All the shades of BLACK!

[FujimiLover]

Hello there. We know we have flat black, semi-gloss black, and gloss-black. But what the he77 is tire-black? The instructions on my Fujimi Veilside MR2 require that the suspension arm/disk-brake peice be painted tire-black. What's the difference? Isn't tire-black same as semi-gloss black? Is it worth the detail to find tire-black next time I'm in town? Anybody have any pictures to show tire-black? And why would a suspension arm be tire-black anyway?

[Jairus]

Tires are not really 100% black after being on the road and exposed to the weather. They slowly grey or tan depending upon the content of carbon black during manufacturing.

Incidentally, California has a bill in the house being voted on that will ban the sale of new cars painted black...

[FujimiLover]

Thank's but that didn't answer my question regarding the color tire-black.

What's wrong with new cars being black?

[Brendan]

I thought Jairus' answer was pretty good. As for color, I use Tamiya's XF-69 NATO Black which has a tinge of green to it. I usually spray a dull coat over the top. It's what I've always used on my resin tires.

There's a reason why I moved out of CA. Too many idiots running in politics.

[roadhawg]

Sometimes, we have to use a little "creative license" when going by the kit instructions painting guide. You would be ok to paint suspension arms semi-gloss or satin black. And there's much much more than flat, gloss, and semi-gloss.....theres oily black, weathered black, grimey black...etc! "Tire black" is probably a semi-gloss.

And yes, what's wrong with new cars being black?

Edited March 28, 2009 by roadhawg

[B_rad88]

for any one who hates cali laws, move to florida, there aren't any laws like that!!! you can drive a car with any modifications, any bodymods, any colors, any performance add ons, you could even drive with no emissons and straight pipe exhuast!!! talk about loud. in cali there is a law on engine swaping right? not in florida. i know florida sucks!!!!! i hate it! its hot, its sunny, and there is old people (that mistake the gas for the brakes and drive through farmers markets) , and foreigners!!! (plus alot of illegal imagrents)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Edited March 28, 2009 by KUZTOMMODELS88

[dwc43]

The deal with black cars is that it absorbs heat, makes you run the a/c and burn more energy to cool your car. It's that carbon emissions bull ###### that they are talking about. Just another way to ruin your life. Guess they never thought that the miles of black asphalt heats up the air and surrounding buildings during the day making you run that a/c more often.

You can read the article here on my site.

http://moparperformancechat.forumotion.net...k-cars-t211.htm

[BigGary]

There's a reason they call California "The land of fruits and nuts", and it doesn't have anything todo with what grows on the trees.

Gary

Born and raised in California, got to Texas as fast as I could.

[Jairus]

Nobody says that paint in the bottle has to stay the same way it came from the manufacturer. When I buy paint I usually get two bottles because most of my paint is sprayed anyway. Having extra on hand is great for mixing and thinning down for shooting through the airbrush. Likewise I mix nearly everything I shoot by adding a touch of black, white, silver or whatever. Nearly every bottle of paint in my "arsenal" has been mixed in some way changing the content to what I want to see. So I take a sample and paint a stroke on the cap for quick identification.

[dwc43]

got to Texas as fast as I could.

I'd say that was a good idea ... lol.

[FujimiLover]

Let's get back on topic please. When to use what black? I typically use flat-black for interior and chassis. Semi-gloss black for suspension parts.

[Monty]

Let's get back on topic please. When to use what black? I typically use flat-black for interior and chassis. Semi-gloss black for suspension parts.

I had the same question 10 years ago & resolved it by studying (and printing off) the underhood pictures I found on the internet. With a little effort you should be able to get pics of most of the things you want to duplicate. If you were to look under the hood of the average 70's GM car, for example, you'd see different shades of black on the inner fender wells, radiator, battery, belts & visible suspension components. As for the interior, leather and vinyl seats will typically have a different sheen than the dash.

To find the shades you need, you can experiment by mixing different ratios of gloss black, flat black & sometimes other colors until you get the shade you want (enamels seem to be best for this type of thing). For example, one builder I know adds a little silver to his black when he airbrushes his seats. IMHO, once you've mixed the shade you need, bigger items like inner fender wells and separate frames (newer AMT cars) should probably be airbrushed to avoid brush marks.

If you have a hobby shop that carries the Testors line, you'll find that they have Gloss, Semi-gloss and Dull sprays that you can apply over enamels. These can sometime be used as a quicker way to get the shade you're looking for.

You're on the right track, now get to mixin' some paint.

[FujimiLover]

Thank you, I have yet to mix paints.

[Harry P.]

You don't really have to mix paints. Between the gloss, satin and flat blacks out there from Testors, Tamiya, Krylon, etc., plus different gloss and dull clears from a bunch of manufacturers, you can create pretty much any gloss level of black that you'll need. If you want to mix your own, that's fine... but not really necessary.

[Olle F]

Straight black is often "too black" for modeling purposes and as already mentioned, you can mix it with other colors and change the sheen to get a more realistic "rubber", "vinyl" or whatever you're trying to simulate. I don't have any recipes for the colors though, I kind of eyeball it every time, add a few drops of this and that, test paint etc. until it looks right. As a matter of fact, I don't think the actual color is all that important, a small variation in the colors is what really makes an engine compartment or a chassis look detailed.

[beefheart22]

Depending on the kit, sometimes I wonder if the paint guide is more of a rough rule of thumb at best. Sometimes a guy has to take it with a grain of salt. Especially when it wants you to paint suspension parts tire black.

Semi-gloss black is semi-gloss black no matter what you call it. I would just paint the suspension parts semi-gloss black.

Reminds me of my old Monogram kits that listed parts to be painted "wood grain". Err, you mean "brown" or "tan"? lol. Though I did just by some "wooden deck tan" for detailing wood stain panels.

If the old lady ever says she's painting the kitchen "dusty rose", she means pink...

[Aaronw]

There are many variables in "black" besides gloss, semi-gloss, satin and flat which simply refer to the shine of the paint you also have verious tones of black. Black, very dark greys, very dark browns, very dark greens, very dark blues etc.

Just take a look at all the black paints in railroad and military colors. It might seem nit picky but all these shades are great when you are painting something like an attack helicopter cockpit, they are a coal mine all black. Using a couple variations (official or home brewed) provides some subtle differences to highlight detail instead of just slapping black paint all over the place. If you look at a 1-1 car with a black interior it is not all the same color, fabric is a little different shade than plastic, and the soft plastics like the dash are different than the hard plastics like shift levers and such. Some surfaces are glossy, some flat, some semi gloss or satin.

[FujimiLover]

When my models call for "tire-black", I just simply use semi-gloss black. Would one really notice the difference anyway?

My latest Koenig Specials Countach calls for "burnt iron". What the heck is burnt iron?

[Brendan]

When my models call for "tire-black", I just simply use semi-gloss black. Would one really notice the difference anyway?

My latest Koenig Specials Countach calls for "burnt iron". What the heck is burnt iron?

Take a dark metallic color and add some brown to it and that would give you a burnt iron. The final color should be a flat color. You usually see it on headers on cars.

[FujimiLover]

Thank's, that is probably what it's for is on the engine.

Not sure what model I want to start with next, the Countach, or the Competition. I have all the colors needed for the Competition, but not sure what color to paint it. Same with the Countach, color's undecided.

[beefheart22]

When my models call for "tire-black", I just simply use semi-gloss black. Would one really notice the difference anyway?

My latest Koenig Specials Countach calls for "burnt iron". What the heck is burnt iron?

Man, what planet are these kits from? Just kidding. Actually, Model Master has a "burnt iron" in their catalog:

http://www.testors.com/category/145620/Met...er_Enamel_Paint

My "burnt iron" is just some good old fashioned gun metal. Ok, that doesn't sound any more generic, but you know where I'm going with this. Works good for headers (I'm guessing that's what needs "burnt iron").

[FujimiLover]

Well, I do have gun-metal. Should I use that instead of this burnt-iron?

Wish I could see a picture of the difference in colors.

[Jon Cole]

A good color of black no herd of bottle paints should be without is Testors 'Aircraft Interior Black'. It has a slight gray tint to it. Where you use it on a car is up to you.