I recently used Mission Models paint for the overall exterior on an SAS jeep. When I tried to use Tamiya Nato Black for the tires, it started to dissolve the Mission Models paint and smear. Same with Tamiya Khaki for the seats. Has anyone else had this problem? Occurs even after 24 drying between paints, no thinners added and yet makes using Mission Models very frustrating. Don’t want to have to coat the paint with varnish between colors. Your thoughts appreciated.
DAKjunkie
Mission Models is branded as being non-toxic, and as such the medium in which the pigment is suspended is very weak. Tamiya acrylics, as well as Gunze acrylics, are quite durable (I’ve sprayed lacquers over them with no trouble). Mission acrylics are not as strong, and as a rule of thumb I will not spray any paint overtop Mission acrylics except for Mission Models. If you need to use other paints overtop, I’d recommend adding a little lacquer thinner to give them some more bite.
I have seen club members put dried mission model paint under a gloss coat and have water from a decal lift the paint.
Can’t say I have, just one instance, I base coated with Mission Models Dunkelgelb and then used Tamiya XF-64 thinned with Lacquer thinner to do the camo on my King Tiger.Absolutley no bad effects or problems.
I’m not convinced 24 hours is long enough for some the acrylic hobby paints to fully dry or cure. Temperature and humidity could have some influence on how quickly the paint dries or cures. Maybe the Mission Model paint would adhere a bit better if it had several days to mature.
did you use the poly additive and their thinner?..i used MMP as a base and then went over with Humbrol enamels,Mig and AK washes,Rustoleum rattle can clears and Agama metal paste thinned with a bit of laquer without any problem at all,only the Humbrol Clear (the acrylic one similar to Future) it seemed that if done by brush was reactivating the paint,theMMP reacts very quickly in presence of alcohol
Thank you so much. Your explanation would certainly explain my experience. To clarify, you would add lacquer thinner to the Mission Models paint to give it more bite, not he other paint going over it? Again, thanks for the explanation.
DAKjunkie
I did not use their ( ie MM’s ) additive or thinner. I think that I used some Tamiya thinner to spray the MM base coat. Thanks for the info.
DAKjunkie
I have used Mission extensively, and the secret to their durability is indeed their poly. FOR ME, I typically do 30-40% poly, and 10% thinner (MMP Thinner ONLY), at right about 13-15psi. The results have always been good. I also agree that it takes MMP with the poly longer to cure (I wait 48 hours before clear coat (always VMS), and 24 hours after that before any lacquer or enamel.
I have had many conversations with Jon from MMP, and I would never use any other additives to their paint based on their composition. I did have a problem with their primer not adhering to a model, but that was user error as I was letting the primer dry on the way to the model. It has to go on wet.
I would further encourage anyone who is using MMP, and having a problem to reach out to them directly. Not only is Jon a font of information about paint in general, but super helpful with suggestions.
Hope this helps
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Tamiya thinner is not compatible with MMP. I have also never had luck using it with AK real color either.
Use the MMP thinner.
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I did a Mission Model test against Vallejo for our local model newsletter and found their paint to be very fragile, even to the touch after drying. Needless to say I stuck with my AK.
Thanks Glenn, even when I collected their literature when first bought, I did not get this kind of detailed info. I have a problem with buying a whole new line of paint for every use, but are you sayiing that with MM’s poly and thinner you can then use other paints without problems? Please clarify.
Again, thanks for the info and who is this “Jon from MM” and how would I reach him?
DAKjunkie
Personally I have found some success adding thinner to the Mission paint, but obviously it’s a good idea to approach that technique with caution. I’d heed @GBRAME 's advice, given that he has talked with the staff at MMP. But if you do have an old bottle of it that you don’t need anymore, it’s always worth playing around with thinners etc.
Jon is the owner of MMP,I confirm that he is very helpful, I had problems with the poly and he was very kind to answer my avalanche of questions, MMP is quite fragile without poly, as a thinner you have to be careful, most of the thinners for acrylics contain a certain percentage of Alcohol, if it contains too much it can cause problems, from making the paint weak to making it grainy and unusable, I use either their thinner or UMP thinner (Ultimate Modeling Products Thinner)no problems but I would do some tests before using others brands.
I would be very careful to add lacquer thinner to classic “water based” acrylics, because they usually become a mass of goo ,except Tamiya, AK real colors and Mr Colors others do not like hot thinners like lacquers,also because “lacquer thinner” like “acrylic thinner” means everything and nothing, both are a cocktail of substances and each manufacturer has his own recipe.
I forgot one thing, I am very convinced that MMPs are produced by Createx and if you want to save a couple of bucks their additive 4030 “balancing Clear” is the same thing as Poly MMP, I use that, and their thinners also work great, I live in tropics and use their 4011 “High temp thinner” for hot climates (Aussie version).
Another thing is that Poly is very susceptible to light and temperature (40-80 F°), both high and low, I keep my bottle in the fridge so that it is always at a stable temperature and in the dark.
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100 percent on the Createx , I discovered this as well. That stuff is most likely the Wicked paint formulation 
I am not giving up on it as it is in fact the most resilient Acrylic urethane available without using the hybrids. Not for people who like to chip though. I will also add that this stuff can be made even better if you ignore the one size fits all approach and look up something called CP 30 on google with the Mission Models paint search. I have also seen people not able to rip the finish off with tape … not the Tamiya washi type either… gorilla tape! I’d love to see those other non hybrid acrylics do that!!! You can also use a different thinner from Createx that makes them waterborne urethanes that are like what’s on our auto panels. These act identical to the Createx Wicked system… think outside of Mission Models and you do have a product that absolutely changes the thought process of the paints! To echo the sentiments of others 4030 is also your friend as is Poly if you choose. I am also using the 4012 Createx thinner/ reducer as well. About a year ago Createx changed their products… anyone surprised as to how the Mission paints changed their viscosity as well? Just my humble opinions a superior product 
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I’ve used Mission Models paints and when they work, they work beautifully. When they don’t airbrush well, it’s a real pain.
I found them very finicky to airbrush as they’re either too thin or too thick. Thinning them down clumps up the paint so MMP is very hard to shoot through the airbrush compared to Gunze or Tamiya paints. MMPs just don’t thin well with the thinners I purchased. The spray is very thin, requiring several coats to layer.
I was also told that MMPs are very susceptible to storage temperatures. A modeler thought that was hooey in getting me to buy more new MMPs, but I somewhat suspect that their storage temperature range to be true. Too cold (such as stored in the basement) and the paint tends to clump up in the bottle.
I really do like their color selections and matte finish, but in truth, they’ve been hard for me to airbrush with.
As another modeler stated, if you want paints that shoot well in the airbrush, stick with Gunze Sanyo thinned and Tamiya with Tamiya Flat Base added as a retarder.
Have you tried them with their own thinner and polymer,they have worked well for me with that
Yes, you must use their own brand thinner. I’ve never used the polymer myself. But using their thinner, and following the directions, they airbrush quite well. Don’t thin them much beyond what they recommend like you can with other brands.
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I had the same problem when painting my M1151 a while back. Tried Mission Models US Army desert sand with Tamiya Flat black as a base, wouldn’t adhere too well, but had to make it work. Then when i tried to affix the decals using Mark Fit, the paint would literally fall off. had to be extra careful.
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