Covering red plastic

[Steven1]

Hi My name is Steven G and I am getting ready to start a Italeri Peterbilt 377 kit but I have a question . What is the best way to cover the red plastic ? I want to paint it a light yellow. After a test on a scrap piece I found tamiya white primer turned pinkish.

[High octane]

Steven, I had heard that silver should be sprayed to block the red from bleeding through. I hope this helps.

[SpreadAxle]

Another color I've heard blocks it well is light tan.

[highway]

Yet one more method is to use a sealer primer first, something like Dupilcolor's sealer primer. Just make sure it has the word sealer on the can.

[Tony Bryan]

Flatbed is right, the best way to cover red plastic, or other coloured plastic for that matter is tan,

and I have found that Tamiya Matt Desert yellow (X59) is better than most because it is slightly darker

The light tan is a neutral colour, and it does seal off the red, I use it as a primer, as the matt gives the top coat

something to bite into, I also air brush it on, so you can have a nice thin coat that won't hind the detail

you can also use shellac, but it is a little thicker, it is what the older guys used, before fancy paints,

mind you they didn't have red plastic either....

[clayton]

I've had the same thing happen to me.I used a white primer(forgot the brand).I let it set a few days and scarped off a bit of paint, it was pink like the paint soaked up the dye. Use a sealer Hummm will have too try that.

[SuperStockAndy]

Maybe, you should try to primer it with gray primer, and put white primer over that. Just my two cents.

[mackinac359]

Here's what I do for colored plastic:

1). Light coat of primer.

2). Coat of BIN Primer/Sealer from Zinzer.

3). Coat of Duplicolor Sealer Primer.

4). Color.

5). Clear.

Follow the instructions for each product for cure times before applying the next layer.

The cab on this Pete below is from a red-plastic 377.

Tim

[MrObsessive]

For those of you who've never tried it, Future (now called Pledge with Future Shine) is another alternative to sealing that nasty red or yellow plastic.

What's nice about it is if you mess up, simply spray some Windex, or some diluted ammonia, wash it off and start over. One would need an airbrush or a "sponge brush" to apply it though.

Here's an article on the web about Future and how easy it is to use. Just click here and see for yourself. I've used this in the past to seal the red plastic on Monogram's '56 T-bird and the results were great!

Believe it or not, this '56 (actually converted to a '55) was once that horrible red plastic which is notorious to bleeding------especially from Monogram!

HTH!

Edited December 17, 2010 by MrObsessive

[clayton]

For those of you who've never tried it, Future (now called Pledge with Future Shine) is another alternative to sealing that nasty red or yellow plastic.

What's nice about it is if you mess up, simply spray some Windex, or some diluted ammonia, wash it off and start over. One would need an airbrush or a "sponge brush" to apply it though.

Here's an article on the web about Future and how easy it is to use. Just click here and see for yourself. I've used this in the past to seal the red plastic on Monogram's '56 T-bird and the results were great!

Believe it or not, this '56 (actually converted to a '55) was once that horrible red plastic which is notorious to bleeding------especially from Monogram!

HTH!

Painting over floor wax. I've got a igloo for sale in FLA.

Seen that article before but have not had the brass to try it. But it does work.

[MrObsessive]

One other good thing about Future is it's also great for sealing plastic against crazing. Most of the newer kits molded since '04 have been done in a "softer" plastic which is more susceptible to crazing than in years past.

Just another FYI from someone who's tried it.

[studioman3]

Future is the real deal here, it seals and is a great finishing coat. Here is a black molded model that I just clear coated in future with a foam brush, no paint, just future.

Hope this helps

[SpreadAxle]

Thanks for the tips. I wish I knew b4 I primered my KW, with its orange plastic, but this will help with other kits. Any suggestions for black plastic, or will these paints work with those as well? I have some older Italeri kits with black plastic I want to paint. I'm mainly used to AMT's white or the really light gray that AMT/ERTL used.

[NitroJunky]

When i built my renault magnum i had the same porblem, The white paint was pulling the red pigment through from teh plastic and turning it pink.

i was told to use a product called barcoat (SP), Its paint sealer we have here in the UK but its very think and would have easily lost the contours of the cab. After i re-primed teh shell i applied a couple of coats of clear laquer onto the primer to act as a sealer. Once dry i simple used a scotch pad to key the lacquer and painted the white top straight over that.

Never had a problem after that.