Painting Buildings

[Earl Bathurst]

Hi

I have a kit building i want to repaint. Is it best to build the kit first leaving out the windows then spray it or is it best to spray paint the panels separately then glue the kit together?

Cheers

[Andy Y]

For the best finish I would assemble the building (leave the windows out as you say) and make sure all of the joints are tidy and filled if necessary before painting. Painting joint surfaces before assembly could lead to reaction with adhesives or a less solid joint and you're bound to miss bits anyway.

[corax67]

When I am making up buildings from kits i tend to build up sub-assemblies which I paint before final construction because I nearly always fully detail the insides of my buildings.

 

In the case of something like the Dapol church kit I build the main walls as one unit, the roof as a second unit and the tower as a third, ensuring everything is true (dry fit the sub-assemblies to check) and any joint gaps have been made good with a putty like Green Stuff. I then primer the inside of the buildings having tape masked the outside of window & door openings, final coat the inside, mask the inside of the assemblies with tape and paper and primer coat outside then top coat.

 

Dry brush and wash exteriors as required to finish and weather then install glazing, interiors detail and lighting as appropriate before fitting together sub-assemblies and touching up by brush. Last job is to add detailing parts like gutters, drainpipes and TV aerials.

[David Bigcheeseplant]

For my engine shed on Aylesbury I painted each wall before it was assembled, it just made life a lot easier to keep things flat while working on them.

 

David

[JZ]

Having just finished a Dapol church kit, I used the same method as corax67. I didn't detail the interior though.

[Kris]

I don't spray buildings, I think the slightly rougher finish that you get through brush painting is more appropriate for them. As the other responders have said leave the windows out then stick these in later.