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Nail polish for paint??

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Post by A5h Sat 17 Jan 2015, 8:17 pm

Howdy model building gods.

Now I know you can use it but how??

Do you use the brush supplied and paint it as fast as you can so it doesnt cure before you painted it all, mix with acetone or something and thin it for airbrush use, or grab the biggest sable brush you can find and do a 1 wipe per panel until its complete?

Cheers guru's
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Post by beowulf Sat 17 Jan 2015, 8:28 pm

i shall leave this to one of the experts....always wanted to do it but never have

now you will know why you have kept those cheapo air brushes....ideal for this Nail polish for paint?? 1705482731
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Post by Skid Sat 17 Jan 2015, 10:05 pm

Thin it and airbrush it Ash. That's what I'm led to believe.

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Post by Guest Sat 17 Jan 2015, 10:15 pm

I've used nail polish remover to thin nail varnish before,  not to airbrush but to get a translucent effect for stain glass windows on a church model.
I would imagine it'd go through an airbrush easy enough though,  I suppose any acetone thinner would work,  unless,  of course,  the varnish is acrylic and then distilled water would do coz there'd be enough "carrier" in the varnish anyway and it wouldn't dry in the air before it got to the model surface.

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Post by A5h Sat 17 Jan 2015, 10:33 pm

I got lots of nail polish for nowt earlier.. It was a gift not an alter ego thing.

My AB is not in use for a good few months but my cheapo revell merc may bare the brunt of a nail varnish experiment in the very near future...

Will post pics and findings on here should anyone be interested ?
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Post by beowulf Sat 17 Jan 2015, 10:44 pm

A5h wrote: It was a gift not an alter ego thing.




so we cant call you Mary at the weekends? Nail polish for paint?? 2704104872
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Post by harron68 Sat 17 Jan 2015, 10:51 pm

I haven't used the nail polish (varnish) but there are good videos on You Tube, with advice on thinning, air pressure, etc. Here's a link to the google search on Y.T. https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=MODEL+CARS+AND+NAIL+POLISH
If I remember the tutorial I saw, always test first with a primer on first and dry, then the nail polish. Test on a cheapo plastic spoon. Results can vary and mixing different brands has a risk, as does using older polish, which may have particles or globs formed in it. When it works results can be eye popping.

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Post by GaryDainton Sun 18 Jan 2015, 9:48 am

Ill look forward to the results Ash, the range of colours available is incredible.
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Post by dublin boy Sun 18 Jan 2015, 3:10 pm

I've thinned it 50/50 with cellulose thinners Ash, don't even try to brush that stuff on though.

Give it a good coat of primer first.

John J should be able to give more info, I think lacquer thinner is 'American' for cellulose thinner in case anyone mentions it. Available in any hardware shop.
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Post by beowulf Sun 18 Jan 2015, 3:29 pm

wasnt it someone like Angelo that came up with the ratio of one bottle of nail varnish and same amount of thinner = right consistancy to go thro an airbrush?
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Post by Guest Sun 18 Jan 2015, 5:21 pm

Paul was right.  I picked up the idea of using nail polish as paint from Angelo.  I think he was one of the first here at Skid's Place to use it.

There is no real mystery to using nail polish as paint.  Polish is, after all, a high grade lacquer.  It is thick and requires heavy thinning to make it suitable for use in an airbrush.  I get my nail polish from one of the local Dollar Stores.  

Nail polish for paint?? 00214

My local Dollar Store carries two different brands of polish.  They come in a wide variety of colors.  The bottle of blue on the right contains a glitter.  I learned early on to stay away from this.  The glitter is too large for scale and wastes no time in clogging the airbrush.  The rest of the colors when thinned spray without problems.  The nicest thing is that a bottle of polish only costs $1.00 US.  

I thin the polish with lacquer thinner from one of the big box stores.

Nail polish for paint?? 00122

The ratio will vary from brand to brand, but I have found that the two brands I get at the Dollar Store need a 1:1 ratio of polish to thinner.  This gives me a mixture that is about the consistency of 2% milk--sound familiar??  I have used other brands of polish and have had to use either more or less thinner to get the proper consistency.  You just have to experiment.  

Once the polish has been thinned I spray it through an airbrush starting at about 30psi.  I may have to either raise or lower the air pressure.  Again, this is a matter of experimentation.

After prepping the parts of the model I spray two coats of primer.  I personally like Tamiya primer in either light gray or white.  I spray it directly from the rattle can.  After the primer has thoroughly dried I spray multiple coats of the thinned nail polish through the AB.  It usually takes me three coats of polish to completely cover the model.  I allow each coat to completely dry before spraying the next coat.  I have never had any type of reaction to the polish, but I would recommend that you test the polish before spraying it on to the contest winner just in case. Nail polish for paint?? 3331969777

Keep in mind that nail polish does not have a sheen to it when sprayed from an AB.  It will lay out matt or satin and will require a clear coat to have any gloss.  

Here are a couple of examples of cars I have painted with nail polish.

Nail polish for paint?? 00315

Nail polish for paint?? 00316

I think if you give it a try you will definitely like spraying with nail polish.  It goes on thin and level and you almost have to deliberately over spray in order to get a run or sag in the paint.  I know I am surely sold on nail polish due to the cost and the large, large choice of colors available.  I hope this is helpful.  I'm no expert, but this has worked for me.  Good luck with your experimentation.

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Post by A5h Sun 18 Jan 2015, 6:38 pm

See this is why I love this site, someone in here knows the answers to every question asked!!

Thanks Mr J for your knowledge on the subject and all the chaps who commented, I appreciate it very very much.

Nail polish for paint?? 1705482731
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Post by VirusX Sun 18 Jan 2015, 7:17 pm

Great explanation, John.

A few things that I have learned along the way is that always use a heavy duty primer, such as Dupli-Color. Chemically speaking, the nail polish and thinner as very harsh so you will need a primer that can hold against it. Otherwise the nail polish will eat away at the styrene.
Also, because the nail polish has to be thinned so much, this creates a solution that dries very quickly when shot through an airbrush. Try experimenting with higher air pressures as well as shooting your airbrush a little closer than you normally would to the model you're painting. This will help keep the nail polish from drying before it hits the model.
Thirdly, if you can, buy two bottles of which ever color you choose to paint your model. Sometimes you can mess up your thinning, or you can go through it faster than you may think. So it is always good to have some extra, just in case!

There are countless numbers of shades and styles of nail polish out there. Dollar stores will also have some selection at a cheap price. If you can handle the odd looks from the ladies in the cosmetics department, then you are good to go!

Heck, for the past two Christmases, I have been getting Nail polish from my wife and my father in Law as gifts!
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Post by Guest Sun 18 Jan 2015, 8:07 pm

Dan:  I agree that an exceptional coating of primer is necessary when using nail polish.  So far though I have had no problem using Tamiya primers.  I don't care for the automotive primers because I spray everything through my spray booth and I get toooooooooooo much volume out of the larger rattle cans.  

I also agree that one might want to use a pressure either greater than or less than 30psi.  I use that as a starting point and will adjust up or down as necessary.  The same holds true for distance.  If you aren't careful and get too far away you can end up with a color coat that looks and feels like sandpaper.  

Buying extra polish is an excellent recommendation.  I have a model sitting back in the box because I ran out of paint and couldn't find anymore.  I now make sure I have extra polish.  Saving a dollar or two just isn't worth the risk of having a project go belly up.

I have to admit you do occasionally get some odd looks at the store.  It's usually from another customer though.  I just look at them and say something to the effect of "it's so great when they have my shade!"  Nail polish for paint?? 524092055 Nail polish for paint?? 524092055 Nail polish for paint?? 524092055

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Post by harron68 Mon 19 Jan 2015, 12:51 am

Sounds like great advice from what I've read and seen.  I know some glitter polish is pretty fine and if one has multiple size nozzles for an airbrush I would guess it can work.  If we can spray paint with glitter from an aerosol can, at least for some glitter polish it could work.
  One question, would one need a clear nail polish or what to get a high gloss look?  Would spraying any of the acrylic floor waxes, like Future (thinned with ammonia based window cleaner) work??

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Post by Guest Mon 19 Jan 2015, 1:25 am

You guys really have this covered. I do it all the same except the primer. I use Plasti-Kote T-235 Sandable primer. It has a very fine pigment and will not hide the detail of emblems and the such. They also make it in a White primer but I am not sure of the number. The T-235 is a very light shade of Grey. Never had a bad reaction with it at all.

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Post by VirusX Fri 23 Jan 2015, 2:48 am

John, You make a good point about the automotive primer. It is a bit of a high flow nozzle resulting in a LOT of overspray. But unfortunately the closest store that sells Tamiya (or any modelling supplies) is 300 kms away, so its all I can use.

Harron68: As for using clear nail polish, I would say it would be redundant. It would likely turn out with a dull finish like the the colored nail polish will. Your best bet is to use a spray can of clear (krylon, etc.) or use a bottled version and shoot it through your airbrush. I have decanted Krylon Klear before and shot it unthinned through my airbrush. It turned out pretty well.
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Post by Guest Fri 23 Jan 2015, 4:09 am

Harron---Sorry, I missed your question before. I agree with Dan that clear polish would probably turn out as a satin or flat. I've never tried it though so can't be sure. I do know though that Model Masters rattle can clear works fine over polish.

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Post by harron68 Fri 23 Jan 2015, 12:34 pm

If the nail polish is thoroughly dry, probably most brands of clear would work. I figure a test coating on plastic spoon (the spoon test!) would be wise, thanx!

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Post by hotrodmax Sun 15 Feb 2015, 1:34 am

I have also used Tamiya acrylic thinner to thin nail polish with excellent results.
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Post by harron68 Sun 15 Feb 2015, 1:46 am

Good nail polish vids on you tube too. I like the idea of just-enough-paint for each model and the relatively low price is a bonus!

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