new builder with questions along the way

[rlucky73721]

hi remember me?

im am this guy 1st model ever

well i was told to treat each piece as its own model and i have really taking that to heart as in found an awesome 427 69 camaro b-motion.

i painted the body with tips from Jody who emailed me and the body looks fantastic! (thanks jody!)

my 1st issue was the fact that i was painting on a chair rather then elevating the body up (using a small pop can & setting the model on top for painting helped a ton & please let me know if there is even a better way) while painting.

also this time around i washed the parts and scuffed the body and hood.

now im on the smaller parts.

my 1st set of questions are,

is there a way to elevate the backs of wheels and engine parts for painting? (if not how do you do it so they dont dry to the table or box or what ever you paint them on?)

do you still scuff and 3-5 coat small parts like the engine and back of wheels and such? (clear coat?)

last time i used glue from a tube and applied directly to the piece. i saw a video on you tube that sticking the top of a tooth pick in the tube was all you needed. is this true? (glus was also an issuse for my last disaster)

thanks in advance!

i also figured id post any future question in this thread rather then spam up your forums with my 1 build here.

ps. for those who are intrested, id love to show off some pics of how this model is comming along and a comparison side by side with my 1st attempt at building skill 2 models. so can anyone give me any advice on how to light my models for the best detail in pic quality?

thanks again

looked foreward to your mentorship!

Edited February 14, 2009 by rlucky73721

[Harry P.]

When brush painting small parts, what I do is this: remove the parts from the trees, clean up any flash or sprue connection points, then I take some scrap sprue and using a small drop of superglue I glue the part to the tree in such a way that the glue spot is on an area that won't show when the part is installed. Now I have a handle (the sprue) to hold on to while I paint the parts.

[rlucky73721]

When brush painting small parts, what I do is this: remove the parts from the trees, clean up any flash or sprue connection points, then I take some scrap sprue and using a small drop of superglue I glue the part to the tree in such a way that the glue spot is on an area that won't show when the part is installed. Now I have a handle (the sprue) to hold on to while I paint the parts.

im sorry i dont understand some of your terms.

what is a sprue?

also all i have is spray cans.

is it advised to only use a brush for the small parts?

thanks

edit:

is sprue pronounced as spur?

if so then i believe i know what you mean.

but still wonder if a brush paint is the only/ best way to go with small parts.

thanks

Edited February 14, 2009 by rlucky73721

[Eshaver]

Lucky , yes do as Harry just mentioned . Sprue is actually the plastic "Runner " that the kit pieces attach themselves to. As for spray cans , heck I use them constantly and unlike some folks here , I even use ENAMELS AND TESTORS AT THAT !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! look , in time you will come to find that there other paints and painting methods that you can adapt yourself to. If you have specific questions you want me to answer, P- M me . I generally check this board provided that the computer is working every day . Ed Shaver

[Harry P.]

im sorry i dont understand some of your terms.

what is a sprue?

also all i have is spray cans.

is it advised to only use a brush for the small parts?

thanks

edit:

is sprue pronounced as spur?

if so then i believe i know what you mean.

but still wonder if a brush paint is the only/ best way to go with small parts.

thanks

Sprue ("sproo") is the "framework" of plastic that the parts are connected to.

I use a brush to paint small parts, number one, because it's quick and easy, and two, using spray paint to paint small parts is a waste! 90% of the paint goes right past the part! For little things like engine parts, suspension pieces, anything small, I use a brush. You can use spray, that's up to you... but I prefer to brush small parts.

[rlucky73721]

ok, thanks everyone

now i just gotta save more to buy some bottles of paint and a brush.

oh, before i typed this i disconnected the back of the wheels that need to be painted yet.

anybody have a 1 time fix for this?

my wife suggested maybe letting the tire backs dry on aluminum foil?

oh and also, (sorry for all the questions)

im going with a black interior, so is there any bottled paint colors you guys generally stock up on so i dont run to the sme store in the middle of painting my small parts?

[plumnuts]

personaly, being married with kids I use alot of the wal-mart brand spray paint.

always have primmer in white ,black and gray (workes well for upholstery) also keep stock

in the alluminum, it sprays nice and resembles a pollished aluminum finish.

I'v been known to spray a whole rack of motor pieces with spray paint then go in with a brush

for touchup.(belts and stuff). touth picks are very handy for holding parts that have small holes in them

and I have been keeping a roll of 2in. painters tape around and fold it backwards onto itself having the sticky out

and set small parts on the tape so thay don't fly away from the blast of paint. and set it on a old spray can

or a plastic cup to elivate it and also hold it. hope this helps and just have fun. you will come up with

all kinds of tricks yourself over time.

[dwc43]

I use alot of the wal-mart brand spray paint.

I tried Wally World paints before and it don't work for me. Always ended up with specs in the paint. Not sure if it was dirt on the cans of paint, paint specs that fell out, even though it was properly shaken up. Just made a mess and always ended up stripping it and started over.

I spray everything with engine paints, duplicolor, testors, and such. Spray everything,even little parts. They just look better. Then I remove them from the runners with a sprue cutter and trim them up and if they need it touch them up.

[crazyjim]

I brush all my small parts. And save the old paint brushes because you can use them to hold the back half of the wheels to paint them. Just stick the handle into the wheel.

I've stocked up on several military model flat paints of light, medium, and dark in greys, browns and blues that I use on my interiors.