Spraying Tamiya TS rattle can paint on bare plastic ?

[TonyK]

I use Tamiya straight from the can all the time with no problems. No primer but the bodies have been sanded to remove mold lines then washed. I would be one of those who say that Tamiya spray paint is "idiot proof" because I'm not a great painter but Tamiya makes it look like I am.

[Goodwrench3]

Good to know.

Yeah I've seen videos on YouTube of guys spraying bodies with Tamiya TS spray paint with no primer on them and they look great -- nice, smooth, glossy.  They make it look really easy in the video (of course).

I'd like to do that on the body I'll be spraying this weekend, but I really need the gray primer underneath for the color adjustment.  I'll likely lightly wet sand the Tamiya primer with like 1500 grit just because I'm afraid of the Tamiya color lacquer being so thin that any irregularity in the primer coat is going to show.

 

[slusher]

13 hours ago, Goodwrench3 said:

Thanks for the tip.  Might be a less expensive route for semi-gloss black parts (frames, chassis, etc.) than Tamiya TS semi-gloss black.  I'm guessing if it's Krylon it also dries really fast even though it's an enamel ?

 

It does dry fast for an enamel and Testors one coat lacquer works with it well..

[Mike 1017]

Remember Tulio ? He used Tamiya to spray the body with no primer. His paint jobs are outstanding

[Goodwrench3]

On 10/8/2020 at 4:28 PM, TonyK said:

I use Tamiya straight from the can all the time with no problems. No primer but the bodies have been sanded to remove mold lines then washed. I would be one of those who say that Tamiya spray paint is "idiot proof" because I'm not a great painter but Tamiya makes it look like I am.

I'm not a great painter either !

I try to follow the advice of others here, so I always have been using a primer first -- but I think the deal is, if you use Tamiya spray primer you pretty much have to wet sand it so that you don't end up with a "grainy" or not smooth finish.   

I just sprayed primer (one light coat, then a second coat 10 min later) on a body.  My plan is tonight to lightly wet sand it with 1500 grit before spraying color tomorrow.

I'd be interested in hearing from others that use Tamiya spray primer as to what they do before spraying Tamiya color spray paint over it.

 

[gman]

I usually go at the primer coat with a wet toothbrush, some Comet Cleanser and some running water. It brings the graininess down to zero. Baby smooth. 

If you start with Tamiya's "Fine Surface Primer" (available in grey, white, red and pink), you won't have too much grain to deal with. Apart from the price, I love that stuff. I found a limited selection in Hobby Lobby before the pandemic closed the border, believe they had the fine surface primer in white only, regular Tamiya primer in grey. That means you can use a 40% off coupon to ease the pain.

[Goodwrench3]

11 minutes ago, gman said:

I usually go at the primer coat with a wet toothbrush, some Comet Cleanser and some running water. It brings the graininess down to zero. Baby smooth. 

If you start with Tamiya's "Fine Surface Primer" (available in grey, white, red and pink), you won't have too much grain to deal with. Apart from the price, I love that stuff. I found a limited selection in Hobby Lobby before the pandemic closed the border, believe they had the fine surface primer in white only, regular Tamiya primer in grey. That means you can use a 40% off coupon to ease the pain.

Thanks for that.  Yes, I use the Tamiya Fine Surface Primer rattle can.

So you basically wet the body, sprinkle some Comet on it, and then scrub the Comet with the toothbrush  ?      Then rinse it off in the running water?

Just trying to understand your process here..   seems if you had running water on it, the Comet would just get washed away.

Thanks again.

 

[stinkybritches]

1 hour ago, gman said:

I usually go at the primer coat with a wet toothbrush, some Comet Cleanser and some running water. It brings the graininess down to zero. Baby smooth. 

 

I did this about a week ago. I could definitely tell a difference before and after. Ended up with a nice smooth paint finish. 

[Goodwrench3]

17 minutes ago, stinkybritches said:

I did this about a week ago. I could definitely tell a difference before and after. Ended up with a nice smooth paint finish. 

I'm going to give this a go tonight on my primered body.   Soft toothbrush ?  Medium?  Firm ?      

Just wondering if this is a real "gentle" thing or if you kind of need to "get after it" a bit ?

Any additional info on the process is much appreciated.  I'm kind of liking this idea vs. sand paper, as it seems it would be safer on edges, curves, tight areas.

Thanks 

[stinkybritches]

1 hour ago, Goodwrench3 said:

I'm going to give this a go tonight on my primered body.   Soft toothbrush ?  Medium?  Firm ?      

Just wondering if this is a real "gentle" thing or if you kind of need to "get after it" a bit ?

Any additional info on the process is much appreciated.  I'm kind of liking this idea vs. sand paper, as it seems it would be safer on edges, curves, tight areas.

Thanks 

I honestly don't remember if the brush is soft or medium. It's just an old toothbrush I have laying around for jobs like this. I probably used a little more pressure than I use when I brush my teeth. This was the first time I tried it.

This is the primer I used

Edited October 12, 2020 by stinkybritches
Added more

[Goodwrench3]

4 hours ago, Goodwrench3 said:

Thanks for that.  Yes, I use the Tamiya Fine Surface Primer rattle can.

So you basically wet the body, sprinkle some Comet on it, and then scrub the Comet with the toothbrush  ?      Then rinse it off in the running water?

Just trying to understand your process here..   seems if you had running water on it, the Comet would just get washed away.

Thanks again.

 

 

I'm just looking for steps..  like..    run water over the roof... then sprinkle "X" amount  (not sure how much) of Comet cleanser on the wet roof.   Then scrub the roof area with the tooth brush .   Then put the body under the running water to rinse off the Comet cleanser/primer dust.

Something like that ?    

Greatly appreciate your help.

 

[Goodwrench3]

3 hours ago, stinkybritches said:

I honestly don't remember if the brush is soft or medium. It's just an old toothbrush I have laying around for jobs like this. I probably used a little more pressure than I use when I brush my teeth. This was the first time I tried it.

This is the primer I used

 

Thank you.

Are you sprinkling the Comet right on the body  ?     Or onto the toothbrush   ?

Thanks for the help.

 

[gman]

I usually wet the body, dump some Comet in the sink. Wet the toothbrush so it picks up a good amount of cleanser, and then work around the details on the model body with the Comet and water on the toothbrush. Doing do under running water allows you to check your progress, just like with wet sanding. Press too hard and you'll get to see thin spots or bare plastic, and have the honour of re-priming your parts. You want just enough pressure and cleanser to smooth the surface, knock any grain and texture off your primer.

I tried this technique when prepping the louvered hood from the Revell '49 Mercury custom years ago. The primer was smoothed down around and in between the louvers, in a manner impossible with just wet sanding. The finished part is full of micro scratches, which helps your paint to adhere. I've stuck with the technique ever since- it works on fine detail, flat panels, around trim and emblems. Toothpaste (as mentioned) works too, but takes more time to get to the same result. I usually rinse any remaining cleanser from the toothbrush and model, and go over it with dish soap on the same toothbrush to avoid any residue under color coats. I usually use medium bristles for brushing my actual teeth, and the worn out brushes are what I use on my models. Less aftertaste compared to model/Comet first and then teeth  

[Goodwrench3]

7 hours ago, gman said:

I usually wet the body, dump some Comet in the sink. Wet the toothbrush so it picks up a good amount of cleanser, and then work around the details on the model body with the Comet and water on the toothbrush. Doing do under running water allows you to check your progress, just like with wet sanding. Press too hard and you'll get to see thin spots or bare plastic, and have the honour of re-priming your parts. You want just enough pressure and cleanser to smooth the surface, knock any grain and texture off your primer.

I tried this technique when prepping the louvered hood from the Revell '49 Mercury custom years ago. The primer was smoothed down around and in between the louvers, in a manner impossible with just wet sanding. The finished part is full of micro scratches, which helps your paint to adhere. I've stuck with the technique ever since- it works on fine detail, flat panels, around trim and emblems. Toothpaste (as mentioned) works too, but takes more time to get to the same result. I usually rinse any remaining cleanser from the toothbrush and model, and go over it with dish soap on the same toothbrush to avoid any residue under color coats. I usually use medium bristles for brushing my actual teeth, and the worn out brushes are what I use on my models. Less aftertaste compared to model/Comet first and then teeth  

Thanks for taking the time to write those details.  Much appreciated.

I was curious if you were using the Comet just for detail, trim areas, etc. or on the entire model body (i.e. if you were wet sanding the large areas of the body and only using Comet in the "hard to get at" places).

Thanks again.

 

[gman]

55 minutes ago, Goodwrench3 said:

Thanks for taking the time to write those details.  Much appreciated.

I was curious if you were using the Comet just for detail, trim areas, etc. or on the entire model body (i.e. if you were wet sanding the large areas of the body and only using Comet in the "hard to get at" places).

Thanks again.

 

One of the great things about Tamiya's Fine Surface Primer is that it (normally) lays down nice and smooth. I don't typically see any super rough spots in the primer after it has dried/flashed off. I only use Comet to reduce the texture of the primer.

Base coats, on the other hand, I have had some of those exhibit texture. I've used Comet on a wet toothbrush to smooth out lacquer around details where wet sanding alone will get you down to primer or bare plastic on raised details. It leaves a rough finish, so expect to add another coat if you get large amounts of texture in your color coats.

For smoothing out color coats, Tamiya's polishing compounds work good, as does Novus 2 polish. For final prep on a relatively smooth paint job, it is hard to beat a polishing kit.

[Goodwrench3]

Yes, interesting.   I think the reason I'm so concerned about wet sanding or smoothing the Tamiya primer coat (not that it appears rough) is that in the past I have seen some grainy finish in the color coat that I sprayed over the Tamiya fine gray primer.  I just assumed it was because I didn't wet sand the primer coat, and that the color coat was showing that.

I guess that's not always the case from what you describe, though.

 

[gman]

Generally, the more time you spend ensuring each paint coat is smooth and flat (from primer through to clear coat), the less work you will have to do in final polishing. It is a good habit to get into, making sure each coat is as smooth as possible.