# Brush painting??



## sidecar53 (May 14, 2006)

Ok, guys. I'm building a bunch of scratchbuilt dirtmod cars and I think brush painting would be the way to go. Problem is, my brush painting is actually worse than my spraybombing. Are there any tutorials on this type of work or will anyone offer tips on technique, paint consistency, time between colors/coats?? I know at least a few people here paint with a brush and I really need help. Thanks for the read. Rick @ Rose City Motorplex.


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## slotcarman12078 (Oct 3, 2008)

Are you talking painting the whole car or just lettering and trim? I would start by spray bombing (or better airbrushing) the whole body, first with a primer (or silver) coat and then light color coats.

As far as tips, I have but a few suggestions, some tried and some not.

1. Buy decent brushes. There is a seller on Ebay who sells decent but cheap 00 and 000 brushes. Buy a bunch! Trim them to a point, keep them clean, and trip the tip when they get frazzled. They're less than a buck a piece, so don't be afraid to toss one when it's impossible to trim it, or it starts acting goofy.

2. Keep your paints clean. Always stir your paint before use. Clean the top of the jar before closing it. Having the lip clean will help your paint seal properly and make them last longer. I use model master enamel for trim painting. I thin it (the byproduct of not cleaning the rim before sealing the jar up myself) with lacquer thinner, as it helps it dry faster. 

3.Since I spray lacquers, enamel trim paint helps because if I goof something up, and let it dry, I can usually remove the offending gerf easily. Do not try to remove it wet! It will smear, and any movement of wet enamel will start to break into the lacquer and then you're looking at a strip and repaint.

4. I've read that adding a few drops of reducer (stop by your friendly neighborhood auto body shop and see if they'll sell (or give) you a small bottle of it) to each bottle of paint you have. It helps the paint lay down smooth, with no brush strokes. You only need a few drops to make a difference.

5. Do your brush painting during your first cup of coffee... It's hard to paint a straight anything with caffeine jitters! 

6. Forget what you may have heard.... If you're careful, and only spray very light mist coats (even from a spray bomb) you can paint clear lacquer over bottle brush enamels to seal them. The key is very light coats first to seal the enamel in place, and then lay down the nice fairly heavy coat over that. Proper drying time is essential, so don't be impatient!

7. I've found that for trim lines like body side molding, it's worth the time to mask it off with tape first. Walmart sells blue painters tape. Grab a roll! Also grab a roll of regular for regular masking since it's cheaper. Tape off your lines and then brush your trim with a couple of light coats. If you need to cross your freshly painted trim with more masking (like the trim on a 55 Chevy going across and also up to the window line), give your trim a chance to dry good, and then tape the smaller part. It helps to de-stickify the tape a bit to prevent it from removing the trim paint already applied. Before applying it to the body, stick it on your pants leg first. it'll take some of the tack out of it.


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## TeamMadMarsupial (Dec 23, 2012)

I brush paint everything, body, trim and of course all my graphics. With that in mind I have found the first rule that supercedes all other rules is don't expect it to be perfect! If one wants perfect, only buy and use factory slot cars.

I used to do a lot of 1/24 NASCAR stuff and had a spray booth made out of an old stove rangetop vent fan. Worked great on tha huge model stuff, but could never get it to work with my H.O. stuff? Also do not have the spray booth set up anymore, lost the heated garage when I moved!

As mentioned, keeping the paint clean is paramount. Over the years I have developed a feel for the paint consistency. I usually have several bottles of each color in use, one for large area body painting and another a bit thicker for trim and lettering. I simply use the Testors thinner to cut the paint to the right consistency.

Everything I do is freehand, no taping or masking. Unlike most. I get the shakes without caffiene.

I use the little steel tins that Sucrets and Altoids come in, put a couple strong magnets on top and then use old chassis to mount and hold the bodies for painting. I also use a car washing sponge to rest my hand and wrist on and steady both for painting.

The hood is painted and lettered off the car. Then mounted to the body without the roof being in place. I then do the interior, before mounting and sanding the roof. Only then do I paint the roof, sides and back of the body.

Also make sure your brushes are lint free, I have had to sand down many a car that had some lint in the paint. 

I try to allow at least 4 hours in between coats, especially when applying a heavier coat on the body.

I only buy higher end brushes from places like Michaels or A.C. Moore craft stores. Loew Cornell, IMEX, American Painter, Langnickel, etc. Expect to pay anywhere from $3.00 to $9 each. 

As far as the types of brushes, Liners for stripes and trim, Spotters and Round for detail and lettering.

I use as small as 18/0 and 20/0 for my lettering. The last time my GF was teasing me about my paint brushes, she counted 132 of them in my carousel? She thinks I have a paint brush problem?????


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## Jisp (Oct 19, 2008)

Sidecar, I don't brush paint simply because my results are just far too disturbing. But.... an old timer once gave me this advice for hand painting of larger surface areas - warm the paint right through before applying, particularly with enamels. Easiest way is to just sit the jar in a shallow container of medium hot water for 10-15 minutes giving it a few stirs along the way. The heat acts to naturally thin the paint and I guess it just lays down flatter with fewer brush marks.

Apparently this is the trick that was adopted by guys that used to hand paint our public transport trams waaaaaay back in the day. Hope this helps.

Cheers,
Michael. :thumbsup:


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## cwbam (Feb 8, 2010)

*Microbrush*

for some touch ups or small paint jobs

" Microbrush comes in a few sizes "

(I'm empty time to gets some more)


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## alpink (Aug 22, 2010)

Jisp said:


> Sidecar, I don't brush paint simply because my results are just far too disturbing. But.... an old timer once gave me this advice for hand painting of larger surface areas - warm the paint right through before applying, particularly with enamels. Easiest way is to just sit the jar in a shallow container of medium hot water for 10-15 minutes giving it a few stirs along the way. The heat acts to naturally thin the paint and I guess it just lays down flatter with fewer brush marks.
> 
> Apparently this is the trick that was adopted by guys that used to hand paint our public transport trams waaaaaay back in the day. Hope this helps.
> 
> ...


:thumbsup: works very well with spray bombs (spray can paint) too


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## sidecar53 (May 14, 2006)

Thanks, guys, for the responses. It's a new frontier for me, brush painting.

"I use as small as 18/0 and 20/0 for my lettering. The last time my GF was teasing me about my paint brushes, she counted 132 of them in my carousel? She thinks I have a paint brush problem?????" 

Gee- do ya think??/...lol. I'm off to the hobby shop today to buy all new paints and brushes, as well as reducer. All my paints are at least a couple years old and I want to give myself at least a fighting chance. I can't even imagine how many bodies I'll have to do to get one good enough to compare to yours, Jeff. Here goes nothing......


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## Hilltop Raceway (Feb 12, 2006)

Just not good with a brush here, detail work use only... Some of you may remember how the boys roll... RM


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## Bill Hall (Jan 6, 2007)

Viscosity, tooling, and most importantly...

PRACTICE!

It's like eating with chopsticks. Ya gotta stay at it until ya get it. Once acquired the "touch" can be fleeting or fickle if you dont use it on a regular basis. The simple fact is that you get rusty.


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## Jisp (Oct 19, 2008)

Sidecar, looking forward to seeing how things turn out. Great brush painting can be done, I hope you stick with it.

LOL, Randy, killer pic! Thanks for the laugh. BTW, your guy is a complete hack.... pfffft, everyone knows you roll a car with a lambs-wool roller instead of foam!

Cheers,
Michael. :thumbsup:


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## sidecar53 (May 14, 2006)

OK, well I gave it the old college try and I've realized that my brush painting is far worse than my spray painting. So, I'm back to spraybombing, trimtape and decals. I'll post back when I have something to show.


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