Without Ruining Your Model?

Transcript*

Skit

[applause] Thank [cheering] you. Thank you. [applause]

What’s the deal with panel line washes? I mean, acrylic paint is king. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but every panel wash you see out there is enamel. And the so-called experts tell us that enamel paint and acrylic paint do not mingle. So then how does one put an enamel wash on top of acrylic paint?

Intro

In today’s video, I’m going to show you just how to do that.

Hello all. This is David from Loisirs vers le soleil and yes indeed I will be showing you how to properly apply enamel wash on top of acrylic paint. Now you’ve probably heard from many scale modelers, including myself, that you should never put enamel or lacquer paint on top of acrylics. But hey, sometimes rules are meant to be broken. like signalling when driving. It’s nobody’s business which lane you’re going into. I’ve got the top half of an SR71. And throughout this video, I’m going to explain my process and show you how to make sure that your enamel panel wash does not damage the acrylic paint underneath it.

Prep Work

Let’s get to it. Now, because I didn’t want to camp out at the store for 2 days waiting for things to dry, I went ahead and did all the prep work. So, I’ll explain to you what I did. First, for this large portion of the model, I airbrushed it with Vallejo Model Air. And then, what I also did was split this model in two. So for this side I clear coated it in Alclad Aqua Gloss and this half I clear coated in AK Ultra Matte Varnish. And I’ll explain to you why I did this.

Gloss Coat

When applying a clear coat, ideally you want to use a gloss coat as gloss will give the model a smoother surface. and the panel line will not be inhibited by any texture. Whereas with matte varnishes, you will get some texture to it. And in the upcoming demonstration, I will show you how each gloss coat reacts. Now, when I applied the gloss coats, I used an airbrush. Ideally, you’d want to use one with uh a needle size no smaller than 0.3. Or if you don’t airbrush, you can use spray cans like Vernis brillant Vallejo or Vallejo Gloss Varnish.

Acrylic vs Enamel Wash

The prime test subject I’ll be using for this video is Tamiya Panel Line Accent Color. This one in black. But I also wanted to show you some acrylic wash just to demonstrate how different each of these will be. I mean cuz if you are really that scared to use enamel over acrylic then you can always just use an acrylic wash. So before I put this on, I just wanted to enamel panel washes, the liquid pigment tends to settle at the bottom if the bottle’s been sitting around for a while. So to uh reactivate it, get things flowing, you could always shake it.

You could also take like a toothpick or a paint stirrer and just hand stir it. But what I like to do is take a battery operated paint mixer like this one from Master Tools. And this will thoroughly mix it. Now, once you’ve done this, the sediment kind of floats around for I’d say half an hour at the most. So, every now and then you’ll want to uh do this over again just to make sure that uh everything’s flowing nicely.

Tamiya Black Panel Liner Application

So, we’re going to get started now. Get up nice and close so you can see. So, there’s some nice recessed lines all along this wing tip. I will use that as my example. So, the most ideal way to apply an enamel wash, uh, also worth pointing out that Tamiya gives you this nice little brush applicator attached to the cap. Anyway, you want to take a tiny bit of wash and just gently dip it onto each panel line. And as you can see, with capillary action, the panel line just honestly fills itself. And this is what the gloss coat did. Now, if I flip this around and show you the matte side of this model, as you can see, the panel wash is kind of smearing all over the place because the surface is not as smooth as the gloss side. And using this very dainty technique, it’ll minimize how much excess panel wash you’ll have to clean later on.

Vallejo Acrylic Wash FX Dark Grey Application

And now I’d just like to quickly show you some acrylic wash. This is a Vallejo’s Wash FX Dark Grey. Acrylic washes tend to be less potent than enamel. They might require a few coats, but uh if what you’re working on you want more subtle uh of a wash, then acrylic is just fine. But again, I will show you the difference. This one I’ll just shake up. It’s also very foamy. And you’re gonna because this one does not have a brush applicator with it, you’re going to want to take a very precise tipped brush and dip that in. So, as you can see, it doesn’t even run as good either.

And this is why most people prefer enamel washes. All right, I’ve had enough of that. I’m not even going to bother applying the acrylic wash on the matte side as it’s probably going to be even worse. So, I’m going to give these some time to dry. Uh, maybe about half an hour. And then when I come back, I will show you how to safely remove the excess mess. It’s been half an hour. So, now we’re ready to take the excess wash off.

Removing Excess Wash – Tamiya Enamel

So, for Tamiya’s panel line accent color, we’re going to want some enamel thinner. This is Tamiya’s. Obviously, you can use this. You can use White Spirit. They’re both exactly the same. And you’re going to want some cotton swabs. This is Tamiya’s uh small size one, I believe. Uh just dip it into the enamel thinner. Now, you don’t want the thing dripping. So, take a paper towel and just gently wipe off uh any uh excess thinner. I don’t know. Now, this part is important. You’re going to want to take your cotton swab and very, very gently rub it off. And it’s best to go parallel to the uh panel lines. I mean, you don’t want to dig in and take out the wash you just put there.

You’re just trying to remove any mess that you may have made. And because we use gloss varnish on this side, the excess comes off very easily. Whereas with the other side, which had matte varnish, this will likely be not as easy. as as you can see, it’s already kind of staining the whole surface of the model. Uh, one other thing worth noting about enamel wash is uh it does obviously stain more than acrylic wash. So depending on how light your paint is or how dark your wash is, uh even if you do clean it up nicely, it may still leave some staining, which if you’re building a model that you want to look very dirty and old, then that’s fine if that’s what you want.

Removing Excess Wash – Vallejo Acrylic

And as for the acrylic wash, you can just dip your cotton swab in some plain old water and do the same thing.

David’s Conclusion

So, there’s not much to it really. As long as you follow the steps correctly and have a gentle hand, you can indeed use enamel wash on top of acrylic paint. In conclusion, if I could break that rule, maybe I can mix acrylic paint with lacquer thinner.

Let’s try it out. It didn’t work. But you can indeed use enamel washes over acrylic paint. And Tamiya aren’t the only ones who make enamel washes. Uh AK VMS each have their own enamel wash lines. All of which can be found at Loisirs vers le soleil in store or online. And feel free to let us know in the comments what your preferred enamel wash is. So, thank you very much for watching this video.

Remember to like, comment, subscribe, follow us on our socials, and until the next one, adios.

About the Author:

David Peckam has built scale models since he was 12, specializing largely on military aircraft. He is a makeup artist and background actor for films and TV. He enjoys watching hockey and of course, movies. He has an excellent knowledge of hobby products and if you have questions concerning scale model airplanes.

*Video by David Peckham
Video Edited by Daniela Castellano
Transcript generated by youtube
Edited by Angelo Castellano