My latest project is the Polar Lights/Round2 USS Enterprise refit in 1/350 scale. In order to light the build, I have been using Wal-Mart flat black in the 96 cent rattle can to light block subassemblies as I build. The original plan was to apply two coats of the black and then overspray it with two coats of flat white to help distribute light once I got the LEDs ininstalled. Simple enough, right? Last week, I sprayed the interior of the bottom of the engineering hull with the black and let it cure in a box to keep dust out of the drying paint. I let it cure for a full week before spraying the Wal-Mart white over the top. Almost immediately, the paint cracked and crazed, leaving several areas that looked like a broken mirror. After the paint dried, I wet sanded the mess and reapplied the white. Again, it crazed…the affected areas are buried deep within the model and will be covered by the hangar bay subassembly, so it will never be seen. However, it still bothers me and I am reluctant to go about painting the rest of the build until the problem is solved or there is another alternative for me. Any suggestions?
I feel your pain.
I’ve never used the Walmart paints and I’m not familiar with their properties, but, given the week-long cure time for the base coats, my guess would have to be the top coat’s the problem. Did you mist on the white gradually, or try to lay down a solid layer all at once? Even with compatible paint types, misting on the top layers as paint layers get deeper isn’t a bad way to go. (Easier to do with an airbrush than a rattle can I’ll grant you, but not impossible.)
if you are painting the interior which won’t be seen so the interior lights won’t make the hull translucent, wouldn’t a coat of gray primer and/or a couple coats of white paint be solid enough? i have a lightship i may light the hull interior and was only going to use white primer.
I would suggest different paint. That stuff sounds like crap.
Yes, I would advise not using Wal-Mart paint or any other hardware store paints. Better to use paints designed for plastic models only. Tamiya, Model Master, etc.
Thanks for the replies, gents. There are a few reasons why I elected to gamble with the Wally World rattle cans, including the budget. The Enterprise is such a large kit that it is going to require a ton of paint. The LHS carries both Tamiya acrylics and Model Master enamels, but at $5 a bottle (seriously!), the rattle cans were simply more economical for parts of the kit which would not be seen after assembly. Plus I can run the parts outside to hit them with paint so that the wife and pets are not disturbed by the noise of my airbrush compressor or the smell of thinners and paint. In the end, however, did I get what I paid for? Suppose I’ll have time to ponder that as I sand out the part…
Waynec, your approach would have been the one I would have initially adopted, but I am trying out a few techniques I have never attempted. I have read over a number of pages on the web and viewed several videos posted by other modellers who have built this kit and was intrigued by the “Raytheon method” for lighting effects. The black and white approach was stolen from a builder who had very admirable results, so I followed his approach faithfully, including the use of Wally World rattle cans. So, perhaps the only viable solution available to me locally would be to use a black primer crafted for wargame figures…I suppose it all depends on how many “black budget” dollars (ie - the wife does not know) I can manage through creative financing and what I can get away with what is available to me here for experimentation. Thanks for the tips!
Walmart stores sell several brands and types of paint. Which ones exactly were you using? Were they enamels, acrylics- what?
Mr. Stauffer, both rattle cans contained enamels. The blue labels indicate this is the Wal-Mart house brand, marked simply as “Interior/Exterior Fast Dry Spray Paint” in 10oz sizes. Stock numbers are 25004 Flat Black and 25009 Flat White. The instructions on both are to use thin coats and repply “within 4 hours or 1 week to avoid lifting”. All instructions were followed to the letter, but Murphy’s Law dictated otherwise…
That is weird. Usually enamel is well compatible with enamel. It sounds like the black did not adhere well to the plastic surface. Do you know what sort of plastic it is? Is this transparent plastic?
BTW, for the next time, aluminum paint actually stops light from being transmitted through it better than black does, surprisingly.
You bring up a good point, Mr. Stauffer. The piece in question is an alternative part, one of two optional engineering hulls offered in the kit. The one I have chosen is showing some unusual characteristics. All of the raised ejector pin marks, parts locating numbers, and molding artifacts were carefully shaved off, sanded, polished smooth, and examined under 10x magnification before washing the part and applying paint. As I am sanding through the crazed paint, I have noted that many of these areas have bloomed under the paint, causing them to rise up from the rest of the surface to roughly 10 percent of their original height. The other subassemblies I have sprayed do not show any sign of this. Visually, the material seems to match the rest of the kit, but I am now curious. If I can convince my pet crow to give up the other alternative piece (he likes to build, too) I may clean it up and see if the paint causes the same problems.