how to use different products discribed.

Regards,

Remco

Wow, is that book really something like $80+?   The DVD on his site the same thing but in DVD form?

[4bogreen]

Buy the book. It will be the best book in your collection you have. Techniques are good discribed. The weathering magazine is also a great addition to your library. I have also DVD's, but always grab the book if i have a choice. The price is right, to the ammount of info you will get. The first volume is the best. This because of the use of "simple" products. The second volume is a bit for advanced modeling and a lot of use of "dedicated" products. You won't regreat buying this book. I think every modeler has a copy from it, or wants one...