How to paint raised surfaces???

[nouse4aname]

Hi, i was just wondering how some of you guys paint the raised surfaces on a body. For example, i want to paint the "camaro" lettering on the front clip of a 1969 revell camaro and the letters are so small, i cant figure out what to do.

thanks

[highway]

The easieat way to do lettering and badges is to use Bare Metal Foil, oftenly reffered to here as BMF. Another way you could do the lettering and badges if you don't care how shiny the lettering is and if you have not mastered using BMF yet is to use some chrome silver paint on the lettering or badge. After you have the chrome silver painted, paint your body as you normally would. After your color coat has dried, CAREFULLY sand the color from the raised areas of the lettering or badge, and that should leave the chrome silver paint underneath showing though. If you try this method, as I said, sand CAREFULLY so you do not sand through the chrome silver you are trying to expose, or, worst case, so you do not sand the lettering completely off.

[my80malibu]

I have used a sharpened toothpick, Dipped into silver paint(not too much) and CAREFULLY with my steadiest hand. trace the lettering. it takes a little practice, however when it works it is beautiful.

[charlie8575]

I've had very good luck dry-brushing scripts with Testors Model Master Chrome Silver. The key is DRY brush. It'll take several passes, but it looks really nice when it's done.

Charlie Larkin

[diymirage]

my best advise is when using a brush hold it almost paralel with the surface that is being painted

normally you would hold the brush under a 90 degree angle but by keeping the angle at almost 0 you can controll the flow of paint much better

(im having a hard time describing it but give it a shot, you'll see what i mean)

[stevehansen]

I've done the BMF, but now I cheat and use Keith Marks decals

http://public.fotki.com/mofobow/chevy/camaro/69_camaro_ss/69_camaro_ss_black_2.html

[bigmikevee]

Hey all,

The thing that I have found that helps the most when painting by hand is to find a comfortable position. I used to hold model up with one hand and try to paint without shaking with the other hand, seemed like everything moved waaaayyyy too much!! Now I rest my wrist on a couple of books so that my hand naturally relaxes over the model, seems to help with the small letters, etc. so that your muscles do not work as hard, so they do not shake as much. Move the model to the paint, not the other way around so your muscles are constantly relaxed as much as they can be. Toothpick idea is a great one, always does good job, but for me, it all starts with minimizing muscles used, makes it so much easier.

Mike

[Scale-Master]

The easieat way to do lettering and badges is to use Bare Metal Foil, oftenly reffered to here as BMF. Another way you could do the lettering and badges if you don't care how shiny the lettering is and if you have not mastered using BMF yet is to use some chrome silver paint on the lettering or badge. After you have the chrome silver painted, paint your body as you normally would. After your color coat has dried, CAREFULLY sand the color from the raised areas of the lettering or badge, and that should leave the chrome silver paint underneath showing though. If you try this method, as I said, sand CAREFULLY so you do not sand through the chrome silver you are trying to expose, or, worst case, so you do not sand the lettering completely off.

The solvents from the paint applied over any silver paint applied earlier will “blend†or absorb the silver paint into the color coat. Sanding through to only the silver will not be an option, plus you run a small risk of having some metallic particles bleed through to the surface.

The technique as described works well with BMF as it is not affected by paint and can withstand the polishing.

I use the BMF technique, hand painting similar to the techniques described by charlie and diymirage (I like Tamiya X11 enamel and Testor Silver Chrome Trim enamel), unless I have decals...

I also use a considerably large but pointed brush that holds enough paint to keep the consistency the same.

[nouse4aname]

thanks for all the replies.

i dont think bmf will be an option because the lettering is similar to a line drawn with a pen. im not sure if that could be done.

i think i'll try out the toothpick method and see if i have any success.

[highway]

The solvents from the paint applied over any silver paint applied earlier will “blend†or absorb the silver paint into the color coat. Sanding through to only the silver will not be an option, plus you run a small risk of having some metallic particles bleed through to the surface.

The technique as described works well with BMF as it is not affected by paint and can withstand the polishing.

I use the BMF technique, hand painting similar to the techniques described by charlie and diymirage (I like Tamiya X11 enamel and Testor Silver Chrome Trim enamel), unless I have decals...

I also use a considerably large but pointed brush that holds enough paint to keep the consistency the same.

You know, Mark, I think I goofed! Now that I think about it, thanks to you recharging the memory banks , the method I read in one of the magazines was with sanding the paint off BMF, not paint. OOPS, SORRY! Thanks for pointing that out, Mark!

[Chuck Most]

I've had fairly good (but mixed) results drybrushing, and using a toothpick to apply paint to lettering and other surfaces. I've had far better luck applying BMF to the section while still in bare plastic, then priming and painting as I normally would, and rubbing the paint off the raised areas with a cloth or VERY gentle sanding with VERY fine grit paper. It really works well on all but the most finely-engraved details.

[stevehansen]

Here's a close up of Keith Mark's decals on my 67 Camaro

[Ddms]

I really like the idea of the BMF method. It seems like it would look great on the finished model. But I have some questions:

It sounds like you're attaching a rectangle of BMF over the lettering before you prime. Is that right? Or do you put the BMF on top of the primer? Do Tamiya spray lacquers and automotive urethanes (that's what I use) stick well to BMF?

What about the edge of the BMF piece? Doesn't it show up as an edge around the area of the lettering after the color coat? Or is the BMF so thin that it doesn't show?

Or (Just one more!), if there is a risk of the BMF edge showing up, do you putty over it and sand before priming?

Sorry for all the questions, but...

[Steve Keck]

Nouse,

I would apply the BMF over the primer or you risk the primer appearing around the script in the end result. (There's a thought: Black primer around chrome script) But, I digress. Urethanes should not be a problem

Here's a picture of Tamiya TS lacquer over BMF. I believe this script is coarser than that you are dealing with. You may want to trim the foil close to the script. I have not had luck doing that as too little foil means too little adhesive to keep the foil in place.

The edge of the foil can be visible so a little primer feathered over the edge would help the transition. I wouldn't recommend putty in this situation.

Last, what you see is the result of removing the paint with polish not sand paper. Take your time and the script will reveal its self.

Steve