Paint fundamentals
Miniature Paint Types: Acrylic, Enamel, Lacquer and More
Miniature paints are grouped by what carries the pigment, the binder and the solvent, rather than by color. Two products that share a color family can behave very differently when one is a water-based acrylic and the other is an enamel or a lacquer.
The catalog records a coarse type for each paint, usually taken from the product range or the upstream listing. It is a useful label, not a laboratory analysis: an unrecognized range may fall back to a generic type, and the type describes a general family rather than the exact formulation.
Why the medium matters as much as the color
The binder determines how a paint thins, how fast it dries, what it adheres to, and how it can be cleaned up. Color is only one property of a pot of paint, and a close color match across two different media is a match of the recorded color value only.
Water-based acrylics
The most common hobby paints are water-based acrylics. They thin and clean up with water, dry relatively quickly by evaporation, and form a film that can be worked over. Within this family there is a wide spread of pigment load, opacity, finish and additives, so 'acrylic' alone does not tell you how a specific paint layers or covers.
- Typical hobby use: brush and airbrush painting of miniatures.
- Clean-up: water while the paint is wet; a dried acrylic film is more stubborn and usually needs a dedicated cleaner.
- Follow the product instructions for thinning and for any medium, flow improver or retarder the maker sells.
Alcohol-based acrylics
Some acrylics are formulated for alcohol-based thinners. They behave differently from water-based acrylics, with different thinning, working time and compatibility with neighbouring layers. Do not assume a water-based medium can be substituted for an alcohol-based one, or the reverse.
Enamels
Enamels typically use a solvent carrier and cure to a hard, often glossy film. They are durable and were historically common for model kits. They generally require solvent-based thinners and clean-up, and they behave differently over and under acrylic layers.
- Thinning and clean-up: solvent-based; use only the thinner the manufacturer specifies.
- Read the manufacturer's instructions and Safety Data Sheet before use, storage or disposal.
Lacquers
Lacquers are solvent-borne and dry by solvent evaporation. They are common in automotive and some airbrush contexts. They can be aggressive toward some plastics and some other paint layers, and they require the ventilation and personal protection the manufacturer states.
Oils and other specialist media
Oil paints and various specialist media appear in some ranges. They dry and blend on very different timescales and are usually combined with other techniques. As with every type above, the manufacturer's guidance, not a general rule, governs safe use and mixing.
Reading the catalog type field
Because the type is inferred from range or product wording in many cases, treat it as a hint. When two paints are compared on this site, the type is used to flag likely cross-type matches, but a missing or generic type is reported as unknown rather than assumed.