Can I spray acrylic over enamel?

The LEA mnemonic puts acrylic after enamel, so this order follows the heuristic. That does not establish that the two products are compatible. Check both makers' recoating guidance, the enamel's cure state and the thinner used, and test the pair on a painted scrap under your conditions. Acrylic is a binder family and may be waterborne or solvent-based.

Can I spray lacquer over enamel?

The mnemonic puts lacquer below enamel, so this direction runs against it and is a risk flag. It is not proof that the specific products are incompatible, and it is not by itself a reason to strip the model. Confirm the exact products and reducers, the enamel's cure state and film thickness, then test the combination on painted scrap.

Is acrylic always the mildest of the three?

No. 'Acrylic' describes the binder, not the solvent: the carrier can be water, alcohol or solvent, and a solvent-based acrylic or aggressive reducer can attack a film underneath. The mnemonic's placement is a rough ordering habit, not a chemistry classification, so read the exact product's thinner and recoating directions.

Does 'follows the LEA mnemonic' mean the two products are compatible?

No. The checker reports whether the pair follows or runs against the mnemonic; it always reports compatibility as unknown, because two products in the same family can use different binders, solvents and cure behaviour. Use the result as a prompt to read both makers' directions and run a painted-scrap trial.

Is bare plastic or primer automatically safe for any paint?

No. Some solvents can attack a particular plastic or lift a particular primer, and primer makers may approve only certain topcoats. The exact plastic, primer, paint and reducer decide the outcome, so check the primer maker's guidance and test on a scrap of the same material.

What if the paint underneath has not fully cured?

Cure state can change the result in either direction of the mnemonic. A tacky or partly cured film can lift under a fresh wet coat, even from the same family, while a fully cured film may behave differently. Follow the maker's stated recoat window for that product, then check the combination on painted scrap before spraying a visible panel.

Paint layering tool

Model Paint Layering Order Checker

Pick the paint already on the model and the paint you plan to spray over it — lacquer, enamel or acrylic — and the checker shows whether that order follows or runs against the LEA hobby mnemonic and where each paint sits in it. Compatibility is reported as unknown for every pair, including the same family: the result lists the exact product, recoat, cure, film and painted-scrap checks that actually decide the outcome.

Your two coats

Two answers are enough. This shows whether the coats follow or run against the LEA hobby mnemonic, in your browser. It cannot establish chemical compatibility: the product pair stays unknown in every direction, including the same family. Nothing you choose here is uploaded or stored.

What is already on the model?

Pick the family the coat underneath belongs to, or the bare-plastic or primer state if nothing has been painted yet.

What do you want to spray over it?

The family, not the brand — lacquer, enamel or acrylic. The exact product is still needed before you spray.

Your layering check

Choose what is already on the model and what you plan to spray over it, then select Check the LEA position. You get the position each paint holds in the mnemonic, an explicit "compatibility unknown" result, and the exact product, cure and test questions to settle before spraying.

The LEA mnemonic, in one minute

LEA is a hobby mnemonic for the default order of application: Lacquer, Enamel, Acrylic. It is an authored rule of thumb, not a chemistry taxonomy and not the only safe sequence. It does not tell you what is inside a particular bottle, and it cannot guarantee that two products will work together.

Lacquer first, in the mnemonic. Lacquer lines usually use aggressive solvents, which is why the mnemonic places them at the bottom. The exact resin and thinner are product-specific.
Enamel second, in the mnemonic. Enamel lines are commonly oil- or solvent-based, with their own thinner, cure time and recoating directions.
Acrylic last, in the mnemonic. "Acrylic" describes the binder family, not a waterborne solvent family. The carrier can be water, alcohol or solvent, so the mnemonic's placement is not a prediction of how a particular acrylic will behave.

Read it as a ladder of application order, not of chemical strength. Going down the list is the mnemonic's lower-risk direction; going back up is a risk flag. Neither direction establishes compatibility, and a backwards pair is not by itself a reason to strip a model.

How to read your result

Compatibility unknown: This label appears for every combination. The tool only knows paint families, not product codes, binders, solvents, film thickness or cure state, so it cannot approve a pair.
Follows the LEA mnemonic: The new coat sits at the same step or a later step than the coat underneath. This is the mnemonic's lower-risk direction, not evidence that the two products are compatible.
Against the LEA mnemonic: The new coat sits at an earlier step than the coat underneath. That is a risk flag, not proof of incompatibility, and not a reason to strip a model without checking the products.
Same step: Both coats belong to one family. Two products in that family can still use different binders, solvents and reducers, so compatibility remains unknown.
Bare plastic or primer: The mnemonic has no coat underneath to compare. Bare plastic and primers are not automatically safe for every solvent; the exact material and the primer maker's guidance decide.
Step 1, 2 and 3: The ladder shows the authored order: lacquer step 1, enamel step 2, acrylic step 3. It is a position in the mnemonic, not a chemical ranking.

A worked example

Say a car body has a cured lacquer primer and colour coat, and you want to spray an acrylic clear over it. Choose Lacquer underneath andAcrylic on top. The result says the order follows the LEA mnemonic — lacquer is step 1, acrylic is step 3 — while compatibility stays unknown. The next steps are to read both makers' recoating directions, confirm the lacquer's cure and film thickness, check whether the acrylic is waterborne or solvent-based, and test the pair on a painted scrap.

Now try the reverse: enamel already on the model, lacquer going over it. The result says this runs against the mnemonic — enamel is step 2, lacquer is step 1 — and labels it a risk flag. It does not claim the products are incompatible, and it does not tell you to strip the model. It asks for the exact enamel and lacquer products, their reducers, the enamel's cure state and film thickness, and a trial on painted scrap.

Every answer is decided in the page from the same fixed mnemonic. No lookup online, no account, no waiting — and no chemical approval.

What this checker does not do

It is not a chemical compatibility test. It checks the position of two paint families in an authored mnemonic, not what is inside a particular bottle. Compatibility is reported as unknown for both directions and for same-family pairs.
It does not know your exact products, thinner, film thickness or cure state. Those change the outcome. A pair that follows the mnemonic can still lift if the film underneath is tacky or the reducer is aggressive.
It does not treat acrylic as waterborne. Acrylic is a binder family; the carrier can be water, alcohol or solvent. Read the product label and the maker's thinner directions.
It does not call bare plastic or primer safe. Some solvents attack particular plastics or lift particular primers. The material and the primer maker's guidance come first.
It cannot inspect a model that has already been sprayed.It is built to be used before the coat goes on. When you are unsure, test the exact combination on a scrap of the same painted plastic.

Layering order questions

Can I spray acrylic over enamel?: The LEA mnemonic puts acrylic after enamel, so this order follows the heuristic. That does not establish that the two products are compatible. Check both makers' recoating guidance, the enamel's cure state and the thinner used, and test the pair on a painted scrap under your conditions. Acrylic is a binder family and may be waterborne or solvent-based.
Can I spray lacquer over enamel?: The mnemonic puts lacquer below enamel, so this direction runs against it and is a risk flag. It is not proof that the specific products are incompatible, and it is not by itself a reason to strip the model. Confirm the exact products and reducers, the enamel's cure state and film thickness, then test the combination on painted scrap.
Is acrylic always the mildest of the three?: No. 'Acrylic' describes the binder, not the solvent: the carrier can be water, alcohol or solvent, and a solvent-based acrylic or aggressive reducer can attack a film underneath. The mnemonic's placement is a rough ordering habit, not a chemistry classification, so read the exact product's thinner and recoating directions.
Does 'follows the LEA mnemonic' mean the two products are compatible?: No. The checker reports whether the pair follows or runs against the mnemonic; it always reports compatibility as unknown, because two products in the same family can use different binders, solvents and cure behaviour. Use the result as a prompt to read both makers' directions and run a painted-scrap trial.
Is bare plastic or primer automatically safe for any paint?: No. Some solvents can attack a particular plastic or lift a particular primer, and primer makers may approve only certain topcoats. The exact plastic, primer, paint and reducer decide the outcome, so check the primer maker's guidance and test on a scrap of the same material.
What if the paint underneath has not fully cured?: Cure state can change the result in either direction of the mnemonic. A tacky or partly cured film can lift under a fresh wet coat, even from the same family, while a fully cured film may behave differently. Follow the maker's stated recoat window for that product, then check the combination on painted scrap before spraying a visible panel.

Next steps

The LEA position is the first question. The exact products, their thinners and their recoat directions are the next ones, and a painted scrap is the only way to see how this pair behaves.