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So my girl gave me 50 some enamel spray paints.So I tested them out they seem to be really good but I was wondering if anyone tried them before and how they react to finecast/metal/plastic?

Man...when I think enamels I think nail polish. And in sprays? I suppose they are good for basecoating minis or vehicles (granted they are flat and not glossy) and come to think of it, would maybe serve some purpouses in terrain painting (gloss coats could be cool for infinity terrain actually) That's about all I can think of...but then again I don't know much.

Enamel spray paints normally do fine. I tend to prefer the flat or matte sprays as they tend to let acrylics stick better. Sometimes the enamel doesnt let acrylic stick well, but theyre great for large basecoats (vehicles, buildings). Experiment with it and try it out, but generally if you can get a matte or flat black, white, or grey spray paint as your primer, then acrylics will stick better.

Most spray paints are enamels. Acrylic sprays are generally only available from specialist craft stores.

Provided they're flat or matte, and spray on fairly smoothly, they should be fine on any of your miniatures.

 insaniak wrote:
Most spray paints are enamels. Acrylic sprays are generally only available from specialist craft stores.

Provided they're flat or matte, and spray on fairly smoothly, they should be fine on any of your miniatures.

Yeah, sorry, I guess I should have been more specific. I mean that "Satin" or some gloss enamel sprays are what don't seem to like acrylic paints much, but flat or matte sprays should be fine.

So my girl gave me 50 some enamel spray paints.So I tested them out they seem to be really good but I was wondering if anyone tried them before and how they react to finecast/metal/plastic?

I'm a big fan of enamel paints since my first using them back in 2012. My mentor also had the same favorable opinion about the many positive characteristics of these paints. They have been re-formulated to a large degree, as the lead was stripped out but the durability, sheen, water-repellant qualities and stain blocking ability is UNMATCHED by water based paints!

Enamel spray paints continue to dry and get rock hard over time. The durability and resistance to scuffing and abrasions is unmatched by water based paints. Enamel high gloss oil paint sheen is unmatched when also compared to water based high gloss paint! A few precautions need to be mentioned about oil based paint and primers so let's get into these aspects.

Enamel is actually a pretty wide term that gets tossed around quite a bit. There are acrylic and oil based enamels, but what it usually refers to is an oil based paint, that dries to a hard surface.

Oil based paints are just fine for models and if you use them to mix up a wash (Just add some turpentine/Mineral Spirits/White Spirits ) ydou get a wash that tends to cover very evenly and settle very nicely into grooves.

My one suggestion would be to not buy the model brand paint "thinner". They'll charge you far too much. Instead head to the hardware store and buy a tin of mineral spirits.