Need painting tips; Tijuana Taxt

[gregthec]

Hi Folks!

Haven’t posted in a while I think. I used to build model cars as a kid. I’ve built two as adult and used testors sprays and brush-on paints and the paint took to the plastic just fine. I managed to grab up a model of the Tijuana Taxi. Sprayed the body- no problem. But when I tried to brush some paint onto a smaller part, it wouldn’t take. What might I be doing wrong? I shook the paint thoroughly to mix it up. As mentioned It’s testors oil based paint. Could it be that the paint is old? (The ratio of pigment to oil seems right). Finally, is it typical to prime the part first?

I’ll look over the tricks and tips (and FAQ’s) on this site to see what I’m missing but any help in the mean time would be much appreciated.

Thanks,

Greg

[NOBLNG]

I am certainly not a paint expert, but I will kick-start the replies.? I believe the only paints that do not require a primer are lacquers. The lacquer is volatile enough to ever so slightly “melt” the styrene and bite into the surface. I have little experience with enamels so someone may chime in with better info? Good luck with it and welcome to the forums.?

Greg.

Edited January 28, 2024 by NOBLNG

[Rick L]

The old Testors paint was lead based and would cover well. The new version are lead free and don’t cover well without primer. Lacquer will cover better but does not brush on as smoothly as the enamel. The routine process is to wash the parts of mold release agent in warm water with a few drops of Dawn detergent, rinse with clean water, let dry and prime everything before paint.

[gregthec]

Thanks for your help guys. Ok, ima get some primer. The last models I built were a couple Big Daddy Roth cars (Mothers Worry and Outlaw something or another. I didn’t wash them and the paint seemed to “take” pretty ok at the time. Maybe I did multiple coats. There seems to be another world of paints these days including acrylic. I need to learn more I suppose. Again, thanks.

 

Edited January 28, 2024 by gregthec

[Kit Basher]

Try stirring the bottle paint. Testors paints can separate a lot, especially if they have been sitting awhile. The pigments in some are pretty heavy, and shaking doesn't do much. Stir until the blob of pigment on the end of the stir stick is gone, then stir some more. I've had good luck brush painting with Testors on bare plastic, one coat covers well, as long as the paint is well mixed.

[R. Thorne]

You might consider one of these.