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Foil under paint technique


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I want to give this a try but have a couple questions. I've read that it's best to add the foil after primer and then paint. Do you sand over the foil after each coat of paint or after the final coat? What about the clear coat? And I've noticed sometimes polishing over foil will create a black residue. How would that effect the paint job? Thanks 

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I've covered emblems with foil on bare plastic (better detailing), then I cover the foil with Elmer's Glue or my homemade liquid masking goop and proceed with primer, paint, clearcoat if necessary, and rubout. Only THEN do I peel the mask off, revealing the pristine foil. (Any painting on the emblem, such as the flags on a Corvette emblem, are done before masking--often before I even trim the foil.)

For something more petite like just a name emblem, I'd foil it, and trim the foil as close as possible to just the outside of the letters, not worrying about the insides or the spaces between. Then I'd prime and paint, and count on the paint rubout to uncover the bare foil letters.

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I've tried this technique several different ways & have pretty much settled on one way of doing it that works best for me.

I wait to apply the foil until I'm down to one or two more "color" coats left to apply.

I apply the foil over only small emblems & scripts, cutting as close as possible & then shoot my remaining color coats over the entire body.

After allowing sufficient drying time to safely handle, I carefully remove the paint from the script or emblem with a tooth pick soaked in a little lacquer thinner.

Then I clear coat over the entire body.

I've had very good luck with this technique & use it all of the time.

 

Steve

 

 photo DSCN4675_zpsvjjojxiw.jpg

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I've tried this technique several different ways & have pretty much settled on one way of doing it that works best for me.

I wait to apply the foil until I'm down to one or two more "color" coats left to apply.

I apply the foil over only small emblems & scripts, cutting as close as possible & then shoot my remaining color coats over the entire body.

After allowing sufficient drying time to safely handle, I carefully remove the paint from the script or emblem with a tooth pick soaked in a little lacquer thinner.

Then I clear coat over the entire body.

I've had very good luck with this technique & use it all of the time.

Steve

 

I do the same, except I use a small piece of balsa instead of a toothpick. The balsa is more absorbent than toothpick wood (whatever that is) and sometimes having a flat surface is helpful when removing paint.

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I do the same as Steve and Ray, except I use an "artist's blending stump". However, no matter how careful I am, I still mar the paint a bit around the emblem. So I clean the emblem with thinner, spray one more coat of color, then do the final cleaning with the stump and polish.

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Ive only done this method a couple times .

I'll be honest ,,,,,I think it works the best if you are using an airbrush to spray the body ( its thinner coats ) . I did it on a couple cars after spraying with a rattle can and and IMO the emblem gets paint buildup around the said emblem thus making it harder to highlight the now buried foil lettering

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I put the BMF on the bare plastic and start the painting process - primer & color.  Then use lacquer thinner to remove most of the paint & primer and complete the process with very fine sandpaper.  Then I clear coat.

I started out by doing it this way, but was never satisfied with the result.

Depending on how many coats of primer & color you use, it can be a lot of layers to remove from the emblems.

I also started noticing very thin "lines" around the scripts of exposed primer after removing the paint.

Also, some guys seem to have pretty good luck with using the "sanding" method to remove the paint from the script, but be aware, the foil is very thin & it's very easy to sand right through the foil.

 

Steve

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Ive only done this method a couple times .

I'll be honest ,,,,,I think it works the best if you are using an airbrush to spray the body ( its thinner coats ) . I did it on a couple cars after spraying with a rattle can and and IMO the emblem gets paint buildup around the said emblem thus making it harder to highlight the now buried foil lettering

It is true Bill, that it's a little easier with an air brush, but if you wait until that last color coat, the paint will draw away from the script leaving very thin coverage over the emblem.

The white on my '61 Buick was done with Duplicolor paint in a rattle can & the emblem on the rear deck was very faint, but it still worked well using this technique.

 

Steve

 

 photo DSCN4537_zpskeuoqzfv.jpg

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the best thing I have found for removing paint or residue precisely are these very firm, conical swabs. The make made my life so much easier, and are infinitely better than toothpicks. I bought them the one time I went into hobby lobby

 

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/Tamiya-Craft-Cotton-Swabs-Medium-Pointed-Hobby-Weathering-Paint-Brush-Swab/371582498598

 

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the best thing I have found for removing paint or residue precisely are these very firm, conical swabs. The make made my life so much easier, and are infinitely better than toothpicks. I bought them the one time I went into hobby lobby

 

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/Tamiya-Craft-Cotton-Swabs-Medium-Pointed-Hobby-Weathering-Paint-Brush-Swab/371582498598

 

Amazing--I just noticed those for the first time ever at HL just yesterday. I wondered what they were for.

So...I guess I'm the only one here who will foil an emblem and then mask it before painting?

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the best thing I have found for removing paint or residue precisely are these very firm, conical swabs. The make made my life so much easier, and are infinitely better than toothpicks. I bought them the one time I went into hobby lobby

 

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/Tamiya-Craft-Cotton-Swabs-Medium-Pointed-Hobby-Weathering-Paint-Brush-Swab/371582498598

 

Absolutely Cameron!

I should have mentioned that I use them also.

The smallest size works extremely well for this technique.

I use them first to remove the majority of the paint from the emblem & then pick out the very fine points & around the edges with a tooth pick.

 

Steve

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Those Tamiya swabs come in 3 sizes.  You can get very similar makeup applicators at Walgreens significantly cheaper.

They're also extremely useful in burnishing BMF, wiping paint from around window openings (when painting the headliner), and lots of other stuff.

 

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