Help the uneducated (me) with paint

[sportandmiah]

Not new to painting model cars, but new to painting model cars that result in a really nice finish. I've moved from spray cans to a cheap dual action airbrush. It works great, but I'm still new to the actual different types of paint, how to mix each, etc. I have a few questions:

1. It appears Testors enamel (I decanted and air brushed) takes eons to dry. Is it best to let it dry in the sun all day, or in an air conditioned house? I put down at least 4 coats which might be why it's taking so long. In hindsight I should have laid down 2 heavier coats, but this was my first airbrushing and it came out pretty nice.

2. Does gloss black enamel leave a better shine than gloss black acrylic, after both have been polished?

3. I bought a small jar of Tamiya X-13 Acrylic Metallic Blue and cant figure out how to thin it (don't have any Tamiya thinner). I tried 91% alcohol, mineral spirits, Testors acrylic thinner, all to no avail. The problem is the metallic pigment is pretty gunky and leaves a bad finish. Even un-thinned, I had trouble getting it to mix well.

4. If I wanted a dark blue metallic finish, or maybe a dark blue pearl finish, without using metallic/pearl blue paint, how would I go about doing that? Is it a 2 or 3 step process.

5. How many coats do you guys lay down on each model body? And what paint are you using? Do some paints require more coats?

I'm familiar with the wet sanding process, polishing, etc. But I need help with paints.

[Longbox55]

1; I would say in the sun, rather than air conditioning. You want the solvents to gas out, cooler air will slow this. Many builder use a modified food dehydrator, cutting the trays to allow a body to fit inside. This speeds up the process and is more controllable. Thinner coats with proper flash time in between will dry faster than heavier coats. Also, details don't get buried.

2: really can't give you an answer on this one, I only use enamel or laquer for spraying. I would think if the processes were otherwise the same, shouldn't make a difference in final shine.

3; Sometimes metallics need to be stirred more than solids. You may also have gotten a jar that's old stock, may just need more stirring. I know some guys use blue windsheild washer fluid to thin acrylics. I've actually tried this, though I didn't spray it, it does work well. The blue coloring doesn't affect the final color.

4; You could use either a clear pearl topcoat, or add dry pearl powder to the final coats of paint and the clear. I've done this as well, works very well.

5; depends on the subject, color, and paint type. I usually average about 2 coats of color with solids, 3-4 with metallics. Kandies depend on how deep I want the finish to be. It should be noted, some paints do cover differently from others, base color of the plastic and primer color also come into play.

I personally use Testors enamels (jar, mostly Model Master), Testors Laquer/One Coat, Tamiya Laquer Sprays, Duplicolor touch up sprays,and Kustom Kolor (jar and spray). I pretty much use Duplicolor primer, though some projects get Tamiya primer. I do have some Tamiya jar acrylics, but I use them mostly for figure painting (custom action figures, recent hobby I've gotten into) and have not attempted to spray them. For dry powder for pearl/metallic effects, I've been using Pearl-X for Jaquard with very good results. Some care has to be used, as the chunkier pearls tend to clog airbrushes if the tip is too small.

[MikeMc]

Not new to painting model cars, but new to painting model cars that result in a really nice finish. I've moved from spray cans to a cheap dual action airbrush. It works great, but I'm still new to the actual different types of paint, how to mix each, etc. I have a few questions:

1. It appears Testors enamel (I decanted and air brushed) takes eons to dry. Is it best to let it dry in the sun all day, or in an air conditioned house? I put down at least 4 coats which might be why it's taking so long. In hindsight I should have laid down 2 heavier coats, but this was my first airbrushing and it came out pretty nice.

2. Does gloss black enamel leave a better shine than gloss black acrylic, after both have been polished?

3. I bought a small jar of Tamiya X-13 Acrylic Metallic Blue and cant figure out how to thin it (don't have any Tamiya thinner). I tried 91% alcohol, mineral spirits, Testors acrylic thinner, all to no avail. The problem is the metallic pigment is pretty gunky and leaves a bad finish. Even un-thinned, I had trouble getting it to mix well.

4. If I wanted a dark blue metallic finish, or maybe a dark blue pearl finish, without using metallic/pearl blue paint, how would I go about doing that? Is it a 2 or 3 step process.

5. How many coats do you guys lay down on each model body? And what paint are you using? Do some paints require more coats?

I'm familiar with the wet sanding process, polishing, etc. But I need help with paints.

1 mix it 2 parts enamel 1 part cheap lacquer thinner......Check with Donn Yost

2.....shine is shine...polish the clear

3 You need Tamiya X20a or Tamiya lacquer thinner.......REALLY...and good luck finding them now...they will be back

4 after the color mix pearl flake into the first coat of clear....then bury it in more clear

5 I shoot lacquers..2 or 3 primer, wetsand,5 to 10 whisper thin color coats followed by 3 or 4 clear coats

Thats my way...seems to work well

[sportandmiah]

Thanks for to input guys. I bought a can of dupli-color today and noticed its acrylic lacquer. What type of primer should I use? ? It bubbled on test spoons with acrylic primer. I also could not get a very smooth finish.

I solved one of my issues: regular lacquer thinner thins Tamiya X13. It laid down a very nice finish.

Edited June 8, 2011 by sportandmiah

[sportandmiah]

Is there one primer that you guys use that works for all types of paints? What does primer require to thin for an airbrush?

[crazyjim]

I use only Plast-i-coat sandable primers straight out of the rattle can and HOK pre-mixed paints through a Paasche H series single action airbrush and about 22psi.

[robertw]

I decant the Tamiya rattle can lacquer line all the time and spray through the airbrush. I've never added thinner to the paint and while the finish is quite smooth I'll usually also apply clear coat. Primer of choice is Tamiya White but Tamiya grey or duplicolor also works well. I've epoxied short pieces of bendy straws to several Tamiya spray heads then spray through a hole punched in a tape cap on a paint jaw, clean out the straw with a little thinner and put it aside until the next time. Leaving the lid off the paint jar for an hour to let the paint gas out and it's good to spray.

rob

[niteowl7710]

Thanks for to input guys. I bought a can of dupli-color today and noticed its acrylic lacquer. What type of primer should I use? ? It bubbled on test spoons with acrylic primer. I also could not get a very smooth finish.

I solved one of my issues: regular lacquer thinner thins Tamiya X13. It laid down a very nice finish.

I tend to stick within paint lines, so I would (and suggest) using DupliColor primer. Some people will say their primer is too "hot", but if you lay down several thin coats (enough to completely cover the part being primed - usually 2-3 thin coats) before laying down a couple of wet coats it works just fine.

The key to almost all DupliColor be it primer, color & clear is multiple thin coats to achieve a "base" of whatever your using before adding in a few wet coats. Takes a bit more patience than fire hosing on coats with regular model paint, but the drying time between coats for DupliColor is 10 mins between same product and 30min to an hour between the others.

Eg - 10 mins between coats of primer, then let dry 30 min, then 10 min between color coats, then 1 hour to dry before clear, then 10 min between clear coats. To me that's plenty fast, as how much of a hurry are you really in especially when painting a body. Since Testors enamel (be it bottle or rattle can) NEVER seems to actually dry, it's really quick!

Edited June 14, 2011 by niteowl7710