Dankidus

Ok I feel really stupid in asking this one, but how do you tell if a paint is lacquer or enamel if it doesnt say it on the can?

Mistake understood and advice taken, guess it's back to the store for me! It is Testors gray primer, doesnt say sandable, and I got it because it was right under the models at Hobby Lobby, lol... Assumptions are the mother of all f'ups I suppose. It looks great but if I cant sand it... oops! Good thing I only did it on the interior and not the body. I wish I could buy an airbrush but I just dropped a couple hundred bucks on everything and money is tight atm... Maybe in a couple months if business picks up I'll get a great airbrush set! And thanks for the replies everybody!

Ok, so I laid down a coat of enamal primer on a few big parts and let it dry for a few hours. It looked great but I saw a few tiny bumps in it so I decided to take some paper to it. Using 1500 grit 3m wetanddry I saw some imperfections forming due to the sanding, so I switched to 2000 and it didnt really help any. I decided "Well maybe it needs water?" so I used a little water on the paper to lubricate it and started pulling the primer off. Coming back to it a few hours later I can still see the swirl marks from the sanding where there is still primer... Do I just need to keep applying coats of primer until it looks good? What if a particle of dust gets in it while its drying? I feel like an idiot but I've never painted anything before and I wish I knew the process in detail from start to finish. Could somebody please help?

I tried your paint the whole thing black method and then I used a method of my own. I used a toothpick to get enough paint to cause a bubble of black at the end and dipped it into the indentions, which I found easier because I could see the recess seperators easier because they werent black. Hopefully they turn out okay. They look like theyre gonna turn out much better than I expected. I can tell sanding is gonna be a pain tho, lol... Thanks again for the response. Ill post photos when they dry!

It does help, thank you. Both solutions are interesting ideas however would thinning cause the black to have less color? Also, I am using acrylic paint, if I was to use the second option, would the black show through the silver? I'm completely new to crafts so bear with me please

I'm building my first model (as a hobbyist). For the record it is a 1:24 scale '71 Plymouth HEMI Cuda". As a first timer I will obviously have a few questions. Most I can get online without using a forum, but this question is a bit more specific. Basically, it is "How do I paint this wheel?": As you can see (maybe?) the wheel has indentions, and I would like to paint them black while painting the rest of the wheel silver. Should I primer the entire thing or just go ahead and paint it the colors I want? Also, should I somehow use masking tape on this or is there an easier way to keep the silver from getting into the intentions? Any other tips would be great!