Tinting canopies

[jdam dropper]

Hello! This is my first post, I am pretty new to the hobby and have built only three planes. I am currently building a 1/72 F-35 model but its canopy has to be tinted in a "yellowish brown color" I am thinking of using Vallejo smoke and brush painting it underneath the canopy. I unfortunately can't use an airbrush or rattle can. could I apply clear paints on the canopies? without getting the brushmarks? any suggestions or tips would be helpful. Thank you in advance.

 

[Mycatistypingthis]

With enough water/flow improver/acrylic thinner, you can avoid brushstrokes, but making that consistent (not blotchy) is very hard. It's already hard to have the paint stick on the bare plastic (try whether a gloss varnish will make it stick).

 

[urumomo]

Welcome Aboard !

I use ink suspended in Pledge Floor Care , an acrylic . It has the perfect properties for this sort of thing .
It takes very little ink .
Place some on the inside of the canopy , rotate the canopy around to get the proper coverage then allow the excess to pour off .
Let it dry and repeat , as needed .

You can do it with transparent acrylics too .

It will take some experimenting to achieve the color and density you want , but if it looks wrong all you have to do is remove it with 90% isopropyl alcohol and start over .
ad infinitum .

 

[jdam dropper]

With enough water/flow improver/acrylic thinner, you can avoid brushstrokes, but making that consistent (not blotchy) is very hard. It's already hard to have the paint stick on the bare plastic (try whether a gloss varnish will make it stick).

Thanks for the reply, but wouldent the paint be the same as the reqular paints we use?

 

[jdam dropper]

Welcome Aboard !

I use ink suspended in Pledge Floor Care , an acrylic . It has the perfect properties for this sort of thing .
It takes very little ink .
Place some on the inside of the canopy , rotate the canopy around to get the proper coverage then allow the excess to pour off .
Let it dry and repeat , as needed .

You can do it with transparent acrylics too .

It will take some experimenting to achieve the color and density you want , but if it looks wrong all you have to do is remove it with 90% isopropyl alcohol and start over .
ad infinitum .

Thank you, nice technique, how do keep the tint from rolling of the canopy? is your tint thick? pictures would help

 

[urumomo]

No , that floor acrylic is fairly thin .
It has several proprietary additives to aid in leveling and has a decently long open time .
It's perfect for that application .

Since it's applied to the inside it's easy to keep it there , on that concave surface .
Any that gets on the outside can easily be removed with a swab or corner of a paper towel damp with alcohol .

Try it out .
You can remove it and start over as many times as it takes .

This canopy was done with this method :
https://www.scalemodeladdict.com/threads/watson-on-mars.13418/

This one is ink in that floor acrylic , but airbrushed :

 

[jdam dropper]

No , that floor acrylic is fairly thin .
It has several proprietary additives to aid in leveling and has a decently long open time .
It's perfect for that application .

Since it's applied to the inside it's easy to keep it there , on that concave surface .
Any that gets on the outside can easily be removed with a swab or corner of a paper towel damp with alcohol .

Try it out .
You can remove it and start over as many times as it takes .

This canopy was done with this method :
https://www.scalemodeladdict.com/threads/watson-on-mars.13418/

This one is ink in that floor acrylic , but airbrushed :

View attachment 108431View attachment 108432View attachment 108433

Thanks, could this technique work with clear acrylic paint? i don't think i can purchase that floor wax in my country.

 

[urumomo]

Yeah ,
if it dries too fast you can add liquid retarder - " flow improver "
Start with a small amount though , it doesn't take much .

 

[jdam dropper]

Yeah ,
if it dries too fast you can add liquid retarder - " flow improver "
Start with a small amount though , it doesn't take much .

Thanks very helpful, then i guess i should just buy pretinted acrylic paints (like vallejo smoke) and start tinting. will post pics when done.

 

[BlackSheepTwoOneFour]

Tamiya has clear blue, yellow, orange, green and smoke….
You definitely need to invest in an airbrush and compressor. You don’t need to spend a lot on them. Look around on the internet and find a decent airbrush / compressor set.

 

[jdam dropper]

Tamiya has clear blue, yellow, orange, green and smoke….
You definitely need to invest in an airbrush and compressor. You don’t need to spend a lot on them. Look around on the internet and find a decent airbrush / compressor set.

Can they be applied by brush?

 

[urumomo]

All paints can be applied with a brush .
Use flow improver to increase the open time and promote leveling to avoid brush marks .

Try the technique I described above to tint the canopy

 

[jdam dropper]

All paints can be applied with a brush .
Use flow improver to increase the open time and promote leveling to avoid brush marks .

Try the technique I described above to tint the canopy

will do, now i start shopping!

 

[TimM63]

 

[jdam dropper]

Thank you for the reply i unfortunatly can't use a airbrush (due to health issues) but i will look into the paint used in the vidio.

 

[Mycatistypingthis]

Thanks for the reply, but wouldent the paint be the same as the reqular paints we use?

Varnish is a bit different, but thinking about it now, you probably also don't want to use rattlecan.

I use varnish as a primer for transparent paints quite a bit, but that's always sprayed on. I still suspect something like Pledge will bite and hold better than regular acrylic paints.

On an opaque surface, different thicknesses of paint only change surface structure and colour intensity, the difference in light coming through on transparent surfaces is a lot more dramatic.

 

[Pantherman]

Hello! This is my first post, I am pretty new to the hobby and have built only three planes. I am currently building a 1/72 F-35 model but its canopy has to be tinted in a "yellowish brown color" I am thinking of using Vallejo smoke and brush painting it underneath the canopy. I unfortunately can't use an airbrush or rattle can. could I apply clear paints on the canopies? without getting the brushmarks? any suggestions or tips would be helpful. Thank you in advance.

Hi and welcome. I use Vallejo for hand brushing and would suggest really thinning the paint down to almost tinted water and then apply in several coats until you have the tint you want. Pantherman

 

[jdam dropper]

Varnish is a bit different, but thinking about it now, you probably also don't want to use rattlecan.

I use varnish as a primer for transparent paints quite a bit, but that's always sprayed on. I still suspect something like Pledge will bite and hold better than regular acrylic paints.

On an opaque surface, different thicknesses of paint only change surface structure and colour intensity, the difference in light coming through on transparent surfaces is a lot more dramatic.

Thanks, speaking of future wasnt it discontinued? any alternatives?

 

[jdam dropper]

Hi and welcome. I use Vallejo for hand brushing and would suggest really thinning the paint down to almost tinted water and then apply in several coats until you have the tint you want. Pantherman

Thanks for the reply, do you hand brush only? i am attempting to do so. do you have any experience with vallejo smoke, have you brush painted it??

 

[TimM63]

Thanks, speaking of future wasnt it discontinued? any alternatives?

This is what I use.