OK...it has been a long time since I've done any of this model building stuff. The buildin' has gone OK, but now I've decided it is time to put paint on plastic and the trouble has begun.

Here's what happened, and I KNOW I've done something Dumb, just not what! I was brush painting a radio for my Cold War Cookoff MUTT. I used Model master paint. I put 2 thin coats on, let it dry 24 hours (give or take an hour) between coats and before I applied the wash. Then I decided to apply a wash. I used Testors Flat Black as the wash. I thought I was OK since both were enamels. I used an OLD (vintage 1992) Testors Brush Cleaner (part #1156)as a thinner for the wash. Note- I used the bottle labelled "THIS PRODUCT NOT RECOMMENDED FOR AIRBRUSH USE".

Bottom line...the friggin' paint dissolved on my radio! I was able to clean the Model Masters paint paint off my "radio" and prepare for round 2 but I don't want to do it the stupid way again.

Please tell me where I went astray!

TIA

Jim

Hi Jim,

I think what went astray is because of the same media you are using for both painting and wash. I try to avoid doing it. or at least spray a gloss coat first to protect the paint.

If you are using enemal for paint try acrylic or oil wash, or the other way around.

HTH.

I'm with SS-74 on this. Try to seal the radio with a layer of acrylic (another option can be Future) befor applying a wash...
Ciao

If you're doing an enamel wash, do it on an acrylic base.
If you're doing an acrylic wash, do it on an enamel base !
That way, you won't dissolve the base !
If you want to use enamels all the way, apply a coat of future, or another acrylic clear coat, to seal the base.

Ola People

I like to chip in here in this conversation. I have heard many people having problems with doing an enamel wash on an enamel base and that the paint starts to warp or doing even scarier things. I personally never encountered problems with this in one or another strange way and I paint with enamels for years now. and almost exclusively enamels as I use mostly acrylics for figs. Hereby I have to say that I have never used modelmasters/revell/humbrol/tamyia/gunze thinner (I didn`t even knew they sold it) and I don`t know how strong or agressive that is. But as long as I model I have always used or ordinary turpentine or ordinary thinner bought at the DIY shop. Now I have different ways of washing and filtering. I have washes that are mixed with a consistency of 70% thinner/thurpentine and 30 % paint respectively I also have 80/20 and 90/10 mixture. and always enamel wich I always apply on a enamel surface that is fully cured, be it airbrushed be it handpainted. and I never had probs with my paint warping. Sometimes I whipe of some wash with a piece of tissue sometimes I leave it on to let it dry up completely and to leave a stained spot.
With filters I use my enamel more like waterpaint. I put some small amounts of paint on a palette and I soak my brush in turpentine and I dilute the enamel on the palette here are not really guidelines for and I also can`t give you percentages of how it gets mixed that way. Apply this diluted paint in small amounts in vertical streaks on your vehicle. Make sure that they run from top to bottom. Next thing you do when you have set some streaks is take a dry brush and stroke over de streaks in the same direction. hereby you strike the very thinned paint out over a bigger area and here I also never have encountered any problems with my paintjob.

So in my opinion you can do enamel washes over an enamel surface but make sure it`s really cured and maybe my thinners/thurpentine reacts on another (less agressive) way with the base I don`t know just wanted to share my experience here

Thanks to all for the info. As always this is THE source for answers!

Jim