Painting white plastic white

[NOBLNG]

I have a model molded in white styrene. I want parts of the interior (seats and door panels) to be white. Do I have to paint those parts white, or would it be OK to clear them with a semi gloss or matt clear?  It would be nice to have the pleats in the seats stand out a bit more. What could I use to make them stand out a bit without blackening the rest of the upholstery? Panel line accent would be too dark I think?

Thanks for any tips. Greg.

Edited May 1, 2019 by NOBLNG

[NOBLNG]

I tried the panel line accent on a spare set of seats, and it looks ok in some spots. Other places it just looks dirty! 

[Matt Bacon]

For the seats, paint them first in an off white... white with a TINY amount of yellow or blue added, or even the smallest hint of black to make "barely-gray". If the car is going to be a warm colour, I'd go for the very pale cream off white; if it's going to be a cold colour primarily, then the ice-white with a hint of blue. When it's dried thoroughly, dry-brush with pure white, which will give you bright highlights and leave the creases in the pleats slightly darker...

best,

M.

[Snake45]

I routinely paint paint molded-white interiors with Krylon Matte Clear if I'm going for a white interior. What looks more like white plastic than white plastic? 

[Oldcarfan27]

I have a spray can of parchment colored upholstery dye for use on real car interiors. It's designed for coloring plastic (or vinyl). It looks authentic because it IS authentic. So no worrying if it's a close match. 

[espo]

Many great suggestions on the interior detailing. If I can offer a couple of alternatives. The Tamiya Panel Line accent color is also available in Gray and might work a little better and not stand out as much as the black. I have also used The Detailer products and they are also offered in several colors and like the Tamiya products they can also be used on exterior door opening lines. Your question about painting a white plastic model white. For myself the biggest problem I have had was to do with any mold lines and other imperfections on the body. I will first sand any obvious lines before using a light coat of gray primer. With the gray primer any other imperfections will show up with a very light sanding. This will also let you see if the door panel edges and the main body has any problems. After you have the body done the way you want it then spray it with Tamiya White Primer. Again light sanding and I usually use a 2400 sanding pad or higher. Since you're using only light coats don't worry about the different shades of primer showing after a light sanding as at this point you're making the surface level so that there will be no runs after the next and final White Primer coat. At this point any surface that doesn't look 100 % should be corrected, or move on to your first color coat of the Body color. I will usually use two light color coats and let it sit over night. I'll give it one final  "color sanding" under a bright light looking for any imperfections, dust or lint in the paint. Then one last color coat and let dry. I always inspect the paint work again under a very bright light to make sure it's finished the way I want it. Then I'll Clear coat the model again with two light coats. After a 24 to 48 hour drying time you can move on to polishing. This may seem like a lot of paint, but you're only using light coats and sanding much of it away in between coats. 

[High octane]

YES you have to paint the seats. In the early 60's I had entered a contest at a local hobby shop and when It was over I had asked the owner why I didn't win. She told me that I didn't paint the interior and I answered that I wanted it white. She then told me that if I wanted a white interior I had to PAINT it. That was a lesson in model car building for me.

[Snake45]

8 hours ago, High octane said:

She then told me that if I wanted a white interior I had to PAINT it. That was a lesson in model car building for me.

The lesson was that different people have different opinions, and this one just happened to be in a position where she could hurt you with hers. NOT that her opinion was necessarily better than yours. 

ALWAYS build to please yourself, not others. If others like it, that's fine, but that's not your priority (unless they're paying you). 

[935k3]

If you want your model to like a real car prime and paint it. If you want it to look like a plastic model don't paint it. The wash problems might be caused by bad molding of the part.

Edited May 3, 2019 by 935k3

[High octane]

2 hours ago, Snake45 said:

The lesson was that different people have different opinions, and this one just happened to be in a position where she could hurt you with hers. NOT that her opinion was necessarily better than yours. 

ALWAYS build to please yourself, not others. If others like it, that's fine, but that's not your priority (unless they're paying you). 

That was in the early sixties and I was still learning, and I valued that advice. I do build for myself and don't have time to build for anyone else either.

[Tommy124]

10 hours ago, Snake45 said:

The lesson was that different people have different opinions, and this one just happened to be in a position where she could hurt you with hers. NOT that her opinion was necessarily better than yours. 

ALWAYS build to please yourself, not others. If others like it, that's fine, but that's not your priority (unless they're paying you). 

The other lesson was that a shop-owner selling model kits and paints wants people to use paints on their model kits.

And I agree to build to please yourself. 

[Tom Geiger]

I use pastel chalks for a lot of my work. To highlight the pleats on a seat I'd try the light gray chalk.  Sand the side of it to make dust.  Dry brush the dust into the seat prior to dull coating it. Then polish the seat with a tissue to leave the dust just in the crevices. You can also remove excess chalk dust with a damp Q-tip. Work with it until you are happy with the results. Then dull cote and you have your desired result.  This set came from Hobby Lobby.

Edited May 3, 2019 by Tom Geiger

[afx]

These headers are not painted.  I did however lightly sand the entire surface to remove the sheen.

[Rodent]

In most cases, front seats will have a separate backrest piece that will leave a visible seam when you glue the seat together. That is reason enough in my mind to require primer and paint on the seats. I cringe when I see some otherwise stellar builds on here with a big, visible seat seam.

[Pete J.]

Plastic almost always has a slightly translucent quality to it, so if you don't want to have it look like plastic you need to do something too it and painting is almost always the answer.  Now for the question you didn't ask.  White?  There really isn't any paint that is true white.  Most have another hue in them.  Often it is blue for a more "cool" white or brown for a "warmer" white.  Car seats can vary quite a bit depending on if they are fabric, vinyl or leather. Hopefully with this tidbit, you will develop an eye for the various shades of "white".  Try looking closer.   

Oh and by the way, this also applies to black.  Most often black has a shade of green or red to it, not to mention the various shades from dark gray up.   True black paint is rare. 

[Brutalform]

On 5/1/2019 at 5:14 PM, NOBLNG said:

I tried the panel line accent on a spare set of seats, and it looks ok in some spots. Other places it just looks dirty! 

What I do in this situation, when the panel line accent dries, get a cotton swab, and lightly dab it in enamel thinner, and clean up around the pleats on the seat. Then you can paint it white, in a very light coat or two. The lines will look much better, and your seat will have detail. 

Edited May 4, 2019 by Brutalform

[oldcarfan]

On 5/1/2019 at 3:46 PM, NOBLNG said:

 

I always paint. For a white interior I would use Duplicolor White sandable without sanding it and then spray the appropriate shade of white over that.

[ZTony8]

Depending on the sheen and / or shade of white you want you can:

1) Spray Tamiya TS-65 pearl clear or TS-45 pearl white for a slight pearl effect.

2) Spray Tamiya TS-7 for a creamy off white then use a semi gloss or flat as necessary for the desired sheen.

3) Use flat white or white primer and then buff with your finger. Your skin oil will impart a slight gloss.

4) Spray flat or semi gloss clear over the kit white plastic.

Edited May 5, 2019 by ZTony8

[NOBLNG]

Thanks for all the tips everyone. I did paint them and although I didn't try any of the highlighting techniques, they do look better than plain plastic. Obvious seams where the seatbacks join are one of my pet peeves also.

[espo]

Your interior looks great. 

[styromaniac]

On 5/2/2019 at 12:48 PM, High octane said:

YES you have to paint the seats. In the early 60's I had entered a contest at a local hobby shop and when It was over I had asked the owner why I didn't win. She told me that I didn't paint the interior and I answered that I wanted it white. She then told me that if I wanted a white interior I had to PAINT it. That was a lesson in model car building for me.

The attached photo is of a Monogram Little T kit...original 1964 issue I  found on EBay years ago...for reasonable money since it was started and abandoned.  I liked the look of the white plastic interior & pick up bed cover contrasted against the exterior I had painted gloss black so I decided to just clean the white parts ( including the white wall tire inserts ) with a mild liquid soap and an old toothbrush. I entered it in an "Out of the Box" category  at a recent IPMS show in N. VA....and anyone who has seen those events know how tough those judges can be. It won 2nd Place automotive...guess they didn't care it was unpainted plastic. 

Edited May 22, 2019 by styromaniac

[High octane]

2 hours ago, styromaniac said:

The attached photo is of a Monogram Little T kit...original 1964 issue I  found on EBay years ago...for reasonable money since it was started and abandoned.  I liked the look of the white plastic interior & pick up bed cover contrasted against the exterior I had painted gloss black so I decided to just clean the white parts ( including the white wall tire inserts ) with a mild liquid soap and an old toothbrush. I entered it in an "Out of the Box" category  at a recent IPMS show in N. VA....and anyone who has seen those events know how tough those judges can be. It won 2nd Place automotive...guess they didn't care it was unpainted plastic. 

Either they didn't care, or they didn't know any better as IPMS aren't too keen on model car/truck building.