Small Scale Military Headquarters

I recently purchased (2) cans of white Tamiya spray paint in September.
Both cans performed poorly. They didn't coat properly, and seemed very watery.
I have never had a problem with any of their other spray paints and have had excellent results.

I contacted Tamiya's Customer Service to express my disappointment.

The response I received was not what I expected.
Basically, they suggested that I wasn't using the paints properly.
Yet, they mentioned that their product has been off the market because of "new and revised labeling".
If you ask me, any product that has been off the market for a period of time is usually because of poor quality control.

That being said, I think I am going to start using Testor Model Master paints.

I have a few questions. Just wanting to understand as much as possible since I use Tamiya sprays. Wanting to evaluate my spraying conditions with yours if you don't mind

Were these spray cans ever sprayed once before or was this the first time they were sprayed?

What was the climate of the place where you were painting? warm, cold, humid, dry?

What exactly were you spraying on? plastic model? Was there already some other paint on before spraying?


Thanks RAD!!

Were these spray cans ever sprayed once before or was this the first time they were sprayed?

The cans were brand new and shook vigorously before use.

What was the climate of the place where you were painting? warm, cold, humid, dry?

~70 degrees, dry

What exactly were you spraying on? plastic model? Was there already some other paint on before spraying?

I was spraying a new plastic model that had never been painted on before.

Yep. Those are serious manufacturer defects. Those were perfect spraying conditions. I wonder if moisture was trapped inside the cans at the factory and QA missed them....Tamiya should better the customer service over this and reimburse you with new cans..

Black Lion VF-213 wrote:Yep. Those are serious manufacturer defects. Those were perfect spraying conditions. I wonder if moisture was trapped inside the cans at the factory and QA missed them....Tamiya should better the customer service over this and reimburse you with new cans..

Bingo!

With the near impossible mission of finding Tamiya paints here in the US this past year; about 2 months ago I bought 5 cans of the Fine Surface Primer (Light Gray) from a hobby seller in China. I have always used this primer with abosolutly NO problems in the past.
The first of the factory sealed new cans I used was less than wonderful. I used it on clean plastic (warm water cleaned to boot), it was shaken very well and was sprayed indoors at room temperature. It went on very runny and it also did that thing where spots of black seem to pool together in low spots. (like it's coming unmixed) It was a very quick and light spray coat, so it wasn't like there was alot of paint on the parts. I am getting worried that whatever they had to change in order to meet the new US regulations may have damaged the quality of Tamiya paint.

It very well could be that the so called labeling issues are merely a ruse for a serious problem with their formula. I definitely wouldn't rule out new US regs either. Geez can't these busybody morons find something better to do than screw with everything! Tamiya paints are no more dangerous than Testor sprays, all the new customs regs going into effect are pointless and ignorant imo. These people need to study contraception methods instead to insure no others like themselves pollute the country with their type of ignorance & stupidity. Just my opinion mind you.

Will definitely suck if Tamiya sprays continue to be of poor quality, they make so many colors that no one else does in a rattle can plus I absolutely hate enamel sprays.

I use Krylon flat white and flat back for my base coats. I buy them at Walmart and the bigger cans are a lot cheaper then Tamiya and they work just as well.

Sorry to hear of your problems with the Tamiya sprays.

I don't know what availability is like for you guys but if you need another alternative, the Games Workshop black or white primers are very good. I either use theirs or standard automotive primers in grey or black matt.

All the best.
Sam