1. Any suggestions on how to work with Enamel Paint thinner and not end up with a massive skull crushing headache?

2. Also, I heard lighter fluid can be used as an enamel brush cleaner?

3. And is it true that you can use future floor polish to dilute and thin enamel paints as well [not just acrylics]?

4. The silver and gold went on great and dried quickly. Red feels a tiny bit tacky still [coated at 2pm and it's 12 hours later nearly]. Anything I can do to make it less tacky, or shall I just keep waiting?

5. Finally... how often can I add a layer of paint? I'm giving it 24 hours at the moment between coats, but not sure if I can give it more coats faster.

I'm using a brush, no airbrush. Have a somewhat limited amount of paint thinner at the moment, kinda need more. Any suggestions would be welcome

 

What enamels are you using, it would be easier to answer if I knew.
PLASTIKOTE (Plasticoat in some places) generally doesn't need thinning down and can be recoated in an hour, sometimes less.

Spray enamels usually take 12 to 24 hours to harden fully, but can be recoated after an hour or so, once its tacky.

humbrol and similar brands can be recoated in less than 20 minutes during summer where I live when the oils evaporate quickly.

I've not thinned down enamels recently as I go for hobby craft specific brands and usually sand rub zones on figures. But years ago I used radiator enamels and tile paints etc, for their durability and finish. I used to use paint thinners/white spirits to get the desired paint texture, usually 30 to 70 ratio (30 being the thinners), but the method I used is to just add a little and test on junk plastics, eventually I found a ratio I could work with.

 

I'm using testors model masters enamels. It took 24 hours for the red to stop being tacky and feels solid now.

 

1. It's why I had to stop using enamels and switch to acrylics. For years, I was fine. But then--it just got worse and worse, couldn't stand enamels. I only very rarely use enamels nowadays.

4. Glossy enamel can take forever and a day to dry. I once had a model space shuttle that took literally YEARS to totally dry. (not months, YEARS). Matte paints always dry faster than gloss.

 

Have you tried the tutorials section? Even a simple search in the GD or Tuts section would give you lots of info.

Here's a link to the last guy that was asking....
http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/creat...uestions-aspiring-kitbasher.html#post10897876

 

Thanks guys. Also I would highly suggest buying a $30 respirator from home depot/lowes/amazon to filter out the fumes, it helps so much!