Getting back after all these years

[WhistlingDeath]

OK, here is the first, but probably not the last set of questions on painting. :-[ I plan to use Tamiya acrylic paints for my Iwata airbrush. I have been using Testors enamel and MM enamel for my hand brushing. I am working on Monograms B-52 1/72 scale....the one I got about 25 years or so ago. I hear all these terms...flat coat, gloss coat. I know gloss makes it a more shiner finish and provides a better platform for setting decals. My questions is, what is the process? Spray a gloss coat, followed by the paint colors you want for the model, then another gloss coat, followed by the decals, then a flat coat? I know I can spray "Future" as my gloss coat, (not thinned at all right?) I had planned on using the Tamiya Laq Thinner for my thinning of the paint.
Sorry if this seems so noobish, but we were all new at one time to this

 

[JMac]

Here's what I do - (not everyone approaches it the same way)

I'll usually paint with flats (Tamiya paint typically but I'm starting to use Model Master Acryls and Vallejo Model Colours). I thin my Tamiya paint with either Isopropyl alcohol or Tamiya X-20A thinner (more commonly now). I do not use the alcohol if I'm thinning the Acryls or the Vallejo. I usually don't spray gloss between colours - for me it takes too long. After the paint has cured, I'll spray the whole model with a clear gloss (Future floor polish or Tamiya Spray Clear). I don’t thin my Future. Then I do my decals (they stick much better to a gloss surface and it helps to hide the clear carrier film on the outside of the decal). After the decals have dried, I'll spray the model with a gloss clear, clear semi-gloss or clear flat as required - to seal everything in.

Hope this helps.

JMac

 

[Exarkun77]

For the tamiya paints:
- i didn't try Isopropyl yet, so can't tell for this one.
- the x-20A thinner does the job.

- but i recently heard from "Dreamknight" that the lacquer thinner was the best way to go.
Tamiya would not exactly be acrylics, and they would spray better and smoother with lacquer thinner.

 

[Elm City Hobbies]

A simplified paint order list......

Primer
Basecoat (whatever your main color is)
Any subsequent color coats, IE: Camo
Gloss (Future works well)
Decal


Then it can start to separate depending on what you are working on....

If you are doing a panel line wash, then once the decals are on and dried, you would do another gloss coat, as the wash will flow into the panel lines better.

Now if you want a glossy coat you can stop there (or maybe another light gloss mist to seal in the wash), if your final look is a flat coat, then you would now do a flat coat overall.

There are a few more steps if you are doing weathering with pigments and such (which you would do over a flat coat so the pigments have something to bite into, as they don't stick well to a gloss surface).

Long and short of it...that is pretty much it.

 

[DreamKnight]

A simplified paint order list......

Primer
Basecoat (whatever your main color is)
Any subsequent color coats, IE: Camo
Gloss (Future works well)
Decal


Then it can start to separate depending on what you are working on....

If you are doing a panel line wash, then once the decals are on and dried, you would do another gloss coat, as the wash will flow into the panel lines better.

Now if you want a glossy coat you can stop there (or maybe another light gloss mist to seal in the wash), if your final look is a flat coat, then you would now do a flat coat overall.

There are a few more steps if you are doing weathering with pigments and such (which you would do over a flat coat so the pigments have something to bite into, as they don't stick well to a gloss surface).

Long and short of it...that is pretty much it.

This is pretty much my process as well. The whole using Tamiya Lacquer thinner works really well. Before that I used the Acrylic thinner and before that, Alcohol for my Tamiya paints.

 

[cbreeze]

I was reading this thread and somehow got confused. Laquer thinner to thin MM acrylics? Is that what you're talking about here? I recently heard that some modelers are using Tamiya laquer thinner to thin Tamiya acrylics but haven't had a chance to try that yet.

cbreeze

 

[Elm City Hobbies]

Yes, Tamiya Lacquer thinner to thin the Tamiya Paint.

Personally I use Vallejo Paint, but each to their own.

 

[Grendels]

Someone on Youtube sent me this link about primers:

http://www.scalemodelguide.com/guide/painting/all-about-primers/

I personally don't use primers very often. Most model paint, Testors, or Tamiya are designed for plastic, so a primer isn't really necessary. However if you are building a resin model I would put down a primer coat.

This link has a lot of good articles about paint for the beginner.

http://www.scalemodelguide.com/guide/painting/

 

[Elm City Hobbies]

Actually all kits, plastic or resin, should be washed with a mild detergent to get the mold release off of them, and then they should be primed.

I am finding alot of people are having trouble with Vallejo not sticking to plastic, and it is because they aren't using a primer, in fact pretty much any acrylic paint should have a primer under them as they don't stick to bare plastic that well. I have had Testors and Tamiya acrylics chip and peel just as easily as Vallejo does.

Enamels and Lacquers don't necessarily require a primer, as their carrier is usually hot enough to craze the plastic slightly as they go on, giving the paint something to "bite" into on the plastic. Acrylics don't have this ability which is why they are coming off of bare plastic fairly easily. As well a primer coat will give you an even surface for the color coats to go on, evening up surfaces that could have putty, or photo etch pieces on them. As well your paint job will come out looking better with a primer.

Just remember, not all primers are the same, even using a different color primer can significantly change the hue of the color you are putting over it.

A color coat over a grey primer will look much different if put over a white or black primer.

 

[sunsanvil]

Just to share a different experience, I've been using Vallejo for several years now and have never used a primer and have not had any issues with adhesion (outside of blatant abuse ), including 1/35 resin figures.

Where practical I wet-sand with 600, then wash everything (dish soap). Seems to give the paint all the bite it needs. Above all: give it time to cure! Its dry to the touch in minutes (sometimes seconds) but a typical coat needs at least 24 hour to fully cure (even more if you do an extra heavy coat or put on several layers in one session). During that cure time it will indeed be easy to damage so you just have to be carefull or patient (or both).

 

[Grendels]

Speaking from experience, sunsanvil is right, let it cure for at least 24 hours between coats. I let a model sit for four hours, and then started sanding it. When I was done, there were impressions of my finger prints in the areas I didn't sand. The paint was still too soft to handle.

 

[Junkie]

I primer everytime because it looks really cool.

 

[Jeep]

Something else to keep in mind that not all acrylic paint is the same. It is important to know what kind of composition your paint is especially if you are thinning for airbrushing or mixing colors.