one primer question, and one polishing/waxing question

[allecb]

first is the primer question. bought an aoshima lambo kit and im going to paint it tamiya italian red lacquer. i have grey primer, and sprayed a spare part, then put the italian red over it. came out pretty dark. definitely not a "hey im a lambo!" red..so i am assuming i need to get white primer.

however, ive seen some talk about duplicolor primer being cheaper/the exact same thing as tamiya primer/mr hobby primer. so why pay double the price, for half the amount? what is the EXACT kind of primer from duplicolor (or anything else) that i need for my model?and where do i buy? i do plan on sanding it, by the way.

second question is, i bought a 3 state wax/polish kit from my local hobby store. i clear coated the body, and polished/waxed. i noticed a MINIMAL difference. i was then told by the worker that i was supposed to SAND the clear coat with 1-6k paper, THEN polish/wax. is this true, or is he giving me misinformation?

thanks!!

[Chillyb1]

however, ive seen some talk about duplicolor primer being cheaper/the exact same thing as tamiya primer/mr hobby primer. so why pay double the price, for half the amount? what is the EXACT kind of primer from duplicolor (or anything else) that i need for my model?and where do i buy? i do plan on sanding it, by the way.

thanks!!

Well, this bit is misinformation. The primers you mention are alike only inasmuch as they are all primers. In general, non-hobby-specific paints and primers are less expensive than hobby-specific primers and paints. But they are in no way the same thing. A lot of modelers like Duplicolor and Plasti-kote primers (and paints, I guess), but I've found them to way too thick/heavy for my modeling needs. Modelers who do lots of body mods or customizing like those primers because they help fill as they prime. Anyway, Tamiya primer is incredibly thin and incredibly smooth. In my opinion it is worth every cent I pay to get the finish it provides straight out of the can. And I'll say the exact same thing about their TS paints. But these decisions are up to the individual modeler. It is simple fact that some paints and primers are qualitatively better than others; however, it is possible to get excellent results with a very wide range of products available to us modelers.

And you should perform a search about polishing. There are about a billion threads on the topic. It is another field that is about what each modeler hopes to get from the process. I hate having to do ANY sanding or polishing, so I keep it to a minimum.

Good luck with the Lamborghini.

[Mike Chernecki]

Try Tamiya pink primer, that should help with the red staying nice and bright. I have also heard some professional car painters using a yellow base under red to brighten up the red.

[High octane]

I like Tamiya primers also as it goes on nice and thin. A primer rule I ALWAYS follow is grey primer if the color coats are gonna be black or silver, and white primer for ALL other colors.

I never use wax on my models as they don't sit outside when I'm done with them and don't need any protection. I polish out the clear coats after 'bout two weeks drying time, and then I lay down my BMF and decals. Nuff said?

[StevenGuthmiller]

Just using liquid polishes won't make a lot of difference unless your paint is extremely shiny to begin with. Usually there will be at least a little orange peel or a few specks of dust to deal with first. That's where the sanding comes in. You can use a myriad of different products for this from cheap sand papers to hobby polishing cloths. Myself, I use the "Micro Mesh" pads & cloths, but that is completely up to the modeler. You'll probably want to do a little experimenting & decide what works best for you. Steve