Type of plastic affecting color?

[Dandydan]

I'm building a replica of a 79 F350 wrecker my Dad drove years ago using the "Destroyer" cab and "Midnight Cowboy" wrecker body. I used the same primer and same paint on both pieces and sprayed them at the same time. The white on the cab appears off-white while the wrecker body is bright white. Any ideas?

[slusher]

Did you use white primer? Could be the paint or how much it was shook up. Tamiya gloss white and Model Master gloss white are the best...Light sand and repaint the cab..maybe the hood alone first..

[Dandydan]

I used a light gray sand able-usually have decent luck but maybe I'll look for some white. I don't have a good source locally for paint but I happen to be going to Carlisle to shop for a few kits this weekend and there's a good hobby store on the way that sells Tamiya. Thanks Slusher!

[Skydime]

this is where the spoon test can drop out of play. Someone mention repainting just the hoods first before totally repainting. I am going to go a step further and say just test the bottom side of the hood. I always paint the bottom side of the hood first so I get some idea what the finished project is going to look like. Spray both in primer together and then both in paint together.

[High octane]

I only use grey primer if I'm shootin' silver or black paint. Any others, I use white primer and am happy with the way the colors turn out.

[Ridge Rider]

I have heard of plastic color bleeding through primer and paint. Were the cab and body the same color plastic? If they aren't white or are different colors I have heard of this problem. I have yet to deal with this problem personally so I can't suggest one fix over another. This has been addressed before on this forum but I'm unsure of the wording to search for it. Good luck

[weasel]

I've had some red plastic bleed thru grey PlastiCote primer a couple times...orange plastic also[once]...I read somewhere to under use a silver lacquer over the primer then color, clear, etc...

[charlie8575]

Red, orange, yellow, green and purple plastic all bleed with a vengance. I would suggest the following to prevent it and to help even the color.

1. Prime with one light coat of sealer primer, such as made by Plasti-Kote or Dupli-Color for automotive applications. Sand, apply a second light coat.

2. Seal the primer with silver automotive paint (any shade of silver). This will seal the primer, the plastic and provide an absolutely uniform color.

3. Apply one coat of white, gray, or red (your choice depending on your color-coat) sandable primer. Sand, apply another coat if needed.

4. Topcoat.

That should eliminate most of the problems.

If you want to exercise a little extra caution, dip the parts in Pledge with Future (ex-Future) floor wax; the acrylic will seal the plastic. Proceed as above.

Good luck.

Charlie Larkin

[Skydime]

Dan, you have an interesting issue. Please don't think I am trying to threadjack here but, Charlie has an interesting solution and I would like to ask about it.

Charlie, just wandering, do you ever have any issues with any detail getting lost that way? The reason I ask is, that seems like a lot of layers before paint. I may not be visualizing the whole thing with all the sanding but, this does seem like a viable solution to Dan's problem if no detail is lost.

Edited October 2, 2013 by Skydime

[Dandydan]

Thank you all so much for the input. Based on that, I think I'll get busy sanding as soon as its plenty dry, shoot some silver and then re-prime with white and see what happens. Stay tuned and thanks again!

[charlie8575]

Dan, you have an interesting issue. Please don't think I am trying to threadjack here but, Charlie has an interesting solution and I would like to ask about it.

Charlie, just wandering, do you ever have any issues with any detail getting lost that way? The reason I ask is, that seems like a lot of layers before paint. I may not be visualizing the whole thing with all the sanding but, this does seem like a viable solution to Dan's problem if no detail is lost.

Ken, Make sure the primer is a thorough coat. You don't need a super-heavy coat of silver paint, one light coat should be enough, Essentially, by this point, you've only applied about 2-3 coats of paint.

Be sure to wet-sand and such as normal, as that will help reduce paint build-up and don't be afraid to use a liquid sanding compound like Soft-Scrub.

With regard to top-coat and paint, you might be able to skip the tie-coat of primer if you're either not making a substantial color change, or painting a dark color over the silver, such as black or dark blue, but be forewarned that the metallic elements could create problems, especially if you're not looking for a metallic finish.

Like all other ideas, experiment. Try this out and see what works for you.

Charlie Larkin

[The Creative Explorer]

This is not meant as a bash or feeling god-like, but I never have the issue that a color bleeds through the primer. And I do have painted all kinds of kits and all kinds of colored plastics.

Since I use the airbrush (about 2009), I use Alclad grey primer as my main starting point. If I need a lighter color, I use Alclad white primer on top of the grey one. Primarily because there are barely any modelkits molded in grey and gives me a better look to the body while sanding.

But I never had any color bleeding through the primer.

Again, it isn't meant for bragging, just trying to help.