Paint Process Opinions

[hooterville75]

Can you guys please post your method or procedures of how you will paint your kits ? Being a new guy this is what Ive taken to this point. Wash in soapy warm water, trim excess flash etc. Primer, Wet Sand with 400 grit wet/dry sand paper. Base coat, wet sand with 600 grit wet/dry sandpaper, two color coats, coat of future, wet sand with Micro Mesh for shiny finish, clear coat, Decals, another clear coat, polish with Zymol, give a squirt of meguires and buff with cotton rag.

Anxious to see if anyone else has a different quicker method or procedure for a quicker time span with same results. Or to see if Im using the wrong grits etc. Thanks in advance for all your info.

[Deathgoblin]

Most of that sounds pretty standard. I've got different sanding pads, the ones I've got run up to 12000 grit.

[Chillyb1]

I try to keep to a minimum how much sanding and/or polishing is done. This body was shot with one coat of Tamiya primer then shot and masked with the color coats (all from Tamiya and decanted for airbrush), mostly built up with several passes of the airbrush and then one sort-of wet coat. The final coat is Tamiya acrylic. I did no sanding or polishing at all.

[MrObsessive]

I do somewhat of the same procedures as you've described, but as Curtis mentioned, some of the sanding steps are cut out. I also don't do my final polishing with a cotton rag, as I've found those to leave scratches. Instead, I use a chamois cloth. Pretty much like rubbing things out with your own skin, except of course much softer.

Here's a model that did using pretty much the method that you laid out. In the end there was no clearcoat as this is a solid color, and there's enough hardener in the paint that clearcoat isn't needed. I rubbed out the paint with Meguiar's Car Cleaner wax and a chamois cloth.

BTW, I strongly advise against rubbing out most metallic paints. When doing so, you can disturb the suspended flakes in the coats, yielding a mottled, swirly appearance. I do recommend clearcoating over your metallics and then rubbing out the clearcoat if needed.

Hope this helps!

[sportandmiah]

400 and 600 grit sand paper sound waaaay to course. I start with 1000 and barely use any pressure. I end at 12000 grit.

[scalenut]

sounds like pretty normal procedure to me .. the ultimate realisation I have found is working tword getting the best finish you can from the initial spraying part of the paintjob.. when I get a lucky nice finish from the spraying part, I can get to a glass-like stage with little effort by just using Novus#2 and #1.

it's like working from a great foundation to begin with ,, not easy but worth perfecting,, saves a lot of sanding

Edited September 18, 2012 by scalenut

[Ace-Garageguy]

Every good painter has favorite techniques he's developed from years of experimentation and practice. They all have some things in common, but there are differences too. Get a good feel for your materials and their capabilities, and practice, practice, practice.

This is how I do it.

1) Scrub the body with Comet and an old toothbrush and plenty of water. Takes off the mold lubricant and provides a nice tooth for the primer to adhere to, while NOT softening details like sandpapar will.

2) Do your bodywork, flash removal, sink and parting-line corrections and primer with a SANDABLE material of choice. Sand your bodywork up to 400. Primer will fill the 400 scratches just fine. I use Duplicolor high-build over bodywork, Duplicolor non-high build sandable over virgin plastic. Shadow-mask areas you don't want primer to build up on, like molded details you want to keep.

3) Try to learn to shoot your primer slick to minimize sanding. Sand any bodywork areas as necessary, and re-prime as necessary. Give your primer plenty of time to dry. It WILL shrink, so let it get dry BEFORE you sand it. 600 grit wet or 800 grit wet is fine under the color. If you shoot your primer slick, you can simply scrub it again with Comet to give it tooth for the top-coat.

4) Shoot your color coats. Learn to shoot them slick too, again to minimize sanding of orange-peel. As MrObsessive noted, DO NOT sand metallics unless you're having to level peel, in which case you'll need to shoot another coat or 2 to even out the flake AFTER sanding.

5) Shoot your clear, at least 3 coats if you're using airbrush-thinned or rattle-can products. 3 coats is the minimum for safe colorsanding.

6) Colorsand with sucessively finer and finer foam-backed pads. I start at 2400 and end up at 12,000 grit. Use plenty of water and swill your water container out before every grit change. That keeps the bigger grit from the last time from scratching your finish as you work it with finer paper. Ask me how I know.

7) Polish by hand with something very soft, turning it often. I use 3M Perfect It Ultrafine Machine Polish and a microfiber cloth made for eyeglasses.

8) Wax or seal it if desired. I usually don't use anything after the polish because I get the look I want without it. I've heard a lot of guys talking about Future, but I'm reluctant to put floor wax on my models.

Ta Daaa...... there is extensive bodywork on this custom rear panel and where the top was chopped 4 scale inches . I used the exact techniques described above. Notice no sanding scratches show through the paint. Also, when this shot was taken, only the top of the roof and decklid had been color-sanded and polished. The paint was just that slick. You can see some fine orange peel on the back of the decklid and the front fender-door area. I've since sanded and polished this out.

Edited September 18, 2012 by Ace-Garageguy

[crazyjim]

When you're doing final sanding, add a squirt of Dawn dishwashing soap to a small tub of water. The Dawn seems to make water more slippery.

[Draggon]

Bill's got it down, however, instead of comet, I use "SoftScrub" at all the primer stages. When worked hard, the softscrub can make the primer glossy yet have some "teeth", perfect for color coats!

[hooterville75]

Thank You all for your advice and methods. I have a order of Micro Mesh ordered waiting to receive .

[blackandwhite]

is the clear to be shot on while the final coat of paint is wet? or should the car be painted and gas out before spraying clear?

[Guest G Holding]

With Tamiya lacquers and TS 13 (yeah....) Bob Downie teachs to clear right after color or to wait at least 72 hours or more for clear. I know TS13 is gone now, but I do the same technique with Duplacolor and seems to work well with-out cracking or blush.

[Chas SCR]

I use a diffrent angle but at the same time Mark Jones help me a little as I never use to polish out the clear. I use only urethane paints and clears so here is how I do it.

1 Primer, wet sand from 1500 to 12000 and do this same step 3 times.

2 color coat or sealer coat. then wet sand 2000 to 12000 repet steps no less then 3 times and no more then 5 times over.

3 Clear coat. and then wet sand from 2400 to 12000 do this for 3 coats.

then use cutter #1 from 3m then use #2 wax and buff. (you can get the kit from scaledreams.com)

This replaces all wax and rubbing compunds that are out there also for the high end show car style stuff

they do not use wax any more on the cars. There is a #3 3m step but do not have to go any farther then the #2 step.

[Ace-Garageguy]

is the clear to be shot on while the final coat of paint is wet? or should the car be painted and gas out before spraying clear?

For metallics, as soon as I've got the flake laid down to my likng (and flashed off) I go ahead and shoot a coat of lacquer clear. That protects the surface of the metallic particles from being disturbed. You can shoot additional coats of lacquer clear later. I really only use lacquer (Testors, Duplicolor or nail polish) for metallics. I don't like the way enamel metallics look and dry. I don't use clear over solid enamels, and only sometimes on solid lacquers, sometimes not. Testors 2-part lacquer system is happiest getting a coat of clear as soon as the base has flashed, because the base is soft, dries flat, and needs protection.

Opinions vary. My techniques are based on painting 1:1 high-end cars over many years.

[Chas SCR]

Ace, the only reason why you have to shoot flakes more then normal is because you are shooting it at the part your painting. You do not shoot metal flake at the part or the body because of that issue you just said (clumping)... Next time shoot over the body not at the body and see how that looks for you.

[Ace-Garageguy]

Ace, the only reason why you have to shoot flakes more then normal is because you are shooting it at the part your painting. You do not shoot metal flake at the part or the body because of that issue you just said (clumping)... Next time shoot over the body not at the body and see how that looks for you.

Thanks for the tip, but I painted the orange Chevelle model above. It seems to be passable. I don't have trouble with clumping or much of anything else, actually. Last 1:1 I painted was a Superformance Cobra. Metallic blue with a LOT of pearl. Look okay to you?

Edited October 5, 2012 by Ace-Garageguy

[Chas SCR]

All I was going off of your statement and you said you have to keep putting on flake!!

(For metallics, as soon as I've got the flake laid down to my likng )

[Ace-Garageguy]

All I was going off of your statement and you said you have to keep putting on flake!!

(For metallics, as soon as I've got the flake laid down to my likng )

I'm not seeing how "as soon as I've got the flake laid down to my likng" means I have to keep putting on flake.

Sorry, I didn't intend to be confusing. With Testors "one-coat" metallics, I'll usually lay down 3 or so wet coats to get complete hiding without any orange peel. (The less-than-complete hiding of Testors metallics has been discussed several times here, and it's well known.) Up til then I'm not too concerned with anything other than a slick surface. I'll sand out any tiny imperfections at that point. If there's any graininess in the metallic, I'll sand it out and recoat, but wet coats tend to prevent that problem. (Dry mist coats tend to exacerbate it.) Then I'll usually shoot a lighter coat to get the metallic particles to stand up a bit more so they reflect light and 'pop'. The surface is vulnerable to finger-marks, etc, which is why I shoot a coat of clear pretty much immediately at that point.

I shoot all metallics, pearls and metalflakes pretty much the same way, and it works exceptionally well for me. I'm very critical of my own work, and I'm pleased with the results of this technique. It's certainly not the only way to do it.....I'm just trying to pass along the results of years of experience handling many types of finishing materials and paying attention. My approach over the years has been constant experimentation to get the maximum quality finish for the minimum effort. I've screwed many things up and have had to re-do them in the process.

Edited October 5, 2012 by Ace-Garageguy