Normally when I use primer, I use Humbrol enamel primer out of the little tinlet. My experience with it has been on figures and I usually end up passing several days before begiing to paint anything over it. Now I am going to try it out on some kits that are plastic with PE brass.
If I use Humbrol enamel as the next layer of paint over the Humbrol enamel primer, do I need to wait for it to dry and cure, or can begin my next layer of paint once it is dry? Say within an hour or three? Prime in the morning, base coat paint color in the afternoon.
Stik, Just my personal opinion and my practice is that i allways wait atleast 24 hours before painting anything after priming. Some times i let them cure even longer. But i dont know if its an absolute.
With Humbrol and most enamel paint it depends on the thinner you use and the temperature. I thin both primer and paint with lacquer thinner. Apply the primer, wait one hour and then apply the paint. This allows both coats to gass out at the same rate and keeps problems from happening. In the winter longer and the summer shorter. If I have to mask, I let the primer cure for 12 hours. You can speed up the curing of the primer with a hair dryer, don’t melt your kit.
I thin my enamels with Testors airbrush thinner… I have had the best results with that stuff. Something in it gives the paint more “tooth”. Tempertures here have been in the upper 60s lately (I airbrush in my open garage) and humidty is in the 50%-60% range. I will try waiting a couple hours on one and on the other one give it at least a day.
I’ve only got good things to say about Testors airbrush thinner, used it for years. Paint really flows well with it and with those tempertures I would wait 2 or 3 hours at least. I use lacquer thinner now only because it’s cheaper and I can clean with it. I don’t have to keep two cans on the bench. If speed is what your after the hair dryer can cut your coat time down to 15 or 20 minutes. I only use it when I need to rush things. Spoke to a Humbrol rep at Telford back in 2005 and he said they recommend 6 hours between coats. So your plan should work.
You guys are all way more experienced than I, but I use a rattle can of Krylon flat black primer. I let it cure over night. The Krylon really “bites” into the plastic and provides a very durable undercoat. I use Model Master enamels thinned 50/50 with Testors thinner sprayed at + 15 psi for camo stripes and 20 psi for solid coat. I’ll wait 3 to 4 hours between camo patterns. Haven’t had problem 1 using this sequence.
Course, I’m doing armor which doesn’t require the same level of finish that aircraft and ships need. I do avoid air brushing on humid days. I use the cheapest laquer thinner I can find for cleaning the air brush, and I clean in-between color changes and if the brush will be idle for longer than 5 minutes.
MAJ: Sounds pretty awsome to me actually!!! I typically wait longer because i tend to run out of time in a day after i paint for some strang reason. Every time i paint something lol!!! So it sits over night.