Coatings & Thinners

The liquids around the paint job. Varnish locks the colour down and determines the sheen, thinners prepare paint for the airbrush and clean brushes afterwards, and the fixers handle the finishing jobs, settling decals into place and fixing clear parts without frosting.

Varnishes

A varnish seals finished paintwork, protects it from handling, and sets the final sheen of the model. Humbrol makes acrylic varnish for acrylic paintwork and enamel varnish for enamel, in brush-on and aerosol formats across Matt, Satin, Gloss and Clear.

DecalFix

Decals sit on the surface; a setting solution makes them look painted on. Humbrol DecalFix softens decals so they settle into panel lines and recesses, then holds them permanently once dry. Clearfix is the companion for clear plastic parts, going on without the frosting effect traditional glues can leave.

Thinners

One question decides everything here: which paint are you thinning? Enamel Thinners readies Humbrol Enamel for the airbrush and doubles as the brush cleaner for solvent work. Acrylic Thinners does the same for Acrylic paint, improving drying time, adhesion and usability over plain water.

Varnish to seal and set the sheen

A coat of varnish keeps handling and wear off finished paintwork. The rule that matters is matching: acrylic varnish over Acrylic paint, enamel varnish over Enamel, and Modelcote suited to either. Matt, Satin, Gloss and Clear cover the sheen choices. Most brush-on formats airbrush at 2 parts varnish to 1 part thinner; the spray formats sit with the Aerosol Sprays and go on from at least 25cm.

Thinners: thin the paint, clean the brush

For the airbrush, mix Enamel paint at 2 parts paint to 1 part Enamel Thinners; the mix also halves its drying time. Once painting is done, the same bottle washes the brushes, from enamel paint through washes and cotes to Model Filler. Acrylic is the easy case: it thins with water.

Fixers: decals and clear parts

DecalFix is water-based, softening a decal until it sinks into panel lines and surface detail, setting permanently as it dries. It hard-dries within half an hour, and decals should never be force-dried. Clearfix handles clear plastic parts and can draw a thin membrane across small window frames, with no risk of frosting. Both come in glass bottles and are permanent once dry. In workflow order the pair sit either side of the paint, thinning before it and fixing after it.