The current FSM magazine has an article, How to Paint it Black, regarding how to paint an aircraft black. The results were nice, but I think that I have an easier way to paint a combat aircraft black.
This is the aircraft that I used as a guide for painting my model, the SR-71 Blackbird. Notice the weathered look of the painted surfaces.
I experimented with a couple of black paints. The paint on the right is Tamyia Flat Black. The paint on the left is Tamyia Tire Rubber Black. I thought that the Flat Black was too black, so I chose the Tire Rubber Black.
After the Tire Rubber Black dried, I slopped on various shades of Aqualine water soluable wash. This product is no longer available.
I used a damp paper towel to smear around the wash.
These are the final results of the two engines after rubbing with a damp paint brush and a paper towel. Notice the panel details.
This is what the engine and wing look like. The panel details look nice and did not require a lot of work.
Yes, I have also noticed that there are many types of black depending on the brand you use. Normally the colors tend to have a blue tint, which you can’t see until you compare the color with another black color. If you are looking for something super black, I recommend this blackest black paint that has just come on the market.
You can use it pure or mixed with another black depending on the intensity of black you are looking for. If you apply it 100% pure, what can happen is that you will not see the aircraft
For any paint, while it may be very black when first painted, the UV rays of sunlight will inevitably change it as soon as it is rolled outside. I was working on the sunshade of a camera on a satellite. We wanted it to remain as black as possible. The only paints we found that were any good were made for that purpose and were very expensive. I suspect that for low observables, the reflectivity at microwave frequencies were far more important than the visible reflectivity.
