Once the paint dry ... it wont be sticky anymore.

Hi all Sifus

need some guidance, so far i go the following process for painting my kits with AB....
1) Mr Surface 1200 - to prime
2) Mr Color - as base color
3) Mr Thinner (dunno if i should go for leveling one or not) - to thin Primer & Mr Color
4) Enamel paints - for lining
5) Zippo fluid - to thin the enamel

Questions :
a) What I dunno is how to do the Top Coat with the AB... dont want to use Top coat spray can if I can.
b) Should i get a retarder? Some sites seems to suggest

Cheers

^ I've been told, Mr Thinner with levelling has retarder effect. So if you are getting retarder separately, might as well just get the thinner levelling.

Say, where did you source for your enamel paints?

Air brush your top coat like u r air brushing other colors. Afterall, top coat is basically a paint without color.

Many has this idea that top coating is after u assembled the whole kit, then "Psst...." the whole kit a few times with top coat. Well, if u do that, i would expect next thing u will start to ask question like "Why got frosting?" "Why not top coat even" "why not enough gloss?" etc etc

Again, top coating is spraying another layer of paint that has no color onto the kit. Spray part by part.

hello,

can i use normal acrylic paint those use for art classes on paper to paint on model kits?
any compulsory steps prior to painting? coz i've tried and they hardly cover the surface.

Hi Thanks for the reply, which means I can just buy Tamiya Arcylic Flat base XF-21 and use as top coat right?

@Harddisk : I get my paint from Japan, i am in tokyo right now and will be back again in July.

After july, i need to find alternative sources

Be careful, Tamiya flat base, or other brands' flat base, is just an addictive to be added into clear.

Ok the concept of top coat:

paint consist of the resin n the pigment. paint with red pigment is red paint. paint with pigment, just only the resin, usually what u ll see in the market is usually labeled as "Clear" or "Gloss". This type of resin, we spray on top of our paint kit surface, to serve as a protective layer onto the paint. Since it has no pigment, it will not alter the color at the bottom. (Same concept as u use a transparent plastic sheet to wrap your book during school days).

In short, those spray can "top coat" is basically same thing as those bottled "clear" or "Gloss".

The resin, however, when sprayed and dried, it tends to level up itself and as a result it looks kinda shinny or glossy. So we can add some additive into it: some micro-size powder, to make the final outlook to look more flat, or less gloss. The more u add, the more flat it will be. This additive, micro size particle is generally called "Flat base". So basically if u look at Gaianote's or Mr Hobby's Semi gloss or Flat, u can achieve the same effect by getting a bottle of gloss, and add flat base into it. Add a little, it will be more like semi gloss; add more, it will become flat.

This additive micro particle, basically is just particle alone. So if u spray it without adding it into the resin (clear or any color), where there is nothing to hold them together; when it dries, it will become like powder on top of your kit: Like u have sprinkle some baby talcum onto the kit.

So flat base CANNOT be used alone, it must be added into clear or color (Eg adding flat base in Yellow u will get a semi gloss yellow, or a flat yellow).

So i guess what u should be looking for is color labeled as "flat", or if u r using tamiya acrylic, u should get yourself a clear n flat base and mix them urself. If i m not mistaken, Mr Hobby n Gaia do manufacture a pre-mix flat, but tamiya doesn't.

Hi guys, I've tried some spray cans to paint my gundam, so just wanna share on this:
I've tried Pylox spray cans:
- metallic colors like titanium, silver and ash grey stick to the plastic without having to apply primer (RM9 per can).
- normal colors like red, white and black didn't stick, so have to use primer (normal color Pylox - RM6 per can).

Right now I'm looking for a cheap primer. I saw someone mentioned Samurai brand primer for plastic, so far I haven't found it in hardware shops, so I'd appreciate if anyone could suggest where to find it in Gombak area.

I've tried a few Krylon brands (at least RM30 per can):
- there's a type for interior - sticks well without primer applied. The paint didn't come off even when applying masking tape.
- there's a type special for plastic - sticks well. I tried using this as undercoat/primer, it's a bad idea because the surface is quite rough, so I had to apply many layers to make it look smooth when applying the non-plastic spray can like Pylox.

Cheers.

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Added on June 22, 2010, 2:38 pmI'd like to learn how to re-create panel lining or detailing. Would anyone like to share how to do it? What special tools to use and where to get them?

Cheers.

This post has been edited by antisushi: Jun 22 2010, 02:38 PM

Thanks excellent advise and good insight!!! really appreciate it... I thinnk i will get some pre-mix flats from Mr Hobby .

Cheers

hmm.. i found an old lacquer spray paint white and silver.
i tried it on gundam sanded/un-sand, and they tend to peel off easily.
its written 7.50. is it because the quality?

I had the same problem, I tried white color TOA brand, it peeled off when I applied masking tape (had to sand it off to remove the paint ). So if I wanna use the cheap stuff I'm going to prime it first.

Alternatively I could use Krylon (either the plastic fusion or even the indoor type) spray can without having to prime the part, just spray it straightaway, it dries fast too, I can apply another layer after 15 mins or less.

Hi all,

May I know where to get fine tip brushes for panel lining? Something like this.

http://kusakusa.wordpress.com/2008/06/16/h...o-panel-lining/

I've looked at some shops but they were not thin enough to panel line.

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Added on June 23, 2010, 9:03 pmHi all,

May I know where to get fine tip brushes for panel lining? Something like this.

http://kusakusa.wordpress.com/2008/06/16/h...o-panel-lining/

I've looked at some shops but they were not thin enough to panel line.

This post has been edited by Kiaku95: Jun 23 2010, 09:03 PM

^ You can go to art shop and look for 000 brush or 00 brush ... those brush size are thin enuff.

If budget permits, you can buy a tamiya think brush from hobby shop.

Ok, I'll try my best to look for them.

Is this the tamiya brush?



I wonder if Time Machine have them..

Time Machine doesn't have brush at the moment, I went there last weekend, so I headed to Hobby HQ and bought a thin 5/0 brush.

00 or 000 brush is actually good enuff for panel lining.
Tamiya has alot of brushes. The one in the picture actually very costly. It's up to your budget. For me, a RM1.50 fable castel brush is good enuff.

hey guys.. so far, from what i've gathered, to get a nice silver effect, its primer -> gloss black -> silver.

problem is, i handpaint, so when i paint the silver over the black, the retarder seems to attack the black as well, making the colors mix. :S any ways to prevent that? only thing i can think of so far is to use enamels or acrylic silver.. any other solutions? would spraying a layer of topcoat before the silver help?

lacquer paint used for painting btw.

this type of painting method
"primer -> gloss black -> silver."
is more suitable for AirBrush because you need to have a smooth and equal layer unlike hand paint which will get you brush strokes...
never never spray topcoat and then add paint...
topcoat is suppose to be the last step or before and after decal-ing

hmm.. so my only option now is to paint silver in acrylic over the gloss black if i wanna follow that method?

i am not sure for hand painting because never try or heard ppl using hand painting to achieve that effect...
usually for spray can or Ab....
you said silver(acrylic) and gloss black(lacquer)???
you can never mix 2 types of paint(as in the materials)
lacquer and acrylic don't go well together