Is there a difference between acrylic and enamel paint?

i have some that says it is acrylic and waterbased.....and another that is enamel and is thinned with lacquer, but i also see some that say acrylic enamelIs there a difference between acrylic and enamel paint?
To put it simply, acrylics are water or alcohol based and usually non toxic (with the exception of alcohol based acrylics obviously). Acrylics thin and clean with water or alcohol.





Enamels are an oil based paint and are quite toxic. They are the old school of model paints and are slowly being replaced with acrylics. This is mainly down to their toxicity and the fact that they thin and clean with enviromentally damaging white spirits.





A number of myths surround enamel paints (mainly spread by proponents of acrylic paints back in the day). They DON'T ruin brushes as many people say (people simply don't know how to clean hem properly) and they take hours to dry not days. They're perfectly suitable for painting small details on models and will not ruin anything (not even plastic - after all for 40 odd years enamels were the only paints available to paint plastic model kits).Is there a difference between acrylic and enamel paint?
';acrylic enamel'; Is just a fancy-pants way of saying ';acrylic paint';





Acrylics are water-based, dry quickly and clean off the brush with water. Once they dry and cure, it takes HOT water to remove them, and generally doesn't remove easily.





Enamels, meanwhile, are oil-based. They take DAYS to dry, and sometimes even longer depending on atmospheric conditions. They have shelf lives and go bad with time, and are overall a royal PAIN to clean up after. There is no completely removing an enamel from your brush.





Overall, I prefer to use acrylics.
Well, I'll disagree with answer #2.


Originally, enamel was glass that was melted onto metal surfaces with 1000F degree heat. It has a glossy surface.


So when paints were developed that went beyond white wash and milk paints and had a glossy surface, they were called enamel paints.


Anyone who is using ';enamel'; paints that use solvent for thinner and is having to wait days for them to dry is using them wrong because they dry very quickly, sometimes too quickly. Oil paints for picture painting do use a solvent and take a long time to dry, but that is because the carrier is oil (linseed oil and others) which has to dry/set over days.


Acrylic paints use a carrier that can be washed out with water while still wet, but once it has dried, it should not wash off any more than solvent based paints.


Cleaning a solvent based brush simply involves cleaning with the solvent and then with soap and water. Solvent based paints will work (or used to work) on some materials better than acrylic - notably metal.
Enamel paints can damage some plastic surfaces, such as models giving them an ';orange peel'; appearance. Waterbased acrylics shouldn't do this.





The best thing to do is use the paint recommended for the specific project.

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