HELP, proper technique for painting plastic models

OK so I purchased several models of TR and now I want to try and build 1

The building part is easy as you know, Its painting the Biotch so it looks great that is a royal pain in the arse

I havent painted a kit in so long Ive forgotten what little I knew

I'll build a new small paint booth from a cardboard box, a lazy susan for spinning it a small fan in back for sucking dust out, a light to see, & a sheet of lexan to use as a door

a friend who was great at this told me to avoid the sputtering of regular model paint I need to warm it up a little by putting the paint can in a pan w water and slowly warming it up a Little on the range, obviously boiling the water would not be good

Then I have to spray a coat & sand it gently w very mild paper, then there was some rubbing compund that I forgot. then what do you do before you add the next coat of paint ?

Thanks

 

William: Use a finer grit sandpaper and a file to get rid of the molding lines and to lightly scuff the body. I strongly reccomend using tamiya primer and the tamiya can spray paints. They work very well and I have been impressed by them. I do reccomend letting the can sit in a pan of warm water for about 10 minutes and then shake thouroughly to get uniform coverage.

 

First of all, the "proper" way to paint modes is to use an airbrush, not a spray can.

Also building properly is not necessarily easy.

But if thats all you are only willing to use then Tamiya will give you the best result. However, they are not easy to use if you never used them before. One problem is you cant shake them too vigorously. They will get "gas' bubbles in the paint almost like a can of soda. Then when you go to spray it you will have a big mess. The solution is to gently roll the can back and forth a few times. Also if you are going to clear the model with Tamiya clear, you must do it within 15 minutes of the color coat or wait 30 days to let the paint "gas" out. If you don't, the paint will fisheye.

Prepping the body is essential to a nice paint job. Priming the car is a good idea, use a white primer but make sure it is good and dry before you decide to shoot your color coat. Don't rush your paint jobs.

After you do all your color paint and clear coating if you want a real mirror shine, you will get that by polishing the model. Several companies offer polishing pads for models. They are reasonably inexpensive and the results will be extraordinary if you follow the simple instructions.

If you want to see great results of what can be done to models go to Alex Kustov's website at:

www.italianhorses.net

or my website www.islandcollectibles.net

I wish more people on here were into building models instead of just buying diecasts. You can get so much more satisfaction out of creating something yourself. Then once you start building you will realise how innaccurate most of these diecast are. It will completely change the way you look at them.

Ed
Island Collectibles, Inc

 

Thanks guys, I know an airbrush is better but I never mastered that.

Ed do you have any model builders you can recomend that can build some models for me ?

Thanks
WH

 

i would suggest an airbrush anyway. They are just as easy to use as a aircan.

 

William...I would check out Alex Kustov's Italian Horses site...we're in the same area and I've met him and seen some of his awe-inspiring Ferrari builds...a master, and a nice guy who is willing to share advice on technique.

Brian's model cars is a great all-round auto modeling site. Alex contributes in the tutorials section. Well worth a look if you're venturing into scale modeling.

http://www.briansmodelcars.com/index.asp

 

My company does custom build work. Alex Kustov was doing custom builds but due to time restaints doesn't build for anyone right now. The built models I sell are on the same level as Alex, and because of that they are not cheap. My builts start at $700. Most end up much higher than that. I understand most collectors will not spring for this kind of money but the customers I do have expect a specific level of quality that only comes with spending that kind of money.

You can always find someone who will do a build for much less but you will likely get what you pay for. In fact I have never found a good quality inexpensive builder. At least not what I would consider acceptable. If you want me to build a real nice model for you, let me know. I'm booked through most of this year but could have something finished by the winter holidays depending on what it is and how detailed it needs to be.

Ed

 

www.denniskoleber.com

 

Dennis is very talented. He is also a customer of mine and has been for years. Nice guy too.

Ed

 

I've been out of the hobby for a couple years, but this is the place where I picked up a few tricks and pointers.

http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=927

Lots of talented model builders there.

 

OUTXLR8 is right. there are some excellent builders there (used to be better ones a couple years ago) and there are great pointers on that site

 

http://www.briansmodelcars.com/tutorials/tutorial.asp?TutorialID=12&CurPage=1

check the finish on this i didnt think it was possible!!

gives you confidence to try modelling again!

 

You aren't kidding. I've got loads of free time where I'm living, but all my model supplies are back home.