Hi everyone. I've heard pretty much nothing but good things about Tamiya's range of spray laquers, so I want to use them on my car kits and maybe some aircraft kits. The thing is, the first time I've ever used a rattle can in my life was about a week ago when I primered a Tamiya Mitsubishi J2M3 Raiden. So, I would like to know everything you can tell me about how to use these Tamiya spray laquers. How far away from the model should I spray? How does the paint behave? How do you do a good "wet coat"? Things like these are what I would like to know.

I know it's a lot to ask, but any input would be greatly apreciated!

Hi Dean.

I know that thsi isn't exactly what you wanted to hear, but I'm going to try decanting from the Tamiya Rattle Can for my auto builds starting in 2 weeks. I'm going to use the methods outlined HERE and HERE and try not ot blow myself up or burn down the house !!

Aah yes, I have heard of people decanting paint from rattle cans. From the limited chemistry knowledge that I have, as long as you decant into the glad-wrap covered jar the vapours should be starved of oxygen inside the container, or have far too much oxygen outside the container to ignite if an ignition source presents itself. If you use the method in the videos, you could probably decant a rattle can right next to a bonfire, but I wouldn't recomend it .

Hello,

I have used Tamiya sprays very often, so I hope what I write makes use for you.
First Tamiya sprays are very thin and fluid so it is very easy to have the paint running on the surface. My technique for this is following: mount your model so that you can turn it easily (best, you glue a scrap piece of sprue to the model so that you can safely hold and move it). Then, decant a little spray into your airbrush and spray the edge areas of your model especially if the model is white or other light color, because the paint flows off the edges very easily, leaving an annoying mark. Then, after a short drying time, apply a mist coat from your spraycan from about 25-30 centimetres. After a few minutes, you can apply a covering coat with quick passes (really quick, push the button and pull it over the surface as quickly as you can), beginning the pass before the model and stopping it after passing the surface. Do it for every side to paint.

Then, start turning and moving the model for about 15 minutes (might look funny, I admit), so that the paint runs on none of the painted surfaces. Tamiya spray paint will shrink and make a nice even surface, however only if you compensate gravity by turning and rolling it intensively for a while.

When the paint stops smelling it is dry enough to put the model down, so you can leave the paint harden overnight. The lacquer paint will be active for a few days so let it harden for 4-5 days before you start sanding, polishing or masking over it.

It is a good idea to warm the spraycan before spraying. Of course the surface should be dust and grease free and prepared accordingly.

Hope it helps!

I've had good luck with the decanting thing before, but I let the jar of decanted paint sit open for a day or so in the garage{which annoyed the wife} to degas the paint. I once decanted into a jar and sealed it{cap} and the next day I went to open it it burped, so to speak, and that kinda spooked me so I now let the paint gas out for a day or so to keep that from happening.
The best advice for any rattle can is to have it ready at room temp as well as the subject to be sprayed.....outside temp will slightly affect your spraying due to temp{high or low} or humidity. I actually have an easier time spraying rattlecans during the winter here which slows the drying time down and makes for less running{lucky me} and more settling time{smoother paint}....and, less dust than during the summer months.
The normal distance for spraying is about 10-12" and the difference between dry and wet coats is how much paint hits the subject. Here, try this next time....when you spray look at an angle where you just sprayed - if it looks mottled you just sprayed a semi wet coat...if it looks really grainy you just sprayed a dry coat, if it looks totally wet like it just came from under the faucet, that was a good wet coat. Your wanting to reach for a good wet coat withyout going over that which leads to runs...I like to shoot just shy of a wet coat -remember to view the paint from the side with a decent light source side lighting it- and then touch up any areas to a wetter finish as needed with light sprays.

Here, try this little experiment- take a rattlecan of tamiya gloss anything and spray something with it, now take a wet paper towel and wipe the fresh paint off...you'll note the paint came right off rather cleanly! If it was solvent based it would have smeared and looked oily but it doesn't do that so it's got to be water based - just like their bottled paint. Tamiya now has "lacquer" paint and I wonder if that isn't the newer hybrid water based lacquer that's out there.....when I ever get a can of it I'll try my wet paper towel thing too see what it does.......

Thanks a lot for the replies Gábor and Bob.

@ Bob; when you say that "the difference between dry and wet coats is how much paint hits the subject", do you spray the paint closer to the model, or do you make slower passes from the same distance as the mist coats (10-12")?

Tamiya Spray cans are Lacquer based, and clean up with lacquer thinner.

I have decanted Tamiya, Testors and Automotive spray cans into airbrush bottles.

I basically take a bendy straw, use some modeling clay, playdoh, poster tack, or similar to seal the straw to the nozzle of the spray can. Put a couple of pieces of masking tape over the mouth of the airbrush jar, leaving a hole for the straw. Make sure your can is room temp, and shaken well (not stirred! LOL little Bond humor there), and then spray into the airbrush bottle. The paint will foam up quickly to the top of the bottle, just let off the spray till it subsides (which is only a second or 2) and then continue spraying till you have the desired amount of paint you want in the bottle. leave the tape on the bottle with the hole in the middle, and set it aside where it can't get knocked over or agitated to allow the propellant to gas out of the paint. This can take anywhere from 30mins to a few hours depending on the paint. Once it is gassed out, the paint is ready to put into your airbrush, no thinning necessary as it is good to go out of the can.

You want to keep the needed 10-12" distance every time so there's no chance of hitting it too hard and causing any runs....think of it like watering a garden with the hose...1st pass gets some there, next pass gets some more and so on....you shouldn't be so close that it nails the modle with so much paint in just one pass....the control is how many passes to get what you want. Every rattle manufacturer might be alittle different in the way of pressure and thinning and surrounding temp and can temp can add or subtract from this. This is why I like some kind of side lighting to see how much is going on...even when I'm in the house using the AB - but with that I can control the pressure and delivery....rattle cans you can't which is why one needs to see how much of the paint is hitting from how far and you adjust in or out to compensate. Remember that more light, semi wet coats are far better than one hammered on coat - to build up thickness slowly puts you more in control. Flat paints are easier, the same principal applies but with less noticable issues due to the flatness of the paint...gloss paints require more attention.

Thanks for clearing that up Bob, it makes a whole lot of sense now. With a bit of luck I'll be spraying some Italian Red on a Honda NSX in a couple of days time!

Okay, so for those of you out there who haven't tried Tamiya spray cans but would like to, here's a few tips that I can give you:

1. If you live in a coastal area, don't spray the paint outside - you'll end up wearing more paint than the model, trust me.
2. If the sky is overcast, don't bother trying to spray because it WILL start raining .
3. If you spray inside, for goodness sake open a window or something because everyone in the house will be high/complaining in minutes.
4. Get 2 cans of paint for every 1:24 body. The Tamiya website says that their cans will cover 2-3 1:24 scale car bodies, but I ran out of paint just before I had finished my first wet coat. Sure, the coastal winds blew a lot of the paint away when I sprayed outside, but I still think that even 1.5 car bodies is a bit of a stretch if you want to get a good paint finish. Now my Honda NSX has a slightly bare rear end .

Thanks for your method gaborka! Tried it and it worked GREAT for me!

You are welcome! Have good luck with your models!