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AFV Painting & Weathering
Answers to questions about the right paint scheme or tips for the right effect.
Ammo by Mig paint manufacturer
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Stockholm, Sweden
Joined: March 21, 2012
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Posted: Friday, June 27, 2014 - 03:19 AM UTC
Is there anyone in the know that know who is manufacturing the "Ammo by Mig" paints?

I – it doesn't seem like I was alone – have had a lot of trouble with the AK Interactive paints in the past. After they stopped using Vallejo for the paint manufacture. Looking at the Ammo bottles they look the same. So I'm a bit curious, some tints are really nice to have in the rack but not if they're gonna cause just as much problems as AK did.
SgtRam
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#197
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Ontario, Canada
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Posted: Friday, June 27, 2014 - 03:39 AM UTC
From my understanding, Ammo is produced by the same company that did AK. Shortly after the Mig vs. AK breakup, the manufacture did post something stating they would no longer by associated with AK, and they would continue to support Mig.

What issues are you having with AK? I use both AK and Ammo, and have not had any issues?

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Stockholm, Sweden
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Posted: Friday, June 27, 2014 - 04:33 AM UTC
Now I found that post. Oh the delicious drama !

My issues were everything from not spraying properly no matter if i used a 0.2mm or a 0.4mm nozzle (I guess I should use a strainer) to paints being completely gooped up in the bottle. See this link in their now defunct forum. And as I stated in that post Vallejo Air and the older black topped AK bottles sprays wonderfully in both my airbrushes no matter how old they are.

It's not a biggie, but it's a time saver to not to have to mix paint.
SgtRam
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#197
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Ontario, Canada
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Posted: Friday, June 27, 2014 - 07:25 AM UTC
What are you thinning the AK paints with when you airbrush?
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Stockholm, Sweden
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Posted: Friday, June 27, 2014 - 07:45 AM UTC

Quoted Text

What are you thinning the AK paints with when you airbrush?



Water and Vallejo thinner (old version) in different ratios depending on how translucent coat I want. Sometimes just (distilled) water. Never any isopropyl or cellulose based thinners, or white spirits or Tamiya X20A.
SgtRam
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#197
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Ontario, Canada
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Posted: Friday, June 27, 2014 - 07:49 AM UTC
I suggest sending them an email, while I don't use them often, I find either the Vallejo thinner or the Testor Acrylic thinner works fine.

Belt_Fed
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New Jersey, United States
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Posted: Friday, June 27, 2014 - 08:55 AM UTC
I Too have no luck with orange capped AK paints, even when using their own thinner. I get lots of clogs, tipdry, runs, you name it. I tried brushing it and even on a porus surface like cardboard it pools like water drops on a piece of glass. Colors look fantastic, just have no luck with them. Maybe i got a bad batch?
pxpxpx
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Stockholm, Sweden
Joined: March 21, 2012
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Posted: Friday, June 27, 2014 - 11:21 AM UTC

Quoted Text

I suggest sending them an email, while I don't use them often, I find either the Vallejo thinner or the Testor Acrylic thinner works fine.



I did, I was in contact with Rick Lawler I think. He got me replacements for the three sets I had that was gooped up in the bottle. No problems with their customer service, none at all.

They [the new sets I got, still red tops] in turn just didn't behave properly at all. Stoppages, weird non-tip dry stoppages and general misbehaviour (like the paint separating into pigments and binder in the cup). So I canned them a couple of months ago.

I usually drop in a small ball bearing and shake my new paints a-lot before using them. Habit from my younger spray-can days I guess.

Of course, not ruling out that my airbrushes just don't like the AK-paints. But... back to the question.

Is it the same guys producing the Ammo paints or is it a new company?
SgtRam
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#197
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Ontario, Canada
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Posted: Friday, June 27, 2014 - 11:26 AM UTC
I beleive the AK is now a new producer, and I am not sure who is doing it.

thueser
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European Union
Joined: October 10, 2012
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Posted: Friday, June 27, 2014 - 11:28 AM UTC
I stopped using AK and Ammo paints at all, both doesn't work for me. I owned 4 sets and have sold them on evilbay. No more of this paints, now using Tamiya again.
Karl187
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Posted: Friday, June 27, 2014 - 10:28 PM UTC
I recently purchased a set of Ammo paints and encountered the same problems some of you guys are having. The paints seem to behave almost like water on a waxed surface- they don't adhere properly at all and kind of recede leaving a splotchy, patchy area of paint. Tried pretty much everything to get them working but to no avail. They also seem very chalky- I noticed this when I got some on my hands.
collin26
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Connecticut, United States
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Posted: Saturday, June 28, 2014 - 05:03 AM UTC
Karl,
I am sorry to hear you are having an issue with our paints and I am here to help fix it.
Tell me a bit more about how you are using the paints? Is the surface primed? Are you thinning the paints at all?
Have you tried to apply light misted coats to build up your color?
Best Regards,
Iain
Karl187
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Posted: Sunday, June 29, 2014 - 03:46 AM UTC

Quoted Text

Karl,
I am sorry to hear you are having an issue with our paints and I am here to help fix it.
Tell me a bit more about how you are using the paints? Is the surface primed? Are you thinning the paints at all?
Have you tried to apply light misted coats to build up your color?
Best Regards,
Iain



I'm just using them normally really- the surface is primed with Tamiya Primer from the can and no I'm not thinning the paints- the consistency is not the issue. And yes I've tried misting the coats on gradually- still doesn't solve the issue. The same thing is also occuring with the Ammo grey primer.
afv_rob
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Posted: Sunday, June 29, 2014 - 05:59 AM UTC
Haven't had much luck either, the AMMO paints lay down well eventually, but not with the same ease I have using Vallejo.

I'm spraying un-thinned (the paint it quite thin as is so thinning doesn't seem appropriate) onto a Tamiya grey primer surface and find that the paint seems to separate on the surface. In the end i've had to spray at quite a low pressure with very thick coats. Additionally I cannot get the paint to spray very fine like I can with Tamiya acrylics (thinned with their own brand thinner), and i'm using an Iwata CM.
collin26
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Connecticut, United States
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Posted: Sunday, June 29, 2014 - 08:22 AM UTC
Guys,
I am here to try to help you fix this issue. Is it possible to send the product back to us so that we can test it? I would be happy to send you a replacement. I airbrush with the AMMO Acrylics almost daily and have not had this issue, I would like to test yours in order to determine what the issue is.
afv_rob
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England - East Anglia, United Kingdom
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Posted: Sunday, June 29, 2014 - 09:15 AM UTC

Quoted Text

Guys,
I am here to try to help you fix this issue. Is it possible to send the product back to us so that we can test it? I would be happy to send you a replacement. I airbrush with the AMMO Acrylics almost daily and have not had this issue, I would like to test yours in order to determine what the issue is.



Tbh I'd first like to understand whether my set-up is part of the problem. As I said, I'm spraying these un-thinned as the paint seems thin enough out of the bottle, but maybe I should be adding a splash of thinner? Equally i'd like to hear you thoughts on what sort of pressure to spray at, i'm working at about 50 PSI. The actual airbrush (Iwata CM-B) and compressor are pretty decent so i've no concerns there.

Perhaps i'll try get some photos done to show you what i'm experiencing when spraying. If you check out my Meng T-90 though you'll see that good things can be done with these paints, just need a little more effort.
Bizarre
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Akershus, Norway
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Posted: Sunday, June 29, 2014 - 09:38 AM UTC
I've heard somewhere that to prevent those kind of issues you might want to add some Mr.Colour Leveling thinner. However, I haven't tried that myself, so not sure if that really helps.
alewar
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Canelones, Uruguay
Joined: December 27, 2006
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Posted: Sunday, June 29, 2014 - 11:06 AM UTC
Hi Ian

I use OD Nr.926 for base color, and found the same problem, I spray it with a .30 tan needle from my Aztek 470.
I found hard to cover the primer color - black in my case. And the paint sprayed looks like water.
Can you tell me the correct way to spray them?, pressure, dilution, some coats etc.
Any help are welcome, as I have another colors, and I waiting also for the German sets too. And I don't like to left them aside.

Regards from the south

Alvaro
Bizarre
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Akershus, Norway
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Posted: Sunday, June 29, 2014 - 11:36 AM UTC
see here, a person also talking about MR colour thinner.


http://armorama.kitmaker.net/forums/220782
blabla
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Niedersachsen, Germany
Joined: December 02, 2006
KitMaker: 147 posts
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Posted: Sunday, June 29, 2014 - 11:36 AM UTC
Hello,


had the mentioned problems, too: https://gallery.kitmaker.net/showphoto.php/photo/412946/ppuser/22621

The solution was the Mr. Hobby thinner (Mr.Color, the dark blue bottle) Only the primers do not work!


Cheers

collin26
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Connecticut, United States
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Posted: Sunday, June 29, 2014 - 02:15 PM UTC
Rob,
50 psi seems extremely high - I do not know that this is the cause of the issue, but I can say that I spray at between 15 - 20 psi and have not had this issue. Please try spraying at perhaps 16 - 18 psi and let me know what you experience.
Karl187
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Northern Ireland, United Kingdom
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Posted: Monday, June 30, 2014 - 04:06 AM UTC
I've tried all the pressure I can paint with both low and high but for me it has no effect on what happens to the paint. Here are some pictures of the affected areas:









Thats the undercarriage of a GAZ Tiger- the black and buff colors are from AMMO. The grey is Tamiya primer and the green is AK 4BO Base (the one that was made by Vallejo). I used the 4BO base to see if it was going on in the same way but it went on perfectly. You can see the issues of the black and buff- it starts to recede and bunch up.
catman31
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Ohio, United States
Joined: September 12, 2005
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Posted: Monday, June 30, 2014 - 04:56 AM UTC
The new paints from Ammo of Mig are being sold with ball bearings in them - yellow caps. M Sandell was ahead of the game:)
blabla
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Niedersachsen, Germany
Joined: December 02, 2006
KitMaker: 147 posts
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Posted: Monday, June 30, 2014 - 05:36 AM UTC

Quoted Text

I've tried all the pressure I can paint with both low and high but for me it has no effect on what happens to the paint. Here are some pictures of the affected areas:









Thats the undercarriage of a GAZ Tiger- the black and buff colors are from AMMO. The grey is Tamiya primer and the green is AK 4BO Base (the one that was made by Vallejo). I used the 4BO base to see if it was going on in the same way but it went on perfectly. You can see the issues of the black and buff- it starts to recede and bunch up.



Hello,

I had the same problem! I suggest to try the Gunze thinner (Mr. Color Thinner: http://www.modellbau-koenig.de/Farben/Gunze_Sangyo/T-102_Mr_Color_Thinner_110_110_ml_i473_38827_0.htm). WIht it the most of my ammo colours work! The exception was the primer!


Cheers
pxpxpx
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Stockholm, Sweden
Joined: March 21, 2012
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Posted: Monday, June 30, 2014 - 08:35 AM UTC
Seems like I will stay away from Ammo. Either a new just as bad manufacturer or the same as AK used. But if the old manufacturer left to work with Ammo perhaps the AK paints are good to go now?

Oh the confusion, why couldn't they just stick with Vallejo?
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