Just want to know what kind of primer you guy use? I wonder if I could use some cheaper primer(e.g Krylon) for models.
Not only are Krylon primers (most of them) cheaper, they are better. However, stay away from the WHITE primer. I and several others have had trouble with it. The dark grey seems best. It really has
some teeth, and lots of body to fill fine scratches.
The one thing you have to watch with Krylon primer is to make sure you are all done priming before spraying enamel color coats. One time I found a flaw, and went to reprime that area to sand out the
flaw. Wherever the primer hit the enamel it attacked it. I had to sand all the old enamel off and reprime the whole car.
Don Stauffer
Depends on your intended color coat.
You can grade paint solvents by how "hot" they are - that is, how much damage they can cause to the underlying substrate.
Lacquers are the hottest - their solvent will melt plastic rather quickly. Some people actually use lacquer thinner as liquid glue when they run out of <insert your favorite brand of MEK
here>.
Enamels are the next hottest - never heard of enamel thinner melting plastic, but since I use lacquer thinner to clean with, I really have no experience.
Acrylics are the coolest of the three.
You never want to put a hotter paint on a cooler one, i.e. lacquer paints over acrylics.
That being said, if you're going to paint with acrylics, and primer will do. However, for the best adhesion, I'd go with a a good lacquer primer.
On that note, I just picked up a rattle-can of Tamiya white primer. That stuff is wonderful! Lacquer based (from the smell and the way it stripped the paint off my paint stand), dries quickly, leaves
a wonderfully smooth finish for my color coats (which, BTW< will be acrylic, as I have no enamels or lacquers in the color I want)
Jon Fincher
I've been reading some articles from some expert modellers about the use of base coat that is applied to the model before the final painting. Do you really need them? What's the benefits?
Two reasons, though neither one is absolutely necessary.
1) As mentioned, you can quickly find imperfections. If perfect seams, smooth finish are not important, you may not need to put a base coat on.
2) Providing a good surface for the color coats to adhere well. Some paints don't adhere as well as they should to bare plastic so some folks put a thin coat, like a primer, on the model to improve
the adherance of the color coats. Usually a flat finish, light in color such as white or gray.
I usually prime my aircraft in a very light gray or the lower surface shade if a very light color such as sky, neutral gray, et cetera.
Tim Holland
How does one prep bare brass models for painting?
I've done very few brass pieces over the years. I've had good results using 5 Minute Case Magic. This is a solution used by hand loaders to prep brass casings. I soak them for a minute or two and
then rinse with water.
The solution is basically a mix of phosphoric acid and chromic acid. That may be a little strong for some peoples 'taste'. It can usually be found in sporting good stores that handle reloading
supplies.
Dave in AK
I have custom painted a lot of brass for people and I'll give you my process.
Disassemble the model and remove any plastic or fiber parts. Usually these are spacers, washers. etc. Keep detailed notes on what parts go where. You'd be surprised how much you forget where stuff
goes after a week goes by. Keep the parts in small margarine container or something similar. Some types of screws are hard to find if you lose them.
I use light paint stripper to remove the clear coat in an ultra sonic cleaner. Just soaking a couple days will work if you don't have ultra sonic cleaner. Remove from stripper and clean immediately
with unscented dish soap and water. Make sure you are wearing surgical gloves during each step. The stripper will eat one pair. The gloves keep oil from your hands from getting on the model and paint
from getting on your hand. Blow dry with air from compressor and hair dryer. Dip in Tarnex for about 20 min and thoroughly wash and dry again. After dry prime with Floquil Zinc Chromate primer. Put
on light coat but cover model completely inside and out. This keeps corrosion from forming later on. Let dry a couple days. I leave in gas oven with just pilot light on to bake. Don't have to use
oven it speeds up the process. If wife turns on oven then look out!
Paint with Scalecoat. I have used light Scotch tape to mask for lines or 3M masking tape. Regular masking tape has rough edge and this will show on model. Remove tape after about 20-30 min after
painting. Don't leave on model. If a little tape glue stays on model wait until paint dries and clean off with soap and water. After Scalecoat has dried a couple days do a prelim cleaning of
operating surfaces. Places that need electrical contact or moving parts where paint would interfere. Does this now because if you mess up you can always spray more paint to fix. If the decals are on
then you may have a problem trying to mask again.
Decal as normal using a decal setting solution with the strength to work with you decals. Champ solvent is strong. Walthers Solvaset medium and Microscale setting solution is med to light. Let decal
soak to remove glue and apply to model. Move in place dry off extra water but don't touch decal. Don't use toilet paper as it will leave lint. Apply solvaset with soft paint brush and let dry. You
may need to apply another coat to get the decal to settle around details. After decals have dried a day or two wash model again and use soft cloth around decals to get the setting solution off. Don't
rub hard. Also I've found that for small decals I cut them out and place them on a flat plate with just a drop of water. I use a sharp Xacto knife to pick them up an place them.
Next do touch up and weathering. Finnish with Floquil flat finish and let dry again. Model will have very realistic semi gloss finish. The paint will be as hard as nail so you won't have to worry
about regular handling. It takes a while but it is really worth it. I haven't found anything that works as well as Scalecoat. I've been doing this about 15 yrs.and I've heard some people advise using
all Floquil with gloss mixed in or a separate close coat for decals. This comes out looking thick. Any paint that finishes flat will make your decals look "silvery" from air trapped in the rough
surfaces of the flat paint.
Try painting a few pieces of brass bar stock to get your stroke down. Most hobby shops have some brass strip stock.
Brian Strom