Detail painting with craft acrylics

[atomicholiday]

Hey guys, I’m looking for any tips you have when using craft acrylic paints for brush painting details.  Whether using it as a wash or just painting small parts/details.  I’m just starting to use this stuff and so far I’m not impressed, but I see others getting some results.  I’m assuming there must be a bit of a learning curve?

Here’s one example I could use some help on.  I just did the grill on this Porsche.  While it looks ok from straight on, it looks a little jagged when viewed from an angle.  I thinned it with distilled water, filled the area, let it start to set up for a minute or two, and then used a moist cotton swab and paper towel to clean the excess.  Is that correct?  How can I get rid of that jagged look?

This is just one example, but I’ll take any advice you have for using craft acrylic paints for details.

[av405]

Last year I used black craft paint from Dollar Tree to paint the grill on a Dodge Ram project. It was heavily diluted with water and laid down very nicely. I used gravity and some thin q-tips to clean the edges. In my experience, cheap craft paint is good for non-flat surfaces like the grill.

For flatter surfaces, I prefer using Vallejo black. It lays down very smooth and is very easy to clean up.  Best of all, it doesn't have to be diluted. Here are the vents on one of my white cars:

[Skip]

I’ve used craft acrylics in the past, but have since switched to Vallejo acrylics. You get what you pay for with craft acrylics, the cheaper brands are cheaper because they use less pigment in them so it often takes a coat or two to get good coverage. The Vallejo glossy and matte black cover with one coat, the brush marks almost always lay down for a smooth finish. I never got that with craft paints.

[bluestringer]

I also use Vallejo for detail painting, especially the blacks. It's more expensive than the craft stuff but for detailing it goes a long way.

[kymdlr]

I used to use tamiya acrylics exclusively. Now I use cheap acrylics like apple barrel and folk art all the time and have great results with it. Some of the colors require multiple coats if you are hand brushing them on, others like matte black or darker colors don’t take multiple. If hand brushing, I’ll wet the brush with a little water first , it helps the brush flow better. I’ve been airbrushing them and had great results after thinning. For example- the folk art matte colors I’ll eyeball tamiya acrylic thinner until it’s the right consistency to spray and it shoots fine. With apple barrel I’ve used windex to thin it because the tamiya thinner just made it clumpy and non-sprayable.

Edited October 15, 2023 by kymdlr

[Bugatti Fan]

The craft paint market is totally different to model makers. Depends on whether hand of spray painting BUT priming is essential when doing either.

There are many cheap own brand store acrylics out there aimed at children, students and crafters. However, serious artists will use products from well established makers like Winsor&Newton, Rowney, Liquitex and Reeves to name the most well known.

Recently I have been using Revell Aquacolour that I have found to be excellent acrylic paints for brush painting, with a large colour range and designed for modellers, although fine artists could use them for their work also. Diluted they can be used for air brushing too.

There are many beginner books available from art suppliers about the various qualities and uses of acrylics that will be an invaluable reference to the newcomer using these paints, but being aimed at artists so most of them do not generally go into the use of acrylics through air brushes.

 

Edited October 16, 2023 by Bugatti Fan