A couple of paint questions and a share

[Jimbot58]

First I wanted to share this: looking through my back-stash I find these along with my ever dwindling supply of Model Master paints:

The Pactra paints are some of the first ones I used as a kid, though I don't know when I got this one. I think it was a garage sale. The Floquil paints were my go to for not only my military aircraft, but also model railroading as well, along with Pollyscale as well. Thank you Testors and Rustoleum!

On to my questions:

I am an airbrush guy and never was very good at rattle cans. My current interest has been focused on automotive, and I have been using the little square bottles of Testors paints. They go on well for me and offer enough variety for my tastes, though they may not be a 100% factory match.

On that note, I found that using some colors like white, yellow and orange, when sprayed over the white plastic car bodies, the tend to appear translucent. I realize a primer should have been used. As I said, not a rattle can person, but I have been trying Testors grey primer, which is a gloss, and Tamiya which didn't seem to agree with my Testors paint. What is recomended for car modeling by some of you? I don't want to use regular automotive primers in the big cans.

My other question has to do with clear finishes. I tried to use Mr. Color Super Clear and ended up wrinkling up the finish on my VW Beetle. Perhaps I just didn't allow the Testors paint enough time to cure? Anyway, what recommendations can you all offer up here?

Thanks

 

[Rockin' Rob]

I use Tamia gray primer and the Tamia fine gray primer rattle cans almost exclusively all the time. It's lacquer based so it has good bite and testers paints should spray over it no problemo. If you want to use your airbrush just use Tamia surface primer in the little square bottle. I've never had any problems with paint compatibility and I mix all my paints with Mr color 400 including the little tester enamel bottles. All my paints are Tamia or testers or all clad

 

[Rockin' Rob]

It could be the Mr color 400 makes the testers enamel dry harder or faster? I don't know. But you have to let that stuff cure. Because if you spray on a hot clear and you don't mist it on? It'll wrinkle.

 

[Jakko]

some colors like white, yellow and orange, when sprayed over the white plastic car bodies, the tend to appear translucent

Yellow colours, and also reds, are nearly always transparent to some degree, and need several coats to cover well — often even more so than white, in my experience. The best thing to do is undercoat in white, not grey, because grey under yellow will probably result in it becoming a muddy shade until you add even more coats. White under yellow tends to make it a little brighter instead. An alternative is an undercoat in a yellowish shade of tan, which will likely cover much better than the yellow does (because earth colours usually do) but won't affect the shade of the yellow much when you spray that over it.

But test first on spare parts, sprue, whatever

 

[Rockin' Rob]

Jakko is absolutely spot on about the color of the primer. I don't do many yellows so I forgot about the primer part. You can also experiment. Put down some gray primer and then spray gloss black and then shoot some yellow? Might turn out pretty cool. Might..