Hey Fellow Modelers,
This maybe one of the silliest questions that’s ever been posted…but what constitutes a “coat” of paint? And, further, what’s a “light coat” vs a “regular coat”? If you’re using an airbrush for example, is a light coat when you just pass over the surface once? And you can still see the surface underneath? I understand that there are no “rules” or gauges to say what’s a coat of paint, but I’m curious because I, like all followers of our great hobby, want to have the best finishes possible on my builds. Maybe some of our artists out there can lend some sage wisdom. Anyway, Happy New Year to all.
Thx, John
How are you today, John…
The whole idea, I suppose, is to not get so much paint on the plastic that it will develop a dreaded “Run”, or drip, if you will. I learned my lesson regarding this with Glosscoat, and with Silver spray cans… nothing ruins ones day faster than finally applying the paint, then notice a blotch of it separating in a big “Drip” down the side of the model.
An initial “Light” coat, means the second coat doesn’t have to be very thick to get full coverage. On larger builds, it sometimes takes several coats to get coverage… the BIGGY in all this, is preventing dust particles from gathering on the finish between coats! YIKES!! [:O] I resolve this worry by placing the freshly painted subject under a box until I’m ready to shoot the second coat. Personally, I don’t ever have the need for a “regular”, or “Heavy” coat.
Hope this helps…
Take care,
Frank
a light coat in my opinion is even application of paint sufficient to define the color that is being applied, but light enough to still tell that there was something below. a heavy coat is even application of paint such that there is total opacity, but of course you dont want runs.
It’s very subjective, but a light coat to me means you can still determine evidence of an underlying color. Some paints need to be applied in several “light” coats in order to get desired opacity without runs. Several metallics & gloss paints would fall into that category. A heavy coat is actually the build up of several light coats. Confusing isn’t it [:)].
Regards, Rick
Here is my amateur opinion to painting in general:
Think of staining a deck. You can glop on a very thick layer of paint or stain, and this theoretically gets the job done; wood is covered by coat of paint/stain. But what a self-respecting “craftsman” who is proud of his trade will do is apply many light layers/coats, so as to bring out the foine detail in the natural wood. It takes more time, and the end thickness may be the same as the one sloppy, thick coat, but the callout to detail will be better revealed on the many thin coats approach.
To address your question, a coat can be whatever thickness/amount you feel suffices as a coat, but this will depend upon your choice of the two above-mentioned methods for whchever area of the model you are addressing.
Just my thoughts.
Light Coat- Light misting of colour on the surface of the subject being painted.
Medium Coat- Multiple light coats ending in subject colour being almost totally obscured.
Heavy Coat- Dunk subject in bucket of paint, and set aside to dry.
Note- Heavy coat is reserved for experienced modellers
[;)]
wait a minute tweety, you forgot something - after dunking you musn’t forget to flick extra paint off the part before setting it on a paper towel to absorb any extra paint [;)]
[(-D][(-D]
Sorry Reggie, thanks for pointing that out.
Revised Heavy Coat- Dunk subject in bucket of paint, flick excess paint at something absorbent ie- cat, dog, canary, and set aside to dry.
Note- Heavy coat is reserved for experienced modellers, and those with pets
[;)][:P]
As a former car painter the rule of thumb on painting 1) A light coat also called a tack coat, light enough to see through and has a mottled appearance(called a tack coat because when it is sprayed on the solvent creates a bonding layer for the following coats and will reveal any flaws before the paint job is comitted) 2) color coat , this is a series of passes where paint is applied to cover basecoats or primers and is applied slowly until even coverage is achieved(also called flash time , the event wheere the paint is allowed to settle and the thinner blends it with previous coats) 3) Final coat or Flash gloss coat , Generally for gloss finishes where the paint is reduced with more thinner in order to get the paint to settle or “Flash” into a nice gloss finish.( useful for flat clear final coat with a 50/50 mix of flat and thinner shot as a mist dry coat and not a wet coat)
Forgot one thing though! this will work for sparacan paint too, one advantage that the automobile paint has over hobby paint is that you can order different type of thinner for the conditons you are painting it. example! for winter or humid weather you use fast drying thinner for summer time a slow drying thinner.( wish we had that option!)
Thanks for the responses guys. Tweety (and others): how does one go about “misting” with an airbrush? I have a double action type, so is it lots of air and little paint or little air and little paint???
Thx, John
Misting is achieved with normally a 50/50 mix of paint to thinner agent shot at low psi (under 15 psi) 2-3 inches from the model. I think misting needs a lot of practice myself. The idea is to have that psi and mixture sprayed with a minimum of action to the airbrush. When I mist it usually takes about 3 coats before anything at all noticable starts to happen. When I hit 3-4 coats I then start to paint “normally” using the mist coat ( I think calling it a “tack coat” is a very good term for it)to help hold the proceeding coats adhere and cover. When using acrylics youll find that sometimes when misting the paint dries before it hits the surface, causing a grainy, sand like effect. Let this dry and lightly sand the mist coat with fine sandpaper to smooth this out then continue painting in a usual fashion.
A bit of advice I will give you is when you have the model ready to be squirted, give the entire model a light sanding and rinse it with water. I do this plus I take a flannel piece to it (ty Swanny that changed how I paint) and wipe it down. Let it air-dry and you ready to paint. Apply primer if you are dubious of any seam work or anything else you have done to the model before painting, fix anything that pops out… this will ensure a great finish.
Jeff
A coat of paint? Sounds like the denim jacket I had in the late 80s.