Does Pactra Acryl need to be thinned before shooting?

[Greywolf74]

Ok so I've been researching faskolor and pactra acryl and I've discovered that they are both about the same price. However the Pactra Acryl is only a 1oz bottle and faskolor is 2oz bottle. Is this just because Pactra Acryl is twice as expensive or does it need to be thinned out making it more comparable to the 2oz bottles of faskolor that I read dont require thinning.

 

[Lessen]

I don't think it's necessary to thin it, but I've only used it here and there. The only Acryl that I used somewhat regularly is the smoke and I do not thin it.

 

[Lessen]

Not all painters paint the same. I've been doing some reading on RCTech's painting board and some of the good painters over there thin a lot more than I have been. I read yesterday that some some reputable guys are doing 50% (1/2 the amount of thinner as paint which is actually a 2:1 ratio or 33% thinner) AND guys are using acetone to thin instead of laquer thinner (for laquers) because of the way it etches the lexan. That's pretty smart actually. I used to thin 2:1 but got away from it because I felt it was inhibiting the bonding process too much, but I wasn't using acetone either. You have to keep in mind that the more you thin the more transparent your paint becomes. That will lead to more coats to get coverage. Anymore I only thin enough to not get cobwebs when I spray and I'm having great results. My newest Challenger has taken a number of hits to the right front but very little paint loss.

 

[Greywolf74]

What brand of acrylic paint did you use on the charger bro? Also are you finding you have to spray at higher PSI since your not thinning it? I was asking the painter guy at one of my LHSs and he only uses lacquers so he was looking up on great plains vendor website for info on Faskolor and Pactra Acryl and their vendor website says to shot faskolor unthinned at 40-70 PSI with a medium tip.....that sounds awfully high PSI to me but everything I've been told to this point that most guys shoot between 15-25 PSI but then again most, if not all, of those coversations were usually about lacquers. Also it seems like detail work would be harder with a medium tip. I ordered two airbrushes.....one has a .5mm tip and one is .3mm. Is a .5 considered a medium tip?

I'm really having mixed feelings about whether to shoot acrylics or lacquers. I can't shoot lacquers indoors in the winter because living in an apartment I dont like to leave my spraybooth running any longer than to shoot it and if I shoot lacquers and then turn off the booth the the room quickly fills with fumes from the paint on the body. I could however just make it a practice of only painting during the warm months and that way I can spray it in my booth and take the body out on the porch to dry. It seems like acrylics may work but dont perform as well or maybe harder to work with? IDK

 

[Lessen]

That charger is painted with laquer, but Fascolor, createx or Pactra Acryl will bond just as well is properly prepped and applied. I would agree that Fascolor probably needs at least 45psi to atomize well but I simply won't recommend Fascolor because I generally don't care for it very much. Pactra Acryl is a far superior water based paint and sprays much better (it is not as viscous).

 

[Greywolf74]

Ok so it sounds like I need to use pactra acryl and thin it 50% with acetone. I guess theres a reason was faskolor is half the price. You mentioned something else about properly preping it for pactra acryl. What else needs to be done to prep it?

 

[Lessen]

Don't be confused. I never said anybody was thinning water based paints with acetone, only laquer paints.

When I say prep I'm referring to cleaning the body. Just wash with a little dishwashing detergent and dry. That's all you have to do. Some people suggest roughing up the interior of the body with light sandpaper IMO that is not necessary and honestly just a waste of time. The Challenger has had no interior treatment aside from a good wash/rinse in the kitchen sink and dried with a paper towel. The key to a good bond is a clean surface and proper paint application.

 

[Greywolf74]

Oh I see I misunderstood. I thought you were saying that people were thinning the acrylics with acetone instead of water to help them bond better. Most of the time when I can I only use my painted bodies as displays and I try (when available) to buy body a screened RTR body for bashing. So Its probably OK if the acrylics dont bond quite as well as the lacquers.

Thanks for all the input Lessen....I'm trying to wrap my head around everything as best as possible before I actually start so hopefully to minimized expensive lessons

 

[Lessen]

Don't be afraid of acrylics. They will bond just fine.