i read in dannychoo the spray can paint can paint a mg kit. isit real? i tried using bottled ones and hand paint and custom color...quite bad...so i think ill just use spray paint and paint back the exact color of the gundam.

u guys sure hardware paint can work? my dad use to sell these things ( 8 years before i was born =.=) and he says it cant. some say it will melt it...i need more reassurance...lolx!

Yup, it can be done. but he's using spray cans made for models.

Also, what bottled paints r u using? Lacquer or acrylics? I personally prefer acrylics for hand painting, 'cause I find that lacquers dries too fast for my liking when hand painting. I've been hand painting acrylics for years before I finally got myself an airbrush, and I can say that its very much possible to get a smooth coat on your model by handpainting acrylics (although the shadowing effect may be kinda difficult to do. thus I make up for that by dry brushing instead).

This will also depends on the paint itself, as there's a lot of different types. U know the left over plastic frames from your models after u cut out the pieces? Spray on those first to test if it'll be ok or not.

i have done sum research on the net..and need to ask sum advice about painting..shud i paint b4 assembling or do i finish the whole thing before i start painting?they recommended 'paint as you go'..and about the paint brushes..its not advisable to use cheap panda brand brushes right?and finally..if i use acrylic paint and botched my model..thinner will do the job right?

btw..if u guys have any good websites for beginners(real beginners )..please share it with me yea...thanks in advance!

I'd recommend painting as you go. If you already finished a model, lets say a gundam, you're going to have parts with different color near each other right? If you paint then you're going to get paint all over your model, i.e. you're painting the blue chest part and oops you accidentally get some blue on the white parts. Also, you can't paint certain areas like joints etc. when you're figure is complete.

Definitely don't use cheap brushes. The glue they use to stick the bristles to the brush handle on those are horrid, and ends up being disolved by the solvents in your paint, so when you're painting you're going to leave brush bristles all over your model.

Acrylics would usually be water based paint. Washing the piece before the paint dries should remove most of it. I used to keep a toothbrush and actually use toothpaste to scrub away the paint if I botched up a work in progress. Thinner works but then you run the risk of melting the plastic on the model, especially on pieces with minor details or panel lines. I remember once botching up badly on a HG Deathscyth's backpack and chucking the thing into a mixture of water and thinner (I was young and it was the first kit I painted, and I added only around 1:9 thinner!) and ending up with a lump of plastic.

U can assemble the model completely first, but you'll need to take it apart again in order to paint.

For the paint brushes, you'll need a size 8 flat, size 4 flat for surface painting, and a size 000 for getting into the smaller areas. Not sure about how the panda brand brushes is like, but well, there's really no need to go for the super expensive types. At the same time, its also a good idea to get decent types, especially for the flats, as this will have an effect on how smooth the paint will be on your model.

acrylic paints, for simple messups, I clean up using spirits (not thinner!). for the more massive paint stripping jobs for acrylic painted models, I take apart the model completely, and soak the parts in a solution of detergent, dettol and water. Leave it there for 12 hours, then just scrub using an old toothbrush.

lol...i use some cheapo brushes only...
common brush is the least you need to worried about hurting your kits...

you guys been talking about using hardware spray and hardware thinner...those can do more harm to your kits then just a silly cheapo brushes...

hardware thinner and spray totally depends on luck..sometimes it melt ur kits sometimes it dont...and also if you just enough or little of it..then it wont melt...then if you accidently use too much then its melt...

just leave the hardware thinner for cleaning...

here how you paint your gundam following what level you are....

if you are a beginner...then paint your kits as you go...this way you wont mess up to much and less broken parts taken them off...
you can also spray the parts straight from the runner but this leave a unpaint mark when you cut them all off

for less beginner....you can build them up first..then you can see which part to paint first so you got a better painting planning...

thanks...i use acrylic too...just my hand isnt steady enuff...so i think ill jus use spray can...lolx.
what is the method used to make ur gundam more like a 3d look...sumthing lke shadowy on its parts....is that shadowing?
what do i use fr that?
do i topcoat after or before that?
and lastly...if i were to buy styrene plastic...can i paint it with hardware paint or use model paints like gundams?

hard ware spray where melt gunpla plastic....i bought all brands my kit now already 3years still perfect condition...this kit also in this year seed competition...still nothing happens nia..


buy hardware tinner MOST will melt=,=

shadowing or shading need AB to do it..and some time can be done by drybrush...but its not easy...
topcoat is a final coating...so meaning the last step

if the paint wanna melt your kit..means is going to melt it on the very second it touch your kit...not after 3 years only it will melt...

thanks for the feedback guys!
btw..all my models will be airplanes and which kind of part i can paint straight on the tree?
ive came across sum confusing terms..seems to occur alot but din describe what exactly is it..

1)base coat/top coat
2)primer (???)
4)decal settling agent

and the acrylic paints..do i just dip and paint or need to mix with water etc?how many coats are needed?
ive read that a paint shud be left to dry for one whole day..does this apply to finished painting or between coats?
will be visiting Hobby HQ in city square tmrw..any last advice?

wet paper and dry paper whats the difference?i read from a website where he sandpaper after painted..wont be scratched meh liddat?

here



This post has been edited by aztechx: Jul 8 2007, 02:08 AM

1. topcoat is your very last step...its act as a final protecting layer for your paint and decal.
2. those to prime your kit surface...before actually paint them...come either in white, grey, black
3. decal settling got 2 type, one is setter one is soften...but to me...both act almost the same. this liquid made your decal softer and most of the time been use with water slide decal.

everything painting related also is best to let them settle and dried for 24 hours...this also can prevent the paint from scratching when you do the assembly later on.

if you planning to spray the whole runner...spray those parts then even after you cut them off the runner...you wont see the cutting mark when the kits are done...and i think if a plane model...those parts like at the cockpit and wings

Need Help! ok, either i suck bad at cutting, or these plaplates from tamiya are damn hard to cut and shape!!! these are the following tools i used-
1)Hobby knife-Broke it in half trying to cut through the plaplates...
2)Sicissors- Managed to cut the plaplates, but the plaplates are pretty much ruined...
3)Jig-saw- You wouldn't even want to know the results...

sigh....can anyone give some advice?

most prolly u cut it the wrong way...
1 technique i learn and still perfecting it..
the thin paper like thickness, u can cut it using normal blade, no ur hobby knife with ease..
the one that gets me frustrated is the thick plaplate, 2mm ones...
my way, by using mechanical pencil, draw the line on the plaplate according to the size u want...
by using normal blade and metal ruler, dont force while cutting it...
just the same like drawing lines but this time, using the blade...
run through about 3-4 time, 1st run should be light..
continue slightly harder from the 1st run on the 2nd run...
use slightly more force as u progress...
my way, after the 4th run, i make sure that the cuts are already half deep of the plaplate depth...
then, i snap it...
after snapping it, i sand it smooth..

if i wanna make sumthing wth styrene plastic...what do i use to stick certain parts together?

try topcoat it...

why u mix with the lighter fluid anyway...

I thought i seen some1 said using Zippo for lacquer paint? am i Wrong oredi ? Or should i just stick with using thinner?

So use lacquer paint + thinner + Mr retarded Milo =for brushing?

As for Topcoat.. i got a question.. is Topcoat = Clear Paint... are they almost d same? Because i Notice when i used Clear paint last time (brush) Over sometime.. when dust started to collect on top of the clear painted parts.. It begins to MERGE into the clear surface--so is impossible to clean them off.. Now my MG strike has bcome Blacker than it should b.

If i use SUPER CLEAR TOPCOAT.. will this happen?

u use those lighter liquid with enamel base paint

lacquer stick with thinner or leveling thinner enough already.

topcoat are not clear paint..they are not the same..
i dont think that topcoat can merge with a dust...

clear paint most of the time are use for those to make wet effect looks..not for final protecting layer like topcoat.

This post has been edited by VincC454: Jul 9 2007, 03:47 PM