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Help on Order of Painting Stock, Please


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At my last count, I have 8 models 'in progress' which I reckon is 7 too many.

 

When I look at them, the majority have stalled at the painting stage or rather lack of painting. There has been much displacement activity - books bought, airbrushes obtained, spray booth acquired, this forum post etc - but very little activity. I suppose if I'm honest it's because I'm a bit scared of 'spoiling' a model.

 

The sort of questions I have relate to what many must take as basic knowledge - of which I have little/none in this field. So hear goes.

 

Questions

  1. Should I paint bits ' as I go' or finish the kit and then paint, knowing that I will have to disassemble or mask bits?
  2. What primer should I use. Having primed, is it ok to go back and fill in any little holes that then seem to magically appear, with Milliput or similar and then prime again?
  3. How many coats?
  4. What top coat and how many?
  5. Varnish - a good idea? Klear seems to be mentioned in old magazines but seems unavailable nowadays - what to use instead?
  6. Are there really no rules at all & should I just 'have a go and see'?

Thoughts ( not answers )

  1. To me it would seem to be best to paint as I go but I look at some of the beautiful kits some of you guys make and they seem to remain unpainted until the last moment. Painting as you go which I have tried a bit, seems to result in the paint suffering along proud edges and corners with the shine of metal starting to come through.
  2. This may be down to incorrect priming? For brass kits much talk is of etching primer which I think is horrid stuff to use (smell), many seem to swear by Halfords Primer. For plastic kits, do you need to bother priming at all as most kits are pre-coloured.
  3. Is one coat enough? Should I keep going until everything is covered even though this may lead to loss of detail?
  4. I realise everyone will probably have their favourite brand, but there seems to be a choice these days between enamel and acrylic. Assuming I'm hoping to airbrush in the main, does either one have particular merit.
  5. Ok, everything must be cleaned first, I know but after that?

I realise I'm probably opening the proverbial can here but thanks for reading this far and I'm open to all constructive suggestions.

 

Brian

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Hi Brian,

You'll probably get other opinions, but here's my two penneth, for what it's worth..

1. Complete the model, (except for any parts that don't want painting) then paint it;- it's a lot simpler. I rarely mask stuff for further spraying on steam locos, preferring to brush paint bits that are different colours, but regularly mask off diesels etc. where the liveries require it. Obviously, things like chassis frames should be painted when part-assembled, before fitting wheels & other mechanical or electrical components..

2. I swear by Halford's primer, & have used it exclusively for about 20 years with no problems. The grey stuff seems to be better than red.... By all means use filler if you detect any holes, then lightly prime again.. Again, with plastic models, I prefer to use a plastic primer before painting, & I feel this gives a superior finish.

3. In most circumstances, one coat of primer is sufficient, as long as full coverage is achieved. - Rotate the job repeatedly, so the spray gets into all the angles. It will self-level to a reasonable extent while wet, & should give you a smooth base coat.

4. I much prefer enamels for airbrushing, finding that acrylics tend to dry too quickly for my purposes, (though I use them exclusively for weathering).. If you get a decent depth of colour with the first coat, all well & good, but there's no harm applying a second or third if the coverage isn't perfect first time.

5. Varnish... this can be a can of worms.. I'll occasionally use a satin varnish, particularly if bits of the paint have come out too shiny, matt, or uneven. Before applying, make sure that the paint is fully dry &  hardened, as any unevaporated thinners in the base coat can soften the varnish, even weeks later, if you're unlucky. Use very light coats, just 'dusted' on with the airbrush, & use a fast-flash thinner. - I learned the hard way that some varnishes can stay sticky for a considerable length of time if applied too heavily. In most cases, you are just trying to achieve a consistent surface finish, rather than a mirror shine.  Don't use spray can varnishes, as they can be a disaster waiting to happen....

6. This should really come first, but good preparation is the key to good paintwork;- use wire wool, scotchbrite, fibreglass burnishing brushes or fine emery to clean up metal models, as the fine scratches provide a good 'key' to help the paint adhere to the surface, then give a good scrub with warm water & detergent;- I use an old toothbrush,- thoroughly dry in a warm place & avoid touching surfaces to be painted with bare fingers if possible, until you finish applying the paint.  I make little wooden stands with an upright of battening, put a blob of blu-tack on top & stick this up inside the bodywork, giving a convenient means of handling & manipulating the job, & a means of putting it down again without it touching anything...

Hope this is of some help... The main thing is not to be afraid of having a go.. we all had to start somewhere!

 

Chris

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Thanks Chris,

I've just given the brake shoes and brake rodding

IMG 1508

a blast of Halfords grey and will put them somewhere warm for a day or two. The next colour on these will be black and as a 'control' I've also been spraying a OO Austin A30 body, so will try that first before spraying the real thing.

Thanks again.

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Hi Brian,

 

My golden rules include:

 

using the newest/freshest paint possible, with the best brushes

 

well mixed/thinned Phoenix matt enamels are my paints of choice

 

I apply coats thin enough to see through

 

have several weathered shades of the same colour available for use at the same time (in an artists dimple pallette)

 

all models to be painted will have been cleaned & degreased (to avoid contamination) and painted by area/shade e.g divided into underframe, superstructure/similar shades

 

brush strokes will be in a vertical (roof to underframe direction) orientation as weathering works that way too.

 

here are a few visuals from my Flickr site   http://www.flickr.com/photos/43564631@N08/

 

trust your intuition when it comes to reducing/diluting colours...ex works wagons in BR days weren't common.

 

 

Hope this helps

 

Dave

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Thanks Dave, 


 

brush strokes will be in a vertical (roof to underframe direction) orientation as weathering works that way too.

 

There's some great golden rules there - I realise I've been breaking the first one already, some of my paint stock is 5+ years old! I guess it might still be ok for painting figures / building and so on?Thanks also for the links to your images too.

 

 Maybe I should have mentioned that I intend to use my airbrush as much as possible, certainly when working on my O Gauge stuff. 

Spray Booth

Here's a picture of my spray booth after applying primer to the brake gear and rodding.

 

Why is it my images come out so small - this one is 800 pixels wide which should fill the page?

 
The booth itself is from Chronos and was on special offer before Christmas but I see is now back at £89. Seems to work well but I'm already wondering if I should have bought a spare filter or two (£3.95  plus p+p) as I have no idea how long they last. It looks like the same stuff as you buy for cooker hood filters only dearer - anyone got any thoughts on that or whether the filter can be cleaned?

 

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  • 1 month later...

If any of the wagons are cheap I would just give them a go.

You follow our layout, and over the last couple of days I have done a couple of wagons. There is a load of pictures, and you might get some pointers. 

Wood ones in my opinion might benefit from hand painting as that tends to add texture, steel etc probably look better airbrushed, or at least painted with fresh paints that aren't prone to being thick or drying fast as you want a smooth coat. I would say if you keep starting new projects, you are not happy enough to trust you can do a decent job, just decide on one, and go for it. Whether you get a good result of not you will learn plenty from it. Sometimes 'mistakes' can teach you more than successes. 

Hope to see you moving forward.

 

http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/72163-arboretum-valley-pimp-your-ride-kadees-and-repaints/page-121&do=findComment&comment=1333856

it sprawls over several pages, but hopefully it will prove of some help.

 

I also watch the 16T minerals thread  which you might like the link is to the first post.

http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/36891-16t-minerals/&do=findComment&comment=393161

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  • 1 year later...

Finally got round to it last year but life got in the way and I never had time to follow this up. I have now painted the tender in Black but will wait until I have the loco complete before doing transfers and so on. Meanwhile I have a couple of BR Mark 1's to do and I am currently working on a Lady Margaret.

IMG 6104

IMG 6103

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