first paint job

Modeling Subjects Aircraft
1

Hello All,

My first project did not go well, but at least I have something to practice some painting on. Just wanted to double check to see if I had the steps down on how to approach this. I do not have an air brush, so everything needs to be done with brush or rattle can (preferably brush when I can).

  1. Put on base coat to show through for chipping effect.

  2. Put rubber cement on where I want chips, and put on color coat.

  3. Gloss coat (I will be trying the Future wax)

  4. Apply and set decals.

  5. Weathering.

Thanks for any advice.

2

For step 5, you need to do a couple things… Leave the glosscoat for doing washes (the capillary action will work better), but then you’ll need to apply a flat coat after the washes for any drybrushing or pastel work. The flat coat will give the finish some “tooth” for the dry-brushing and powders to grab.

Frankly, I’d do the gloss coat with a rattle-can of Testor’s Glosscoat (or any decent clear gloss) rather than Future, especially if you don’t have an airbrush (Truthfully, I don’t use the stuff, except on floors)… Same thing with the flat coat… Testor’s Dullcoat in a rattle-can… There are a number clear flats and glosses in bigger cans though… Treehouse Acrylic Laquer, available at Hobby Lobby, is one I use more often than not… 13 oz. cans run about 2.00…

BUT… Always test-shoot clear laquers over test-panels of your paint choices before applying them to a model’s finish… Some will attack enamels (Testor’s won’t, but Tree House will attack the Wal-Mart brand enemels, for instance).

3

Do I understand you as saying that I do not need/want to do a gloss coat before applying decals? The gloss coat is used before doing any washing?

I want to experiment with washing, but this is an inexpensive model, so it has raised rather than recessed details, so there is nothing for the wash to pool in. I may try anyway, to see what effect it has.

I will want to experiment with dry brushing, so will get some dullcoat.

Many thanks!

4

You absolutley need to gloss before decals… I gloss before decals and then again to seal the decals. I weather over the second gloss coat so I can weather the decals at the same time. This allows any pin wash to flow into panel lines that are under the decals.

5

[dto:] Also, some will use gloss paint for the base coat in order to skip the gloss coat/future step before decals but since I use MM enamel flats, I have to do a clear gloss prior to decals. Like Hammer, Future is on hold for me (excepting clear parts).

6

Ouch! $5.50 if I want to buy a tiny can of spray gloss.

7

Hans you don’t seal decals with another gloss layer before washing?

8

[quote user=“mgh”]

Do I understand you as saying that I do not need/want to do a gloss coat before applying decals? The gloss coat is used before doing any washing?

NO…if you do not gloss coat, your decals will “silver” so …clear gloss, then decal. I usually do another gloss coat over the decals to seal them and for washes/ weathering. Like Hammer said, if youre gonna dry brush or use pastels then you need a flat clear...they dont stick too well to the gloss.

9

Excellent.

I have given the model a base coat (white, just cause that was all I had). What I want to try is for a camouflage color. The box shows a light brown or tan, with a kind of medium green. I will be brushing everything. Any tips as to how to go about putting down the camo cover? I don’t know how well I can free hand it, but I wouldn’t know how to mask it either.

Thanks for the help.

10

I’ve found silly putty to be pretty user friendly for masking camoflauge patterns. Get 3 or 4 eggs and you’ll have plenty of stuff for the camoflauge pattern. It’s reuseable, too, even with paint all over it. use some tape to cover areas in between the silly putty if you’re spray painting.

11

When did glosscoating, prior to decals, become an absolute, hard and fast rule? It’s a good idea, sure, but not always necessary.

With good decals, like cartograf, I’ve never had to gloss. With crappy decals, like from airfix, no amount of gloss is going to get those things to lay down, correctly.

Depending on the quality of the decal, you can almost always get away with a bit of decal set and solution. Brush on a bit of micro-set, place the decal and let dry for a few minutes. Absorb the excess with a q-tip. Then apply some micro-sol over the decal and it will pull it into and over all the detail, without the need of a glosscoat.

If you can’t get micro-sol/set, you can use a little puddle of Future where you want the decal to go. This is localized glosscoating and reduces the chances of spraying mishaps, like overspray or orange-peeling.

I’ve never been a fan of the “absolutes” when it comes to modeling. The great thing about this hobby is that it allows for experimentation with different techniques.

If you have a really thick decal that won’t settle down, no matter what you do, you can use a sparing amount of liquid solvent, over the top. Brush on a thin coat, very quickly. You only have a few seconds before the solvent will make the decal too soft to work with.

If you have to hand-brush the camo, Testors is superior to Tamiya. Thin it a bit so that you don’t get brush strokes. Free handing is fairly easy - draw the camo on first, using light pressure with a pencil. Then use a liner brush to paint the outline and a wide brush to fill it in. It’s just a technique that takes practice - particularly the thinning ratio.

-Fred

12

Hi Fred. Only one person said “absolutely need to” and dont think theres a rule that you have to glosscote. In my experiences with decals of all kinds, if I dont apply them over a gloss coat, they silver. Im probably causing it myself, Im not the best modeler but rarely have trouble with them when applied over gloss. I dont spot spray the gloss because I usually apply washes and,as you know, work better of a gloss coat. Im different in that I usually dont spray a flat clear when Im done, unless Im using pastels for weathering, because the models are a lot easier to clean dust off of with a gloss finish.

I agree with the 2nd quote…I have a guinea pig A-20 that I test new theories on…lol.

Len