Harvezter Posted January 21, 2007 Share Posted January 21, 2007 Hello All, Well, I just air brushed my first model ever. I guess it came out ok. There are no runs or sags. Only thing i can see is dust in my paint in some spots. I think this came from not wiping the model down well enough after sanding the primer coat... which brings me to my question... I hear so many people talk about shootin their car and then buffin it out with a very fine sandpaper. Well I tried that... I shot it with Model Master Acrylic Flat Blackas a primer over the white plastic. I then proceeded to drop my car on its roof... while it was WET! (can ya tell I am new at this? lol) It didnt take too much paint off but it sure made a mess of what seemed to look like a pretty smooth job. So I let it dry. Then I grabbed a piece of 600 grit wet/dry sandpaper and figured Id gently buff out the high areas. That didnt work as well as I thought it would and i ended up taking off half the primer/paint. I just went with it and kept sanding the high spots then shot another coat of primer/black. After it was dry I didnt dare sand again for fear or taking the paing off agian and I went ahead and shot my finishing color... Boyds Graper Pearl enamel. It came out pretty good I guess but I still see some spots that seem to have dust trapped beneath the paint. Id love to be able to get those imperfections out but I am afraid of taking all the paint off again. Can yall give this newbie (aka FNG) some tips and advice on how to buff painted finishes in order to get glass smooth finishes without destroying the whole paint job? Also, do you buff out primer coats too like i tried? and if so... what went wrong that caused me to lose so much of the primer while sanding? Was it grit? Insufficient dry time? (was dry to touch for me) or something else i am unaware of. Sorry for so many questions. Thank You, Jared Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bob paeth Posted January 21, 2007 Share Posted January 21, 2007 Jared, Lets start from square one: Before you apply your first coat of primer, make sure the model is free from mold release and that it is dust free. Wash all painted surfaces with a soapy solution, rinse and let dry. After you have applied your prime coat, wait about 30 minutes ( longer if it still looks wet ) and give it a second light coat. 400 or 600 wet/dry sandpaper, when the primer is thoroughly dry will give you the proper smoothness. BTW the color of your primer will affect the color of your final color. A white primer will give you a brighter purple than if you use a flat black primer. When you start to spray the color coat "dust on" the first two or three coats, waiting about 15 or 20 seconds in between each coat. Then after about one minute spray on a heavy coat. The paint should "flow-out" and give you a petty good shine. All this time you have to guard against dust. Dust does not polish out. Let the finish coat dry for a week and then, if you have a "polishing kit" begin to sand. Polishing kits start at 3200 grit and end up with 12000. If you follow the instructions on the polishing kit you will have a "glass smooth" finish. If you have some old bodies to practice on I would advise you to use them. Even a flat piece of styrene will give you the needed practice. Good paint jobs come with practice, luck has nothing to with it. Bob :shock: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bob paeth Posted January 21, 2007 Share Posted January 21, 2007 Jared, Lets start from square one: Before you apply your first coat of primer, make sure the model is free from mold release and that it is dust free. Wash all painted surfaces with a soapy solution, rinse and let dry. After you have applied your prime coat, wait about 30 minutes ( longer if it still looks wet ) and give it a second light coat. 400 or 600 wet/dry sandpaper, when the primer is thoroughly dry will give you the proper smoothness. BTW the color of your primer will affect the color of your final color. A white primer will give you a brighter purple than if you use a flat black primer. When you start to spray the color coat "dust on" the first two or three coats, waiting about 15 or 20 seconds in between each coat. Then after about one minute spray on a heavy coat. The paint should "flow-out" and give you a petty good shine. All this time you have to guard against dust. Dust does not polish out. Let the finish coat dry for a week and then, if you have a "polishing kit" begin to sand. Polishing kits start at 3200 grit and end up with 12000. If you follow the instructions on the polishing kit you will have a "glass smooth" finish. If you have some old bodies to practice on I would advise you to use them. Even a flat piece of styrene will give you the needed practice. Good paint jobs come with practice, luck has nothing to with it. Bob :shock: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrObsessive Posted January 21, 2007 Share Posted January 21, 2007 Jared, to further add to what Bob said............when you spray your model------and I have to assume you're using an airbrush, always start to spray before moving the airbrush across the body and stop the airbrush after you pass the body. Never start or stop on the body! This can lead to a blob spitting on the paint, which will make more work for you to get rid of. Also make sure where you're painting is dust free! Banish all animals (cats, dogs ) from the room............your best bet would be to paint outside on a breezeless day, if it's not too cold where you are. I'm not familiar with Boyds paint color you're using, but if its a metallic, you may want to be very careful about rubbing out any metallic paint! Rubbing out metallics can "change" the flakes imbedded in the paint, and lead to a splotchy, mottled appearance. For metallics, it's a good idea to very lightly rub out any dusties, (I use 3600 grit sandpaper) and then clearcoat the paint. Once the clearcoat has thoroughly dried, you can rub out the clear per normal. Sometime down the road, you may want to invest in a paint booth which will definitely minimize the dust that can accumulate when trying to paint. My past experience with enamels is that they need at least two weeks for them to sufficiently dry before trying to rub them out. Model Master paints are a little better than Testors but just the same------the rule of thumb is if you can no longer smell the paint from the body, than it should be safe to rub out. I myself get a little impatient with waiting for paint to dry.........I went to Wally-World and bought a food dehydrator which when set to 105°, should dry enamels within 8 hours. (Less time for acrylic enamels). As Bob said though-------the best advice is to Practice, Practice, Practice! Paint has no prejudice to what it lands on, or what gets in it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest zebm1 Posted January 21, 2007 Share Posted January 21, 2007 In plain speak Jared, it's best to have several projects going on at tha same time......2 weeks to dry......if it ain't raining all tha time. Like in Washington or Oregon where yu gotta get yur Levis waterproofed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bob paeth Posted January 22, 2007 Share Posted January 22, 2007 Come on Zeb....................it's not that bad here in great Pacific Northwest. Especially when you get used to the webbed fingers and toes. Bob :shock: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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