Basic painting question

[TiM!]

Hey everyone, new to the forum and it looks like a great site.

I'm about to start a slow build of a Revell SLS AMG in 1/24 scale, and I know that I have to spray the body of the car before I stick it to the chassis, however I've never done this before having only built planes in the past.

So my question is, how do I keep paint off the areas that will need glue? Do I dry fit the body, mark the areas up and then mask them before sparying or is it best to remove the paint after?

Many thanks!

[trogdor]

I try to look at it as sub assemblies. I'll fit and glue whatever I can before painting. Keep in mind paying attention to the order of assembly too. Sometimes adding certain body parts can interfere with final assembly. And you don't want to make things hard on yourself either. Do all your detail work before putting your interior together etc. Have your engine complete before installation. Just think it through. Wherever you need to glue during assembly just scrape some of the paint away where parts join.

[TiM!]

Thanks for the reply, after thinking about it I guess it's just like assembling chrome parts.

I'll be sure to do a build thread on this one, really looking forward to it.

[Dr. Cranky]

Tim, the idea is simply to paint all your parts and then choose the right glue for each sub-assembly as Rick mentioned. I think the basics of model building airplanes also apply to model cars.

[ZombieHunter26]

Sub-assembly is an important factor before painting. Fortunately, I glue my builds with loctite professional liquid superglue, so it doesn't matter what I prime beforehand. Usually, I build in sections so that i can prime them separately, and apply detail paint where needed.

I realize my builds are a bit different than building from a kit, but some of the basic techniques I use are able to be used in just about any type of modelling.

Using solvents or tube glue can present a problem in the way I build- which is why i steer away from using them. But in your case, using a mixture (superglue in some parts, solvents or tube glue in others) may help you achieve your paint jobs with a little more ease- and without worry as to where you have painted over being a crucial glue point.

Another idea, is you could lightly sand the area needing glued, and do touch-ups with matching paint (either with an airbrush or manual brush). Remember to mask off the sections with painter's tape if you intend to airbrush.

[MikeMc]

soft scraping with a sharp blade

[TiM!]

soft scraping with a sharp blade

Works nicely, thanks

Build is underway, though nothing exciting so far.

[scalenut]

I will try to mask areas with thin strips of tape that would require a lot of tedious scraping, and scrape the rest.