How do you get the best paint job possible with just rattle cans?

[Plumcrazy Preston]

I am using Testors semi-gloss black enamel for my truck's frame. I am planning using a lacquer gray primer, laquer color and lacquer clear for the exterior body work. I have a portable paint booth tent. It is now hot and humid in SW Oklahoma. Breezes and dusty air is common here. I put freshly-painted wet parts in a closed cardboard box immediately to protect from dust. 

It seems as spraying in a breeze might be conducive to orange peel. I tried spray paintng my truck's frame inthe slightest breeze and got orange peel. On the calmest day the underside of my frame was painted and it was quite smooth. I had to wet sand the bad part of my frame and I plan to put on another coat under better painting conditions, preferably in my tent. Sometimes I feel too lazy to set it up. 

 

Edited June 15, 2021 by Plumcrazy Preston

[oldnslow]

I've had good luck with heating the spray cans before spraying . I have an old iron that I mount upside down in a vise set on low and just set the

cans on it till I'm ready to paint . Shake the cans a couple of times as it heats up and just before spraying it to get a good mix and don't heat it hotter

than you can hold . Heating it thins the paint and increases the pressure in the can .

Edited June 15, 2021 by oldnslow

[youpey]

I used to just put my can under the faucet running really hot water. 

As far as orange peel, i think it is going to happen with testors paint. I think i very light wetsand with 2000 grit should take it out. 

I use tamiya sray paint now and have never had orange peel. i have even run it once, and by the time it dried, it level itself out with no drips. 

 

The only problem with tamiya spray is the selection of colors isn't great. However for black, i would use tamiya if possible 

[Rick L]

You’re painting under some tough conditions. The hot part is favorable but the humid part can create a little havoc in the form of blushing in the paint finish. Blushing is caused by the high moisture in the air mixing with the paint flow as you paint, causing the paint to dry unevenly and effect the gloss pattern. So, not only are you going to have to set your tent up for the dust. You need to wait for low humidity conditions. 
 I suggest you make the best of it. Wait for a dry day, pack the tent, a couple of six packs, some food, the fishing rod, the model and all the paint and go camping. 

[Tom Geiger]

You sound like a candidate for an indoor spray booth!  I don’t know your available space situation, but a Pace Peacemaker 24” wide booth would help a great deal. It vents to outdoors and I use mine with spray cans.

Better paints help also. I use Tamiya and Duplicolor auto sprays. I’ve also had decent results with Testors Extreme Lacquer.

 

[Plumcrazy Preston]

8 hours ago, youpey said:

I used to just put my can under the faucet running really hot water. 

As far as orange peel, i think it is going to happen with testors paint. I think i very light wetsand with 2000 grit should take it out. 

I use tamiya sray paint now and have never had orange peel. i have even run it once, and by the time it dried, it level itself out with no drips. 

 

The only problem with tamiya spray is the selection of colors isn't great. However for black, i would use tamiya if possible 

actually the bottom of my frame rails did not orange peel with Testors, if I recall they were sprayed outside on a warm and calm day, back in May, I need to shield the work from the wind before painting, it's also more humid in SW Oklahoma in the month of June

Tamaiya is not made for kitted plastic static models. I read it will eat the type of plastic static models are made of, ABS, isn't it? 

I think Tamayia paints are for RC models only. The only Tamaiya product I use for my static kits has been surface primer. It was about $13 for a small can. 

It has sprayed on and dried beautifully and evenly over my bodywork with no mottling. My body work color paint will be Model Masters lacquer. Decals will be sealed by Testors Glosscote. I will give the bodywork the fanciest and most expensive paint because this is a high beauty area. I can get away with unprimed Testors enamel on low visibilty parts. 

 

 

 

Edited June 15, 2021 by Plumcrazy Preston

[youpey]

48 minutes ago, Plumcrazy Preston said:

actually the bottom of my frame rails did not orange peel with Testors, if I recall they were sprayed outside on a warm and calm day, back in May, I need to shield the work from the wind before painting, it's also more humid in SW Oklahoma in the month of June

Tamaiya is not made for kitted plastic static models. I read it will eat the type of plastic static models are made of, ABS, isn't it? 

I think Tamayia paints are for RC models only. The only Tamaiya product I use for my static kits has been surface primer. It was about $13 for a small can. 

It has sprayed on and dried beautifully and evenly over my bodywork with no mottling. My body work color paint will be Model Masters lacquer. Decals will be sealed by Testors Glosscote. I will give the bodywork the fanciest and most expensive paint because this is a high beauty area. I can get away with unprimed Testors enamel on low visibilty parts. 

 

 

 

tamiya spray paints that have the TS prefix are good for static models. its the PS that are for RC.

 

I use tamiya paints on everything, even little pieces

[StevenGuthmiller]

There are a ton of paints that are not designed for styrene plastic, but there are always ways around this, and in reality, a good portion of the absolute best paints for models is not designed to be used with them.

This shouldn’t stop you.

 

 

 

 

Steve

Edited June 15, 2021 by StevenGuthmiller

[Rodent]

1 hour ago, Plumcrazy Preston said:

t's also more humid in SW Oklahoma in the month of June

Can you somewhat mitigate the humidity issue by spraying early in the morning? Being from California, I feel sorry for those of you that have to paint outside during the summer.

It is 87F with 21% humidity outside my livingroom window right now.

[Plumcrazy Preston]

I'll will have to start spraying in the morning a little after sunup. The sun has to be up enough to give good light for painting outdoors. It gets too damm hot later on the day here anyway. At my apartment, it's just tedious work to have to keep putting up my spray tent and pulling it down again for each and every spray session. I will have a bunch of parts already to paint at a time to reduce fooling with the tent. 

If you live in a house you can erect your tent in your backyard and leave it up for days, use a tool shed to paint or your garage. You may also have one of those little tabletop paint booths that vent fumes out the window indoors. I'm compromised for proper work facilities living in a SW Oklahoma apartment. 

 

I can get away without the tent if the air is calm enough outdoors. It's usually calm on summer mornings. Calm outdoor air is also not conducve to contaminating wet paint with dust. 

Edited June 16, 2021 by Plumcrazy Preston

[Zippi]

David, I have been fighting this same issue since I got back into the hobby a few months ago.  I have tried air brushing various brand craft paints and Tamiya arcylic paints, Rust-Oleum rattle cans, and finially Tamiya lacquer rattle cans.  Around here the humidity is a little to high early in the morning so I wait until about 9-10 and on a sunny day the humidity is normall below 65%.  If it is not a calm day I use my makeshift spray booth outside and for me it does help with the orange peel.  I think on windy days I tend to spray it to heavy creating the orange peel.  For me.....I have gotten the best results using Tamiya lacquer rattle cans and Tamiya TS-13 clear or Rust-Oleum 2X Gloss Clear.  The results seem to be the same with both clears.  With the lacquer paint I spray two light coats letting is flash 15-20 between coats.  I spray a 3rd and maybe a 4th coat to make sure I have it all covered.  Same with the clear, except the last coat I keep the model moving and spray until it gets a very wet look.  Be careful as there is a fine line between wet and running.  Depending on the outcome I usually just polish with Novus products and Meguiar's Mirror Glaze.  If it does have a little orange peel I'll wet sand a little.  I try not to wet sand if at all possible.  That's just me.  The 60 Chevy pickup I just painted and polished the other day.  I'm sure others will have different takes on this but like I said, this is what I have found that works the best for me.            

[Plumcrazy Preston]

I wait several days between paint coats. I don't overdo a single coat or it's run city. Glossier paints tend to be trickier to manage against running or mottling than flat paints. 

[Tom Geiger]

16 hours ago, Plumcrazy Preston said:

If you live in a house you can erect your tent in your backyard and leave it up for days, use a tool shed to paint or your garage. You may also have one of those little tabletop paint booths that vent fumes out the window indoors. I'm compromised for proper work facilities living in a SW Oklahoma apartment. 

I hear ya!  You do have the tenacity to set up a tent over and over so you have the passion to build!

My favorite model was built on a kitchen table, setting up / breaking down every evening, storing it all in top of the refrigerator so little hands wouldn’t find it!

Where there a will, there’s a way!

[youpey]

I dont have a permenant work area either and i bought a platic bin to paint in. You definitely dont want to paint in windy conditions. 

[Zippi]

It took me a while but I finially got a paint process that seems to be working for me.  No painting on rainy days, let the humidity droop below 70% before painting, if the wind is not calm, use the makeshift paint booth, light coats & flash time.  I'm still working on the process but I'm 80% there.  

[Sandboarder]

Watch Lincoln Wright’s YouTube videos. He’s also called Painting on Plastic and has a great video about painting with rattle cans. Lots of cool tips that I use. 

[Chariots of Fire]

I like Duplicolor paints. Prime first to get out all the flaws that don't show up on the bare plastic.  Then sand and fill in bad spots or sand down high spots.  Prime again and sand.  Do that until the primer is smooth.  Wash in warm soapy water and let air dry.  Then start the color coats.  Duplicolor sprays very fine and is at a good pressure just coming from the can.  It also has an adjustable nozzle that lets you paint a fan type spray either horizontal or vertical.  It comes vertical and that's the way I keep it.  Sand the first coat down.  Spray again to catch the areas that didn't get it the first time.  Let dry and sand without going through the color.  Wash, air dry and give a coat or two that covers well.  Let it dry and polish it out with Novus.😊 

[AC Norton]

I live in an apartment, same one for years, and I paint on the balcony, weather and humidity permitting. Tamiya sprays are usually the order of the day, but  for some flats I use basic Testors enamel for various parts.... I find Tamiya colors and their  clear, pearl clear, and semi gloss are excellent, and have used them for ages... I am very 'old school'  and after prepping bodies, I tape them on the underside to coat hangers, all bent to my liking, and then proceed with a couple of light, dust coats, waiting 5-8 minutes, then laying on a heavier coat, waiting another 5 minutes, to finish with 1 heavy coat, in close, but checking that  too much paint will not cause a run. After that, I let the body or related parts dry for about  3 hours, then check for any dust or foreign particles, and if so, gently wet sanding them out, and then giving the car the usual 'tack rag'  treatment, and then 2 coats of clear, one light coat, 2-3 minutes later another heavy coat to finish. I am unable to set up a booth in here, so my painting and building methods may seem a little behind the times, but I make do the best I can, and usually end up pretty happy....Everyone builds, paints, and works differently, there really is no answer, its all what works for you after lots of trial and hopefully, not too many errors...lol....Ace....☺️

Edited July 18, 2021 by AC Norton

[Sledsel]

On all mine I prefer to lay a coat down and let it dry for a few days, then some 2000 grit and 2 more coats. If it is a solid color and I do not like the finish I take 3000 grit and polish. Metallic paint seam to lay better for me but I will clear and wet sand and polish when needed. 

This is a duplicolor paint job with one coat of Testors Wet look clear, no buffing

[doorsovdoon]

I always put on a light coat first. After an hour or two I lay a thicker coat on. The first coat can look a little textured but will cover up nicely after two or three thicker coats. I find three coats is enough with rattle cans. It's best to lay all your coats on in one day, next day at the latest. The paint will find it's level much easier that way so less chance of orange peel, otherwise the layers will cure at different rates as they'll just sit on top of each other rather than bond and cure together. 

[tommyfogarty]

I hope it's ok if I add to this thread with another question...  I am getting back into building after a long break (20 years).  I just purchased the very nice Tamiya 1/12 scale "Jagermeister" Porsche 934 and am surprised to see that the paint code for the bodyt corresponds to a Tamiya rattle can and not an airbrush-able bottle pain.  The guy at the hobby store assured me that Tamiya rattle cans can actually yield great results if cleaning, priming and sanding steps are taken adequately.  I am still a bit suspicious.  Can anyone confirm or refute?  

[Ctmodeler]

2 minutes ago, tommyfogarty said:

I hope it's ok if I add to this thread with another question...  I am getting back into building after a long break (20 years).  I just purchased the very nice Tamiya 1/12 scale "Jagermeister" Porsche 934 and am surprised to see that the paint code for the bodyt corresponds to a Tamiya rattle can and not an airbrush-able bottle pain.  The guy at the hobby store assured me that Tamiya rattle cans can actually yield great results if cleaning, priming and sanding steps are taken adequately.  I am still a bit suspicious.  Can anyone confirm or refute?  

I mean you could decant the spray paint or see if tamiya made it in a non spray can .

[tommyfogarty]

Well, there is no matching color in a Tamiya bottle, but I have thought about mixing my own.  

[Pierre_tec]

On 7/27/2021 at 11:57 AM, tommyfogarty said:

I hope it's ok if I add to this thread with another question...  I am getting back into building after a long break (20 years).  I just purchased the very nice Tamiya 1/12 scale "Jagermeister" Porsche 934 and am surprised to see that the paint code for the bodyt corresponds to a Tamiya rattle can and not an airbrush-able bottle pain.  The guy at the hobby store assured me that Tamiya rattle cans can actually yield great results if cleaning, priming and sanding steps are taken adequately.  I am still a bit suspicious.  Can anyone confirm or refute?  

You can always decanted the tamiya spray cans with great results. And yes it will look amazing after polishing with the micro mesh 3k -12k sanding method, so go for it and keep us updated