A Guide to Hobby Paint Types and Solvents

Palate, Pilate, Pallete

So, you’ve decided to finally get your hands dirty and paint a Gunpla kit. Now, you wonder what paint to use, and if you screw up, what solvent to use to strip the paint. Here’s a quick guide on Paint Solvents (which ultimately, determine the paint type) and their effect on plastic in general.

So, you’ve decided to finally get your hands dirty and paint a Gunpla kit. Now, you wonder what paint to use, and if you screw up, what solvent to use to strip the paint. Here’s a quick guide on Paint Solvents (which ultimately, determine the paint type) and their effect on plastic in general.

Paint types - Paints are categorized mainly under three types, and they are called as such because of the additive* in the paint.

• Acrylic - Acrylic paints are acrylic-resin pigment-type paints suspended in a polymer solution and is usually water-soluble. These paints become water-resistant when dry and are highly durable. Some Acrylic paints are alcohol-based. Depending on their formulation, water-based acrylics can be thinned with alcohol and vice-versa.
• Lacquer - The term lacquer originated from the lac insect with secretes resinous shellac, which were used in olden times to coat wood to protect them from the elements. Lacquer can also be drawn from the resinous sap of some trees. Lacquer paints are made by mixing pigments with lacquer, and is mostly alcohol-based.
• Enamel - Enamel paints are oil-based paints that usually dries with a certain gloss.

Base types - the base of a paint is the solvent use to suspend or dissolve it, as such, the base of a paint is also its thinner, or reducer. As such, there’s no such thing as acrylic-base paint.

• Water-based - Acrylics paints are mostly water-based, hence can be thinned or diluted with plain tap water, although distilled or filtered water works best, since those do not have particulates that paint tend to clump onto, which is what happens when paint clumps onto your brush.
• Alcohol-based - Some acrylics and lacquers are alcohol-based (or ketone-based), mostly plant distillates (ethyl). These types dry slightly faster than water-based paints, and often also water-soluble.
• Oil-based - Enamel bases are often oil or mineral spirits or combinations of it. Among these are turpentine, safflower and other plant-oils.

Solvents/Thinners/Strippers

• Water - The Universal Solvent. Some, if not most acrylic paints, especially the ones designed for hand painting, are actually water-based and can be diluted or thinned with plain tap water, but ideally, distilled or filtered water is better since tap water contain micro-particles that causes paint to clump, especially when hand-painted. It can’t strip paints, even water-based acrylics, and is very safe on all types of plastics.
• Denatured Alcohol - Used mainly in cosmetics and perfumery, Denatured Alcohol is general purpose and can be used for both thinning Acrylic paints for airbrushing or stripping most types of paint. Not to be confused with 70% rubbing alcohol (isopropyl, which is petroleum-based, or ethyl, which is plant-based), though certain paints can be thinned and stripped-off with rubbing alcohol. Alcohols are safe on all types of plastics. Denatured alcohol can be used for soak-stripping. Denatured alcohol is mostly ethanol (or ethyl alcohol at high concentration) with impurities mixed in to make it unfit for human consumption.
  There’s also denatured-alcohol available in hardware stores, but these are weaker and does not strip as well as the medical grade, which is 95-99% pure.
• 99% Isopropyl Alcohol. Used mainly in laboratories and hospitals for general disinfection, this alcohol is rather strong and can strip off most paint types, and also safe for soak-stripping.
• Acrylic Thinners - These type of thinners are alcohol-based (combined with other ketones) and can be used to thin and strip paint. Even though it’s alcohol-based, the other chemicals in certain acrylic thinners react to and can damage ABS plastics, making them brittle over time, so it’s not advisable to soak plastic parts for when stripping paint.
  You can make your own acrylic thinner using alcohol and 3 other chemicals.
• Lacquer Thinners - Lacquer thinners are usually made with ketones, like acetone, toluene and methanol (alcohol) and have close analog or compatibility with acrylic thinners which are also mostly made with alcohol.
• Enamel Thinners - Made with oil and mineral spirits, like turpentine (used on oil-canvas paintings). Enamel thinners are generally safe for most plastics, though like acrylic thinners, is not recommended for soak stripping.
• Paint Thinners - Hardware store paint thinners are used to thin industrial-type enamel paint (the ones used for painting houses and buildings). I have seen some people claiming to use these regular paint thinners to thin hobby-grade paints, but, it’s best you test it out yourself (will update if I ever do test this myself).
• Bleach. Bleach can be used for general cleaning (removing yellow stains on plastic) and stripping off chrome/gold plating, but not for thinning.
• Dot4 Brake Fluid. The strongest of all solvents on this list, brake fluid is not used for thinning, but it can strip off all types of paint from plastics completely, even chrome or gold plating. It can be washed with water, but, the main drawback is it’s highly toxic. Using gloves is recommended, and utmost care must be employed in handling and disposing it. As an advantage, Brake Fluid is reusable, and can be filtered through regular coffee filters. There are some brands of Dot3 brake fluid that can also strip off paint, and it’s not the same across the board.
• Acetone. Acetone can be used to strip off superglue remnants, but, is very harmful to plastics, especially polystyrene. Avoid at all costs.
• Hobby-Grade Paint Strippers. There have been at least a couple of hobby-grade paint thinners which supposedly can strip paint clean off parts without damaging the plastic. Though their formulation are being kept secret, these strippers are most probably made with denatured alcohol (or a form of high-percentage alcohol) and plastic safe-ketones.

Paint Coats and Layering

You can combine (as opposed to mix) paint types as you work with them in layers. Here’s a quick layering guide, courtesy of OtakuRevolution.

Simply put, whereas there are lacquer topcoats that can be safely used over acrylics and enamels so as long as they are spray paints or applied with an AB, there are certain lacquer topcoats with strong solvents that can eat through or affect acrylics and enamels especially when handbrushed. It’s best to test the paints and thinners you have on scraps.


*There's no such thing as acrylic-based (or acrylic base) paint. Acrylic is not a base, acrylics are pigments (polymer pigments to be exact), and the base (or vehicle) of acrylic paints is either alcohol or water. I know this, not because I have decades of experience in Gunpla, but, I did research, aside from having basic knowledge in chemistry and art in highschool and college.

Just because there are people selling paints used the term, it doesn't mean they are right. It is also highly possible that when someone said <acrylic base>, they actually meant that the first paint layer is acrylic paint.

Intellectual Property, Copyright and Infingement

"We do not own the images/video clips/soundtrack used. No infringement intended."

"CTTO: Credit to the owner."

I've seen these phrases quite often, mostly in Youtube videos by content creators* who, in their quest for producing their content, forget the root word of the word creator* which is quite ironic if you really think about it. Are they actually content creators if they are using content that they do not own? Of course, some bozo will just drop a hapless joke about the matter, for example, "even god copied Eve from Adam."

Just to disambiguate the above paragraph, content creation may not always be all about producing all original content. Of course, not everyone can really create all forms of content on their own, but, if one has to use content that is not theirs, one should take note about something a lot of people commit without knowing they are committing it.

Infringement. Specifically, copyright infringement, which is also something a lot of people take for granted until it happens to them. So, how do you know if you are infringing on someone else's (intellectual) property? Also, CTTO is a lazy and irresponsible attribution, and most often done by those who got caught infringing and as an attempt to save face, but a tad little too late. It's also done by people who don't want to bother with source tracing.

The short of it, if you don't have permission to use it, but use it anyway, you're already infringing. Putting a "no infringement intended" disclaimer does not negate the fact that you have used a certain material without permission.

The long of it is more complicated, as copyright and intellectual property remains an alien concept to certain people who do not accept it, mainly because they believe that if its out there, it's free game.

It's not. Whereas there are materials in the public domain that people can use freely without guilt (heck, there are those who do not really feel any guilt at all, but, that's a different matter), there are a lot of materials that are under certain copyright protocols for use.

Even Google has revised its search result parameters when one is searching for certain images. For example, when you Google "Gundam," then click on Images, once you click on a hit, it will preview the image on a side tab, now with a warning:

"Images may be subject to copyright" is not a suggestion

A lot of people ignore that statement, and only a few even bother clicking the Learn More link beside it, thinking, "oh well, I'm not gonna use it for profit, so, why bother?"

But, profit is not the start and end of it, so, let's see what those people missed (just in case you didn't bother clicking the link).

Fair use, yet another concept people misinterpret next to royalty-free. I shant discuss these two in length, but the gist of the matter is that these two terms, like "Gunpla is Freedom," do not mean what you think it means, so though I'll put a simple explanation, it's better to read up on them on your own.

Copyright is by virtue of creation. Seems vague, yes, but, the Truth points to itself**. This simply means that anything one creates is theirs at the moment it was made, provided of course it is covered on the list above.

If you use an image, video or audio clip you own, or produced yourself, you're all set. You do not have anything to worry about so as long as that image, video or audio clip do not have proprietary material in it. As such, you can post a selfie so as long as the selfie does not include anything in the background that can bite you on the ass later on. (Addendum: If you use a photo or an image of a person, and you took that photo without permission, or secured permission then after, aka, model release, then you may be liable with infringement).

If you use an image, video or audio clip you found while searching, and you like it so much you just have to use it, you will have to do one or two of these things, laziness notwithstanding, to see if:

• the material is in the Public Domain
• it's covered under Fair Use
  
• it's covered under Creative Commons License
• it requires attribution
  

The last part is the one I'm most particular about. I've seen a lot of people post images without regard of the images' source. Whereas this isn't really so much of an issue with memes or public domain images, it becomes a very sensitive issue when it comes to copyrighted work. Posting an image of a Gundam or Gunpla kit you want to purchase on your Facebook profile page is okay since the intent of use does not infringe, but, to claim that an image is yours, or ignore to attribute it, for example, a photo or illustration of a Gundam or Gunpla kit, whether for monetization or education purposes, then you are infringing on that person's copyright.

There are people who do not mind their work being shared, that's the point of sharing it after all, but it's an entirely different matter altogether when one misrepresents that image as theirs. This is what is known in the Interweb as photo-grabbing. Photo-grabbing is either infringement and/or plagiarism, as the case may be. It becomes worse when one alters the image, removing any detail that pertains to the image's ownership. That makes it an act of infringement (use without permission) and plagiarism, since the image has been altered to remove any indication of ownership.

Before the advent of the Internet and Social media, before the introduction of digital cameras and camphones, it's relatively easy to claim that a photo or image is yours since there is no massively-global way to verify it. This happens not only with images or photos, but music as well, but it's easier to check if a certain piece of music was plagiarized since there are a lot more people listening to a lot of different types of music (as with the case of Orange and Lemons' Pinoy Ako ripping off The Care's Chandelier). The Internet however, is a double-edged sword: it has made both verification and plagiarism rather easy, but, it has propagated the latter quite a lot more often, maybe because most people are inherently ignorant or just don't care about copyright.

Edit: Attributing copyrighted works is okay in most cases when you're just sharing the work concerned, but, when you plaster your product on top of a photo you do not own or have permission to use, especially in the context of commercial use, you are still very much infringing on that image's copyright, since your product has no connection whatsoever with the photo you do not have permission for. Common Sense is never common, as it were, so is Common Human Decency as the case may be.

It's very much the same with music or any creative work. Just to prove the point, I posted a video on Youtube recently and I used one of my own songs as soundtrack. I tried turning on its monetization, but I couldn't, saying that the track is licensed somewhere. I verified it later on with our distributor that they have the sole license to assign the monetization, but I do not have to worry since it's done to centralize the process.

There are certain artists, mainly independent songwriters, bands and musicians who don't mind their material being pirated shared (as opposed to plagiarized or infringed), mainly because it gives them mileage. That is more the exception than the rule, and in most cases, changes as soon as they start making mainstream money.

As a very-related aside, you can claim that the marinated chicken you are peddling tastes like Jollibee, but, you shouldn't use the Jollibee brand anywhere, on your post, and especially your packaging. Doing so infringes on Jollibee's trademark.

Blatant misappropriation of branding / trademark infringement

The long and short of it, do not use an image, video or audio if you do not own it, but, if you really, really just have to, make sure you credit the source material and/or ask for permission from the author or owner. Additionally, most anything pinned on Pinterest has been very difficult to source-trace the ownership because of those people's habit of pinning things they like but do not own and do not bother to attribute. It has become difficult to source-trace certain images in Google as well since it mostly points back to Pinterest.

Lastly, here's another very good example of blatant copyright infringement, 

... the image of which is the cover image of Falldog's Gunpla blog, Layman's Gunpla Guide, which a lot of people refer to (as do I).  No permission, no attribution, and the original text was removed in lieu of their covid warning.

This is the proper way of attributing copyrighted images or material.

Source

** Ambassador Kosh, Babylon 5

References and Additional Sources:

https://fairuse.stanford.edu/overview/public-domain/welcome/

http://www.dmlp.org/legal-guide/fair-use

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/attribution

https://www.wipo.int/treaties/en/ip/berne/

https://www.rightsdirect.com/international-copyright-basics/

https://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/copyright-fair-use-and-how-it-works-for-online-images/

https://www.vontweb.com/blog/how-to-use-internet-images-legally/

https://www.rivaliq.com/blog/guide-copyright-fair-use-laws-online-images/

https://whatiscopyright.org/what-are-the-copyright-rules-on-images-found-on-the-internet/

http://bryantonpost.blogspot.com/2005/10/orange-and-lemons-pinoy-ako-rip-off.html

The Stages of Gunpla Building

This is another FB Notes Article, published 2017, converted to a blog post.

Stage 1. The “Curiosity” Stage

• You watch a Gundam episode, doesn’t matter which one, you get curious enough to watch a few more. After which, your search online reveals that the anime actually extends beyond the screen, that there are actually toys and kits that are being sold related to the anime. So you go to a toy store and look for that specific MS you saw. You settle for one you like just as well, if you don’t find what you are looking for.
• You have friends, schoolmates or co-workers who are into the hobby, and they poison you with it. It’s either you hunt for it on your own, or, you get one on impulse while your friends are browsing the nearest toy store, often intentionally, to get you to buy one.
• You find one at home, hidden among boxes, probably one bought before by a family member.

Regardless, you build one, even without the right tools, often using a scissor, or even snapping parts off by hand, if not using a wire cutter, and assemble your very first kit. If you happen to have early guidance or be smart enough to look up tools online, you’ll get a side cutter for your very first tool.

For some, it ends here. For others, there are of course other stages. This may include those who frequently ask “which one should I buy first?” and “is this kit rare?” 

Just look at that CROTCH!

Stage 2. The “Building” Stage

This is where a lot of people get stuck. They buy and snap build one kit after another, satisfied with simply building kits as they are, not minding the sloppy stickers that peel off after a while, or that there are ugly *numb* marks still. Some even try top-coating their kits, apply decals, or even use markers for details.

In this stage, all the tool you’ll ever need is a good pair of side cutters, but, you’ll realize later on that you’ll need a nice hobby knife and some sand paper as well. Also, In this stage, all the tool you’ll ever need is a good pair of side cutters, but, you’ll realize later on that you’ll need a nice hobby knife and some sand paper as well. Also, red becomes both a favorite and despised color of certain builders when parts of their anatomy meet with the business edge of anything sharp, and you’ll often see people ask “has this happened you?” 

Stage 3. The “Modeling” Stage

Once one starts to delve deeper into it, one realizes the need for other tools, like brushes, knives, paints, cutters, rulers, templates, et al. First, most learn to paint, then detail by Once one starts to delve deeper into it, one realizes the need for other tools, like brushes, knives, paints, cutters, rulers, templates, et al. First, most learn to paint, then detail by scribing, then by PS plating. Some stop there, satisfied with detail and paint work, but others realize there’s more to it, and start learning how to modify parts, and even build ones from scratch. One starts to experiment on modifications and painting techniques, testing the limit of the kit one is building, in turn testing oneself as well.

Stage 4. The “Crafting” Stage

Most stay in the modeling stage, but some go beyond it by building entire things from scratch, whether it be aesthetic or mechanical. This is a stage very few struggle to reach, though some reach it quite naturally. One starts to develop his own building techniques, or adapt previous techniques and improve them. In this stage, one will always try to build the same thing differently, gauging which method is easier, quicker and would make the part lighter.

Stage 5. The “Burnout” Stage

A lot of people undergo and often stay on this stage, mostly those who are into the hobby (stage 1-2, and sometimes, stage 3), who get frustrated with their builds that they stop building altogether because they are frustrated. They sometimes return, often remaining at stage two, sometimes jumping to stage 3, but could never quite maintain the same drive as they have before they burnt out. 

What to do, what to do?

Stage 6. The “WIP” Stage

This follows right after the burnout stage (or, after the curiosity stage), when one actually starts something, calls it a WIP, then stops. This may include those who frequently ask “which one should I buy/build next?”

Stage 7. The “Hoarding” Stage

This is when one starts to showcase boxes upon boxes of unbuilt kits instead of built ones because one simply has no time. The term backlog comes to mind.

You shall be the pinnacle of my Tower of Power!

Stage 8. The “Masterpiece” Stage

When one builds a masterpiece and can’t quite outdo it with a new build.

Stage 9. The “Denial” Stage

When one has to let go of certain kits, worse, ALL kits, because one has priorities. This may also happen when a kit one wants to get (often a P-Bandai), is out of one's price range. Sour grapes are often the ones one can't reach.

Gumpra is FLEEDOM!

Stage 10. The “Prodigal Child” Stage

When one returns to the hobby, because the allure of Gunpla and mangling plastic, not to mention, new kits and models, is just too much for anyone to bear.

Stage ZERO. The “Rant/Reklamo” Stage

(Special Request) When one who hasn’t really built anything, at all, keeps ranting about P-Bandai, not having enough money for Gunpla, keeps complaining that mall store kits are overpriced, screams at Bandai for being too expensive and raiding another bootlegger, or, generally just complaining about people who do build and have enough money for Gunpla.