Have you had this painting problem...? Grrrrr...

[Ramfins59]

I've been wanting to make a model of Christine using the 58 Plymouth Belvedere kit. When the weather here in Western PA was condusive to painting outside this past summer, I first sprayed the roof (after prepping and priming the entire boday and hood with Duplicolor gray primer/sealer) using Duplicolor Arctic White. I completely taped off the roof and then sprayed the body and hood with Duplicolor Flame Red. The same number of coats, at the same time.

After the paint dried, I removed the tape, put the hood on the body to see how it all looked, before clearcoating and foiling. The darn hood came out DARKER than the rest of the body...!!!

A couple of my modeling friends have also had this type of shade difference when painting their models at times.

I hate like hell to have to strip it all and start over. Maybe I'll just strip the hood and try repriming and repainting it red again.

[LoneWolf15]

Your problem might lie with how many coats of

primer you applied . One coat more , maybe a bit heavier than what was applied to the rest of the body ? It doesn't take much to affect the color of the top coat . A slight shade darker primer will create this , especially when shooting standard colors for your top coat .

[W-409]

I've had this problem too, and it's really stupid problem. I've been thinking about taping the hood to the body while painting...? I can't be sure if that works or not, maybe I have to try some time.

[62rebel]

that might be the issue, right there; i try to stick ALL the body parts together for painting so there's less chance of mismatched panels. painter's tape, anything temporary just to keep them in proper relation while painting.

[weasel]

did the rest of the body have white primer on it??

just grey on the hood??

[Ramfins59]

No I used Duplicolor gray Primer/Sealer on both the body and the hood. If you tape the hood to the body from underneath to paint it all together, then how do you paint the edges of the hood and the lip the hood sits into over the engine bay...???

[Kaleb]

Its your shade of primer, in other words the more layers the darker. I have the same problem on a car I am working on right now.

[LoneWolf15]

Its your shade of primer, in other words the more layers the darker. I have the same problem on a car I am working on right now.

Exactly !

[Dr. Cranky]

I always try to do a paint job in one sitting. I figure out when would be the best time in my schedule (usually early mornings) and then I make sure everything gets the same number of coats be it primer, base coat, and clear. I tend to do a lot of graphic work on my paintjobs too which is a result of having learned to cover up some little ticks and mistakes along the way.

[W-409]

If you tape the hood to the body from underneath to paint it all together, then how do you paint the edges of the hood and the lip the hood sits into over the engine bay...???

Yeah, that's little problem... Maybe they can be painted with brush, if you use some paint, like Revell Enamels... But that's real problem too.

[Junkman]

Red is made by the devil.

Most reds are quite translucent. Hence the chances are brilliant to achieve a different shade on each and every part you paint.

Apparently there is a trick to alleviate the problem: You paint the parts yellow first.

I tried this, simply by using yellow primer, and it worked for me.

Also, you could try painting the entire inside of the body (minus roof) flat black and see if that brings the red on the body in line with the red on the hood.

[Pete J.]

Red is made by the devil.

Most reds are quite translucent. Hence the chances are brilliant to achieve a different shade on each and every part you paint.

Apparently there is a trick to alleviate the problem: You paint the parts yellow first.

I tried this, simply by using yellow primer, and it worked for me.

Christian is quite right about red being the culprit. Reds are generally quite translucent and the amount of paint that you get on the model will cause the shade to change. This is not always a funtion of the number of coats. Most people are not aware of the roll distance from model to spray nozzle plays. On most rattle cans if you reduce the distance that you hold the can from the body from 7" to 6" you decrease the area of the spray pattern by about 40% and thus almost double the amount of paint you are laying down per pass. Most people have a tendancy to get closer to smaller parts when they spray and that changes the density of the red. A lot of builders will build a jig that holds both the body and the hood with the hood about a quarter of an inch above where it goes on the body. This way thay get an even spray on the parts as they are being coated at the same time.

Also, never ever use gray primer as a base for red or yellow. Always use white or other complimentary color(Ferrari uses orange primer on some colors). Gray will absolutely kill reds and yellows.

Edited December 8, 2011 by Pete J.

[Guest]

No I used Duplicolor gray Primer/Sealer on both the body and the hood. If you tape the hood to the body from underneath to paint it all together, then how do you paint the edges of the hood and the lip the hood sits into over the engine bay...???

I used to have the same problem. My reason for the problem was that I would always want to spray just a little more paint on that hood to make it look just a little bit better. Even when I would catch myself wanting to do that, I would still come up with a hood just a slight shade off.

Now, I always paint the hood and any other body parts with the body to avoid having a difference in color. I've seen a lot of nice builds with the hood a slightly different shade. To me,that kills a model in my eyes. To answer your question, paint the underside of the hood and the edges first. If the underhood area is the same color as the body, tape off the tops of the fenders and the rest of the body and paint it at the same time. Allow ample drying time. Tape off the underside of the hood completely and place it on your model. When you tape your hood to the body,lift it slightly before pushing the tape down good to prevent it from sticking to the body. If you are using enamel,you want to remove the hood as soon as it is safely possible.

To correct your problem,I would try sanding the hood and the rest of the body,then spray them together. It's worth a try. It may save you from having to strip an start all over.

[weasel]

No I used Duplicolor gray Primer/Sealer on both the body and the hood. If you tape the hood to the body from underneath to paint it all together, then how do you paint the edges of the hood and the lip the hood sits into over the engine bay...???

i've found that if you make a 'loop' in the tape wide enough to go UNDER the fenders so you have a little raised tape to stick the hood on and still do the edges also, it sits the hood just above the body but still attached for color continunity...