Hi everyone. While the Tamiya spray cans are very good, I'm having some problems with them, namely that I can't get the paint into all the nooks and crannies of the models and I have to spray them outside where most of the paint just gets blown away by the coastal winds.

You may ask, however, why I don't just decant them and spray them with my airbrush. Well I will tell you why. A dear friend of mine who has used laquer paints and thinners extensively throughout his life has developed bladder cancer which the doctors say that the laquer paints and thinners may have contributed to it. Because of this I want to limit my exposure to laquer paints and especially laquer thinners as much as possible, but still build my kits.

So, what I would like to ask is if anyone here has tried spraying a car body with water based acrylics? And if so how did it go?

Any input would be greatly apreciated

Hey there Dean,

I have done one car with Vallejo Acrylics and I think it came out well.

You be the judge.









Vallejo Model Color #999 Copper over a black primer.

I did it with acrylics to prove a point, as most of the car guys in our local club kept harping that you had to paint a car body with either enamel or lacquer to get the shine. I said BS, and set out to prove them wrong.

Painted with 100% acrylic, even the gloss coat over the paint is straight Future floor wax and no polishing.

That looks brilliant mate! Exactly the kind of thing I was thinking of doing. I don't think my LHS stocks Vallejo acrylics, but they do have a fair number of Citadel paints. I just have to get my hands on some Future (which is impossible to find locally ).

By the way, how did you do the black frame around the rear window? I have a Tamiya RX-7 and a Honda NSX and I can't figure out how to mask the black window frames off without any of the frosted plastic still being visable.

A very, very steady hand.

However make your life easier, go by a Sharpie Black marker with the fine point....makes doing the black around the windows a breeze.

Ah, a steady hand I do not have, though I might go and get a fine point marker. I have tried masking the windows off but it's nearly impossible. Thankfully most of the newer Tamiya kits come with window masks.

The only way that I've ever achieved a good gloss paint finish with Tamiya acrylics is to thin them with their Lacquer Thinner. I know that this isn't what you want to hear, but the end results are well worth the effort.

I've built a homemade spray booth that works well for less then $25, and use a cheap mask as there is very little fumes to deal with.

Joel