284 replies to this topic

[Miatatom]

I use 1:1 Enamel reducer instead of lacquer thinner. The paint dries very quickly using the reducer, about 10 minutes. Fast enough for me to handle the parts. I also reduce the mixture by one third paint and two thirds reducer. This way I can lower the air pressure to 15-18 psi.



Dan

Dan, what kind of enamel reducer do you use? I've heard that using real automotive chemicals isn't good because they are too "Hot" for the plastic.

[Bluemiles22]

Ok quick question. I shot a body with enamel clear yesterday and there is some orange peel, but it seems like if I sprayed any more on I would have started to lose my panel lines. Everything was set and prepped like it is on donns DVD. I was just wondering if there's something I can do to avoid this, it seems to happen every time I clear coat

[59 Impala]

Tom, I use the reducer from Napa and it is the medium dry reducer. I've not had any issues using the reducer with Testors paints. I use the 1/4 oz. bottles and thin them down with the reducer. I'll put about a 1/4 inch of paint in the bottle and the rest is reducer. Now, this is very thin and I usually spray a few light coats like Donn does. I spray with between 10 and 18 lbs. of air. I do spray continuously starting from the top and then the front, then back and last the sides and then go over the model the same way until it is covered. Then I'll let it dry. That's all that I do. Most of the time I will spray the clear over the model after it has dried. But there are some times that I don't spray any clear. Like, if I'm looking for the shine of the 50'and 60's. That's about it.

Rich, I use Future floor polish instead of enamel clear for my clear coats. Future is sold now as Pledge with Future shine I'm told and should be in any supper market or Wall Mart. Dan

[LoneWolf15]

Rich ,

Quick answer ...... Let it flashout , wetsand it smooth , polish it to a glass finish . Temperature and humidity can cause orange peel too . Be sure to mist coat your clear on just like your color application . As always , be patient !

It is natural to get excited when applying your clear , you start to see the shine and color really take shape . This is when you have to discipline yourself and not rush through the application ! Continue to mist coat until you have a uniform shine and overall smooth coverage . If you have a bit of orange peel after flashout , your polishing kit will take care of that right quick !

[Bluemiles22]

I've never tried future I'll have to check it out. How does it spray on? Is it thin? The problem that I'm having is that I'm not getting enough clear down to get rid of the orange peel but at the same time if I keep coating I'm going to lose my panel lines. Maybe thinning it more would help?

[Bluemiles22]

Thank you guys for the input very much appreciated! Donn now that I think about it the humidity probably had something to do with it, it was pretty hot yesterday when I painted. I'm sure wet sanding will take it out it's not all that bad. I'll get a few pics up soon. Thanks again guys.

[LoneWolf15]

You have to wetsand the color coat before you apply your clear if you have orange peel in said color coat ! The smoother the surface to be painted , the smoother the finish !

[Bluemiles22]

The color coat came out glass smooth with no sanding. Sorry I should have worded my last post differently. It was really hot out when I clear coated. By the way I got all three of your DVDs last fall. Best purchase I ever made I learned a lot from them. Thanks again

[59 Impala]

Future is thin. It's ready to spray. You also can dip it or brush it on. If you make a mistake Windex will remove it, but be careful, Windex will also remove the paint if fresh. It happened to me just a couple of weeks ago and I learned the hard way. I had to strip the paint off of the car and now I have to repaint it. Bummer. Dan

P.S. After spraying Future I cleaned my spray gun with Windex to clean it out.

[Bluemiles22]

Thanks Dan I'm gonna have to check that out. Yea it always sucks when you screw up a paint job lol. Believe me I've messed up quite a few but oh well what can you do it happens.

[hooterville75]

Here's a new body painted . . . I am hoping this will be my first 62 Imp. finally finished . . .

Doc:

Is this the body you used during your vid on how to use Novus ?

[hooterville75]

The heck with the photos, all the valuable information that's in this post has literally created me to obtain writers cramp and the need to purchase a new notebook for the work station ha ha. This is by far the post that had my attention from start to finish that I actually read EVERY post in the thread. So privaledged to be obtaining this valuable information from two of the best scale model builders in the World. (Not saying any of you others that posted in this thread are not of same quality as Doc and Donn) just that I haven't had the opportunity to talk with you as I have these two. Will be using Donn's method for the first time starting Monday. Can you say PUMPED and the amount of ideas that are flowing through my head of the What if's ha ha.

[Bluemiles22]

After the metalizer is sprayed what do you do to smooth it out? I tried wet sanding but it dulls it to a gray. Or should it just be left as is? I've had great results leaving it but there's always a very slight texture to it. Any suggestions?

[LoneWolf15]

Immediately spray your paint over the metallizer . The slight texture in no way affects the paint or the smoothness of it's surface .

I have experimented with buffing the metallizer with a piece of cotton t shirt before painting , found there was no real difference with the end results . One draw back was the possibility of leaving fiber on the surface which necessitated rewashing the body before painting .

[Bluemiles22]

Thanks for the info don. I've buffed the metalizer also but it didn't make a difference. I was just wondering if getting it smoother and brighter would bring a different result. Thanks again.

[Bluemiles22]

Ok here's a little trick I came across on accident. I was mixing some paints and was curious to see if I could make transparent candy colors with enamels. I took 1 jar of color, 1 jar of clear, and 1 jar of laquer thinner and so fr pretty happy with the results






The 55 is pearl blue over silver and I also did the purple and blue over black, the red is over silver and another one over gold.

[Bluemiles22]

One more of the Chevy

[wisdonm]

Are the flakes in the base coat or your mixture?

[Bluemiles22]

The flakes are in the paint already, purple pearl, blue pearl, and stop light red metallic were the colors used. I'm going to try straight colors next that have no flakes to see how it looks as I'm pretty sure candy colors are supposed to be non metallic

[G Holding]

mixing clear in with the color is a favorite blending trick in 1:1. by progressivly adding more clear vs color you can blend different panels together without repainting the whole vehicle. harder to do in scale, but the clear will make the color more "transparent"