Paint steps with Tamiya Spray paint

[rpthomas]

I'm painting my first model with Tamiya rattle can paint, I have the body primed and ready. I have read that I should put two or three mist coats on before the wet coat. Some say one wet coat others say 3 or more? My question is how long to I wait between mist coats? Do I need to wait 15 to 20 minutes between each mist coat? Then when I have applied the mist coats how long do I wait to do the wet coats? If I'm to do more than one wet coat how long do I wait between wet coats?  I have read once done with the wet coat or coats to wait 24 hours or so to polish. Any help would be apprecitated. When I watch some of the video's of painting it looks like they paint a mist coat and then immediately do a couple more mist coats without waiting for the first one to cure and then the video showed the painter applying the wet coat immediately after the mist coats.
Thank from a rookie builder. Also I'm not using enamel paint. It's the Tamiya TS paint.

Great forum and talented modelers.

Bob

Edited March 15, 2016 by rpthomas

[maltsr]

Hi Bob.

The videos you have seen are pretty much the way I do it.  Don't forget to sand the primer coat if you haven't already done so.  Mist coats dry very quickly, by the time the last panel is painted, the first ones should be dry to the touch.  It only takes me 10 minutes or so to apply several coats. 

I then apply a thicker coat to give an even colour, wait a few minutes for that to flash over and then apply a wet coat, holding the spraycan 10cm from the model, moving quite fast. 

After painting the entire body, I wait for about 5 minutes and look for orange peel, applying more paint as necessary to achieve a smooth finish, and let it dry for 10 minutes or so.  Some colours such as red, black, white, pearl white and Dark Blue Pearl can dry remarkably smooth without the need for more coats.  If not, another wet coat is applied.  I have also applied gloss clear as the final wetcoat to good effect.

I would recommend leaving the paint a few days to dry thoroughly before sanding.  I've left indentations and fingerprints in paint I thought had dried, but had not fully cured .

I've been using Tamiya spraycans for many years now and after much practice usually apply paint wet enough to dry smooth, but without runs.  I'm still really nervous each time I pick up a spraycan though.

You're welcome to pm me if you have any questions.  Keep practising!

This is a recent paintjob that luckily required no sanding, using the method outlined above.  I still think I'm lucky each time that happens!

 

Edited March 15, 2016 by maltsr

[High octane]

Hi Bob.

The videos you have seen are pretty much the way I do it.  Don't forget to sand the primer coat if you haven't already done so.  Mist coats dry very quickly, by the time the last panel is painted, the first ones should be dry to the touch.  It only takes me 10 minutes or so to apply several coats. 

I then apply a thicker coat to give an even colour, wait a few minutes for that to flash over and then apply a wet coat, holding the spraycan 10cm from the model, moving quite fast. 

After painting the entire body, I wait for about 5 minutes and look for orange peel, applying more paint as necessary to achieve a smooth finish, and let it dry for 10 minutes or so.  Some colours such as red, black, white, pearl white and Dark Blue Pearl can dry remarkably smooth without the need for more coats.  If not, another wet coat is applied.  I have also applied gloss clear as the final wetcoat to good effect.

I would recommend leaving the paint a few days to dry thoroughly before sanding.  I've left indentations and fingerprints in paint I thought had dried, but had not fully cured .

I've been using Tamiya spraycans for many years now and after much practice usually apply paint wet enough to dry smooth, but without runs.  I'm still really nervous each time I pick up a spraycan though.

You're welcome to pm me if you have any questions.  Keep practising!

This is a recent paintjob that luckily required no sanding, using the method outlined above.  I still think I'm lucky each time that happens!

 

Wow, I just love that Merc as it's beautiful! I usually wait 20 minutes between coats and spray the clear coats 24 hours later. Most modelers have their own way of spray painting their cars, and the time between coats and number of coats will vary.

[935k3]

Click the link see Tamiya's own recommendations for using their paints http://www.tamiyausa.com/articles/painting-with-tamiya-synthetic-lacquers-35?category_id=8

[rpthomas]

Thank you Nick. That helps clarify the sequence better for me. Beautiful paint job on the Mercury. Love that vintage car. Only hope I can at some point lay down a paint job that nice on one of my future builds.  I have 10 kits already...on the first one,  Lindberg 64 Dodge 330. Going with the slant 6 engine. 50 Olds Custom is next and  the final paint job is important to me. Anyway  thank you for the help.

Bob

[drsnapper55]

Click the link see Tamiya's own recommendations for using their paints http://www.tamiyausa.com/articles/painting-with-tamiya-synthetic-lacquers-35?category_id=8

Nice resource and thanks for sharing in response - never really thought about the clear and light reflection as related to the surface.