-----Original Message-----

Great if Star carries one of the paints you want, but a brief look at their website

the line is fairly limited.



SGL
La vita e breve, mangiate prima il dolce!

Your information on polishing that you got from MR Webster is correct. In the Jewerlly business, the machine shop and mold making "to polish means to remove blemishes, scratches and to smooth. I usually start with a 1000 grit emory cloth/paper. Work my way up to about 5000 grit then switch to a polishing compound . . .

Hi Tony, Perhaps I'm too simple a soul who believes words actually mean what they are
supposed to mean. My Webster's defines polishing as "to make smooth and glossy usually
by friction"

Don Smith wrote:

Your suggestion seems directionally incorrect. Typically one roughens
a surface to improve paint adhesion rather than polishing it.

Don, you're taking the word "polish" too literally. Any polish,
with whatever grit, actually scratches the surface as it removes
material. As you use finer and finer grit, the scratches just get
successively smaller, until they are too small to see (then we say the
surface is "polished"). But in this case, an initially smooth surface
of the resin casting is naturally scratched by the "polish," providing
the desired "tooth."

Anthony Thompson
Dept. of Materials Science & Engineering
University of California, Berkeley
thompsonmarytony@...

For what it is worth, I have found the Accupaints to be some of the
most forgiving of the fine model paints (ranking right up with
Scalecoat), with similar coverage characteristics. My understanding
is that its "primer" is no more or no less than just another paint
with no special "priming" characteristics that would enhance
adhesion, fill grain, etc. That said, I do use the the AP primer
exclusively when a neutral undercoat is required- because it covers
so well.

The downside of all Accupaints is that the average modeler can be
completely assured that whatever color that he needs today, tomorrow,
or any specific future date will, in fact, not be available- and
there will be no information as to when it might be!

.Denny
--
Denny S. Anspach, MD
5603 Lakeshore Drive
Okoboji, IA 51355
712-332-2914

One technique I haven't seen mentioned lately is polishing the
body to add 'tooth' for paint adhesion rather than using a paint
type primer.

Your suggestion seems directionally incorrect. Typically one roughens a surface to improve paint adhesion rather than polishing it.

Greetings,

One technique I haven't seen mentioned lately is polishing the
body to add 'tooth' for paint adhesion rather than using a paint
type primer. > Michael

For what it is worth, I have found the Accupaints to be some of the
most forgiving of the fine model paints (ranking right up with
Scalecoat), with similar coverage characteristics. My understanding
is that its "primer" is no more or no less than just another paint
with no special "priming" characteristics that would enhance
adhesion, fill grain, etc. That said, I do use the the AP primer
exclusively when a neutral undercoat is required- because it covers
so well.

Who is Greg Conrad? Accupaint is not an acrylic paint, it's a

Greg Martin's advice sounds good for most acrylic paints, but not

AP can be diluted with lacquer thinner, but why would you want to?

if you wanted to slow down the evaporation of the thinner, so it

time to attack the styrene model, then by all means use lacquer

Accupaint's own thinner is highly volatile and evaporates in a few

which is why the stuff dries so fast. Acetone is not terribly

it's no worse than Accupaint's own formula of MEK, alcohols, and

but I think using Acetone alone the paint may not flow as well and

dry as fast. Accupaint and Star paints are highly water-absorbent --

you spray in a humid climate or a dry climate, the results may

a bit. The MEK by the way helps Accupaint to adhere strongly to

which is why it is so wonderful for styrene. It can be sprayed

brass, but it's not going to stay there if the model is handled.

primer on brass, and I use a primer on resin too when using

(Otherwise I've had variable results with resin.)

And yes, Star and Accupaint are the same product, from different

I'm sure that's been mentioned one or two hundred times here...

Tim O'Connor

-------------- Original message ----------------------
From: tgregmrtn@...

Oh MY GOSH...



I would not use any synthetic thinner on ACCUPAINT least of all

(dangerous stuff). From past conversations with Greg Conrad

product it was a very pure form of Acrylic. Jim Six once boasted

lacquer thinner with this paint and I had a conversation with

Jim's statements and he stated that it SHOULD never have done

conjeal. We have had the discussion regarding using something

manufacturers thinners wiuth paints and I have always believed,

wheel??

One recommendation he displayed at the 1994 NMRA convention in

paint the item and use a hairdrier to "shrink" the finish and it

fit. SAWEET paint if you could keep the shelf life (I converted

plastic bottles to glass) long enough to use it up.



I have had very good results in the past with this now not

distilled water and a couple of drops of Ammonia (which slows the

that was before they made a specific thinner. I always used a

Badger airbrush for Acrylics.



Greg Martin


-----Original Message-----
From: pierreoliver2003 <pierre.oliver@...>
To: STMFC@...
Sent: Fri, 27 Jul 2007 4:10 am
Subject: [STMFC] Re: accupaint primer


I've used Accupaint some and have success using acetone as a

I've been told that it's more of an ink than a paint so it

colours in the Accucal decal line. I've not used it on brass so

comment on it's durability in that regard but on styrene it

Pierre Oliver

On Jul 27, 2007, at 2:27 PM, Don Smith rgs0554 wrote:

--- In STMFC@..., tgregmrtn@ wrote:
>
> Oh MY GOSH...
>
> I would not use any synthetic thinner on ACCUPAINT least of all
Acetone (dangerous stuff).

Hi Greg, If you should happen to read the label on a pint of
Accupaint thinner you would
learn it contains Acetone, Methylethyl Ketone, Propyl Alcohol,
Diacetone Alcohol. It currently
costs $15.95 a pint at Walthers. That's $127.50/gallon! Thats kinda
expensive air brush
cleaner. Acetone, a component of AP at $14/gal works fine as an air
brush cleaner.

Sure, Don, as an airbrush cleaner. I use acetone or lacquer thinner,
too, for that purpose; it works well on every paint I've ever run
through the airbrush and is readily available at a relatively
reasonable price. But that's a whole different matter from thinning
Accupaint with it (or any other kind of paint, for that matter). The
amount of thinner we use to reduce paint for airbrushing is small, and
using anything but the paint manufacturer's own thinner is just asking
for trouble.

Richard Hendrickson