Using Brush to paint body. Looks bad bad bad. Start over? (UPDATED WITH PIC OF FINAL PRODUCT)

[KS0385]

I used a brush to try and paint the body or a Z. But it comes out looking horrible. Should I take the paint off and order some spray paint? I put a layer on, then sanded and repeated the process. But I am still very unhappy with it. It's all uneven and wavy. Help please?

If I choose to buy some spray paint, would this work for plastic?

Testors White Laquer Paint

Edited February 28, 2009 by KS0385

[sdrodder]

Ok. First did you use a laquer based primer underneath? This will be important. The second. It would come out way better if you use a spray can or an airbrush. The finish will come out way smoother and look better. I hope this helps a little bit.

[RJWood]

Even the worst spray painted body looks better than the best brush painted body.

Use the brushes for small parts and fine detailing.

Just don't give up on it. You can do a nice job on it if you take your time and not rush.

Smooth out the old paint with some fine grit automotive sandpaper, about 800 grit. and paint again with spray paint.

Before spraying the paint, warm up the spray can using water from the kitchen sink, never use open flame. Then spray it on. Use even strokes.

give it a try.

[KS0385]

Thanks for the responses. I did not use any primer, and for paint, I just used the Testors Enamel paint in those 1/4 oz bottles.

So you're saying I can just get that Laquer spray and paint over what I have and it'll look good? Also, if I have my full coat of white on there with the laquer, can I spray a different color on top of that?

[MrObsessive]

If I were you I would completely strip the paint and start over. Spraying over a bad brush paint job won't make things any better...........it'll just bury the fine details on the body such as scripts, body creases, etc.

There are several products for stripping paint------some guys use CSC (the Purple Power), Easy Off Oven Cleaner (yellow can and my favorite), Polly S Paint Remover, and a few others out there that some guys can come up with.

Follow the label directions very carefully using these products! The oven cleaner particularly can be nasty stuff so using some rubber gloves are paramount!

After the body is stripped clean and thoroughly washed, you can spray paint your body with the paint you described. If you haven't spray painted before though, I highly recommend you practice on a junk body to get the hang of how it works.

Use a good quality primer (NOT Testor's!).

Duplicolor or Plastikote primers are excellent..............but be careful spraying these directly on bare plastic. The Duplicolor in particular can be a bit "hot" for certain manufacturers plastics, so once again practice makes perfect here.

I would also recommend you get in the habit of block sanding your body work before doing any kind of spray painting. Especially around door lines and such, there are "troughs" which come from the molding process. You'll want to block sand these flat to avoid any paint separation around those door lines-----and sanding your body will make the paint adhere better.

A lot of info for sure, but the main thing is take your time and have fun doing so!

Hope all this helps!

[KS0385]

If I were you I would completely strip the paint and start over. Spraying over a bad brush paint job won't make things any better...........it'll just bury the fine details on the body such as scripts, body creases, etc.

There are several products for stripping paint------some guys use CSC (the Purple Power), Easy Off Oven Cleaner (yellow can and my favorite), Polly S Paint Remover, and a few others out there that some guys can come up with.

Follow the label directions very carefully using these products! The oven cleaner particularly can be nasty stuff so using some rubber gloves are paramount!

After the body is stripped clean and thoroughly washed, you can spray paint your body with the paint you described. If you haven't spray painted before though, I highly recommend you practice on a junk body to get the hang of how it works.

Use a good quality primer (NOT Testor's!).

Duplicolor or Plastikote primers are excellent..............but be careful spraying these directly on bare plastic. The Duplicolor in particular can be a bit "hot" for certain manufacturers plastics, so once again practice makes perfect here.

I would also recommend you get in the habit of block sanding your body work before doing any kind of spray painting. Especially around door lines and such, there are "troughs" which come from the molding process. You'll want to block sand these flat to avoid any paint separation around those door lines-----and sanding your body will make the paint adhere better.

A lot of info for sure, but the main thing is take your time and have fun doing so!

Hope all this helps!

Thank you very much for the response. Going to buy the Duplicolor Primer today, and probably the Oven Cleaner to strip it. I also tried spraying the Hood with Dupli Color spray paint, without primer, and the Red of the plastic is still "seeping" through. Will the Oven Cleaner strip this type of paint as well?

[MrObsessive]

Yes, it should. Red plastic is particularly nasty to deal with because of the pigments in the plastic itself. Yellow plastic can be another head banger. What may have happened though is the plastic was "etched" and some sanding may be needed to get a smooth surface again once the paint is removed.

I mentioned that certain primers are "hot"............Duplicolor is one of them especially using it straight out of the can. One of the things you can do when dealing with red or yellow plastic is to "barrier" it first. Even with certain primer coats------I get on the cautious side and use a barrier.

I like to use Future Floor Wax, (or Pledge with Future Shine as it's called now) to barrier plastic against hotter paints. You can brush Future on the plastic directly and it'll leave no brush strokes, or if you're careful you can airbrush it on-------but you have to work quickly as it can run fairly easily.

Check out this link here which will give you the lowdown on Future and it's other uses.

If you can, show us some progress pics on how it turns out!

[KS0385]

Yes, it should. Red plastic is particularly nasty to deal with because of the pigments in the plastic itself. Yellow plastic can be another head banger. What may have happened though is the plastic was "etched" and some sanding may be needed to get a smooth surface again once the paint is removed.

I mentioned that certain primers are "hot"............Duplicolor is one of them especially using it straight out of the can. One of the things you can do when dealing with red or yellow plastic is to "barrier" it first. Even with certain primer coats------I get on the cautious side and use a barrier.

I like to use Future Floor Wax, (or Pledge with Future Shine as it's called now) to barrier plastic against hotter paints. You can brush Future on the plastic directly and it'll leave no brush strokes, or if you're careful you can airbrush it on-------but you have to work quickly as it can run fairly easily.

Check out this link here which will give you the lowdown on Future and it's other uses.

If you can, show us some progress pics on how it turns out!

Will do. Thanks again.

[pharr7226]

MrObsessive

First, I'm a big fan of your work. I'm a little confused about the hot solvent over cool thing. Future appears to be an acrylic and the recommended primers are lacquers. Why does future not react to the hot solvents in the primer? Also, will future work as a barrier between coats of primer.

Edited February 12, 2009 by pharr7226

[KS0385]

I purchased the Oven Cleaner and started spraying the body. All the pieces I had painted with Testors Enamel paint is coming off very easily. The Hood, which I painted with the Dupli COlor Auto Spray didn't even fade. So I sanded it and am going to put the Primer on top of the sanded Dupli Color paint. Hope this is okay.

[MrObsessive]

The Future doesn't react to it (for the most part) possibly because of their disparate makeup.

Future is a type of acrylic.........which in of itself doesn't react to certain paints. If you check out that site, you'll see where the military builders use it under all sorts of things.

I haven't tried it in between primers........it shouldn't be a problem. The main rule of thumb whenever trying out any new process you're unsure about is always------Test, Test, and Test again!

If you check here you'll see some pics of a Revell '05 Mustang I did using the Future. I had heard some horror stories about the new plastics coming from Revell starting about '04 or so, and figured I better barrier this one as I didn't want any surprises.

[MrObsessive]

Did you purchase the yellow can Easy Off, or that stupid "Fume Free" junk? The fume free stuff doesn't work at all.............the yellow can Easy Off is what's always worked for me.

Now if the Duplicolor won't budge, the paint probably did etch into the plastic. You can primer over it---------------it can't hurt. I would sand down as much of the previous paint to even things out though.

[KS0385]

Did you purchase the yellow can Easy Off, or that stupid "Fume Free" junk? The fume free stuff doesn't work at all.............the yellow can Easy Off is what's always worked for me.

Now if the Duplicolor won't budge, the paint probably did etch into the plastic. You can primer over it---------------it can't hurt. I would sand down as much of the previous paint to even things out though.

Yes I bought the Yellow Can. I saw the other "unscented" one, but figured it wouldn't be as good. Should I get the Laquer spray paint or will the plastic come out well with the Dupli Color Auto Paint as well?

[MrObsessive]

That's up to you man...............I personally am not a fan of the hobby spray paints out there, Namely Tamiya's lacquers (which is a synthetic actually) or Testor's.

They don't stand up to the rigors of rubbing out and polishing I like to do.............but you'll have to go with whatever works for you.

[KS0385]

That's up to you man...............I personally am not a fan of the hobby spray paints out there, Namely Tamiya's lacquers (which is a synthetic actually) or Testor's.

They don't stand up to the rigors of rubbing out and polishing I like to do.............but you'll have to go with whatever works for you.

You're quick with the responses. Thank you very much. I'll stick with the Dupli Color paints.

[pharr7226]

The Future doesn't react to it (for the most part) possibly because of their disparate makeup.

Future is a type of acrylic.........which in of itself doesn't react to certain paints. If you check out that site, you'll see where the military builders use it under all sorts of things.

I haven't tried it in between primers........it shouldn't be a problem. The main rule of thumb whenever trying out any new process you're unsure about is always------Test, Test, and Test again!

If you check here you'll see some pics of a Revell '05 Mustang I did using the Future. I had heard some horror stories about the new plastics coming from Revell starting about '04 or so, and figured I better barrier this one as I didn't want any surprises.

MrObsessive, I looked at the Mustang and it's beautiful. I'll test the Future over primer on some spoons. On the Mustang, I noticed that you color sanded and waxed before you applied flat black to the window trim. Were there any adhesion issues with applying paint over the wax?

[935k3]

Just a tip, if you have to strip Duplicolor paints try 91% Alcohol.

[BigGary]

Just a tip, if you have to strip Duplicolor paints try 91% Alcohol.

Once you get your car stripped and primered, remember that you can go to discount stores like Ollie's, Big Lots, Wal-Mart, etc. and buy decent spray paint for about the same price as tiny little jars of model paint. I recently bought a nice metallic red spray paint at a discount store for 99 cents. Testor's Model Masters paint is near $4 for a small jar. The 99 cent paint sprayed perfectly and looks killer.

Paint brushes are for details.

Gary

[MrObsessive]

Were there any adhesion issues with applying paint over the wax?

Whoops! Just now noticed this thread again............

No, I had no trouble with the paint over the wax..............I use Meguiar's Car Cleaner Wax which has no silicone. That can be a major hazard to paint health!

[pharr7226]

No, I had no trouble with the paint over the wax..............I use Meguiar's Car Cleaner Wax which has no silicone. That can be a major hazard to paint health!

Thanks for the info.

[KS0385]

Can I use Duplicolor spray paint, one color over the other, or should I prime it first?

EDIT: I primed it just to be safe. But here's the next question: Can I use Duplicolor Clear Coat on a multi colored model? Will it make the colors run by any chance?

Edited February 24, 2009 by KS0385

[KS0385]

Here is the car after paint. Thank you all for the help. It's not perfect, but that's okay. Haven't done a detailed just like this before.

This was an exercise to research what my car would look like with a different paint scheme.

Edited February 28, 2009 by KS0385