Paint Question

[jaxenro]

OK looking at the builds here got me inspired and I am doing my first model kit since the late 1980's. Been a long time and I starting clean so will have a lot of questions.

I bought a old Western Models metal 1:43 540K to start with I wanted to paint it with Testor Model Master Lacquer - Black or Red (still deciding) so questions

1: Primer - what to use and seeing it's 1:43 I would think something thin? Or do I need primer for a metal model?

2. Anything I need to know about Testor Model Master Lacquer

3. What's a good paint for the interior - sort of a tannish light brownish leather color

[High octane]

While I don't paint metal parts, I've heard that other guys use a self-etching primer. Hopefully someone else will chime in and give you some advise.

[Ace-Garageguy]

I paint a lot of small metal parts in the big-car shop. Nick is right on about self-etching primer. It comes in rattlecans (Duplicolor green is my favorite...and it's VERY thin) at the auto-parts store. Clean your bare metal parts with isopropyl alcohol to get any oils or coatings off of them, and spray away.

If you need a surfacing primer, any of the Duplicolor products (including their paints) can be used over the self-etch.

Testors lacquers will work fine too.

[jaxenro]

So just dupli color green primer? Auto zone or one of those places? I will check for it thank you

Don't see a lot of 1:43 here does anyone build these?

Since I don't airbrush what do you recommend for chrome? Seeing as it's metal I was thinking one of those little nickel electric plating kits and plating the trim?

[Ace-Garageguy]

So just dupli color green primer? Auto zone or one of those places? Yes. Just make sure it's labeled "self etching". The stuff dries really quickly, and is so thin it's transparent unless you really hammer it on. It sticks remarkably well for a rattlecan product if you let it dry fully too. And if you DO need a filling primer to correct little surface irregularities, Duplicolor makes two types...one is "sandable", which is quite thin and comes in white, gray, black, and red...the other is "high-build" or "scratch filling", comes in the same colors (depending on your market and store), and fills imperfections better.

Since I don't airbrush what do you recommend for chrome? Seeing as it's metal I was thinking one of those little nickel electric plating kits and plating the trim? That sounds interesting, for sure.

[jaxenro]

Would I be better off using all dupli color to keep in the same family? Do they do a good black an clear? Is it lacquer or enamel?

[Ace-Garageguy]

Would I be better off using all dupli color to keep in the same family? Do they do a good black an clear? Is it lacquer or enamel?

The Duplicolor products are lacquers unless specifically labeled "enamel". I don't recall if Duplicolor does a straight black, but they do at least one metallic or pearl black. And yes, they do a good clear too.

BUT...Testors lacquers work perfectly over all of Duplicolor's primers mentioned above.

This is one instance where mixing products from different manufacturers works well. Lotsa guys here use Testors lacquer colors and clears over Duplicolor primers...like this one of mine.

[Longbox55]

Universal Black is a regular non-metallic black. They also have an acrylic lacquer black in a different line that's real nice to work with. So far from my experience, Duplicolor works very well with both Testors and Tamiya lacquers.