# Spray painting question



## Orion (Jul 10, 2006)

Hello all,

I've done some modeling in the past, but lets just say the work was a little sloppy in terms of painting (or I took creative liberties) -- but I finally found a model that I want to look as real as possible: Porsche 911 (Tamiya kit 1:24). The kit is just grey and I want to paint it red. I bought the Tamiya spray paint as specified and now I just need some advice on how to apply it, how many coats, how long to dry between coats, etc etc. Any advice would be greatly apreciated. Thank you,

--O


----------



## Steve244 (Jul 22, 2001)

Hi Orion, welcome to the board!

Expect to do multiple coats (I let it dry 24 hours between coats, but others get good results with less time). You're better off spraying a light coat and many of them. The temptation to lay on too much paint will only result in drips and runs.

Also key is to polish the finish between coats and after the final coat. Your hobby shop should have something like this. The pad set is used like "wet sandpaper" in increasingly fine grits. Use them wet and rinse them off with water. They'll remove imperfections in the finish including annoying dust particles (of course it's best to avoid dust).

Tamiya makes the finest models, you certain picked a good one to start out with, but you might want to pick up a cheap car kit from the hobby shop to experiment with finishes before you spray the Tamiya.

It is possible to remove paint completely (ez off oven cleaner will do the trick) but not fun.

I'm sure others with more car finish experience will have more to add...


----------



## the Dabbler (Feb 17, 2005)

I Can't help a bit with cars, but as a 'figure guy' doing monsters I CAN say,.. "I bid you velcome "


----------



## Arronax (Apr 6, 1999)

What Steve said.

This bears repeating, your finish will only be as smooth as your primer. Use a good primer and a very fine grit sandpaper and polish with a soft cloth. When it's really smooth, warm your spray paint can in warm water for about five minutes, shake it well and apply. Apply a medium coat (covers well but with no excess that could run). If needed sand and repeat.

When you almost there and just need that extra sparkle, use Maguires (sp?) car polish applied with a soft cloth.

Jim


----------



## MadCap Romanian (Oct 29, 2005)

Allways keep a straight hand parallel to the kit when you spray. You want to piviot at the wrist. Otherwise, if you keep a straight wrist, you'll "Arc" the spray pattern, resulting in thin edges and a thick middle. This will result in drips or sags in the middle of your model. You also want to spray beyond the edges of the model. 

(Imagine that you are painting a brick and that you must follow the shape perfectly and in line. There are no curves on a brick, therefore your hand shouldn't curve or arc to paint the brick. It should remain straight at all times.)

You should be at least 1 hand length away from the kit when spraying. This will ensure a nice, wet coverage and reduce any "Orange peel" conditions of the paint.

For a quick, convienient paint stand to hold your model on, I find that a pop (Soda) can can usually fit 1/24 - 1/25 kits if you shove it up between the interior hole between the two doors. (Ok, it sounds rude, I'll admit, but it works!) 

If the kit is wider, apply masking tape loops to the sides of the can, sticky side out, and then once the car body is on the can, move the outer loops to meet the inner sides of the kit. Usually, you can rotate the model on the pop can so that you can paint the underneath of the body without having the car fall off and hit the ground. Also, you can paint the inside of the wheel arches because the can isn't wide enough to reach them.


----------



## Orion (Jul 10, 2006)

Hey guys,

Thank you for all the welcome and the advice. I will definately prime the body and try some test sprays on some old plastic to make sure my hand doesnt arc and that I dont make any paint ridges. The soda can idea as a stand is great! I will give 24h drying time between applications. Thank you!

So now I have some more questions:

1. Is Enamel and Acrylic paint compatible? I am not sure what kind of paint my spray paint is (but its the specified Tamiya can, TS-8). But I have Tamiya acrylic paint and Model Master Enamel, both of which I plan to use for accents. Do you guys see this as a problem for interaction with spray paint?

2. Any household items I can use instead of paintthinner? Thanks!


----------



## MadCap Romanian (Oct 29, 2005)

You'll have to use paint thinner to clean up Enamels such as Testor's. There's no way around it. For Acrylics, it's regular soap and water. 

Acrylic can be painted over enamels and vice versa. Laquer paint is the hot one and can cause crazing when painted over these paints. However, you can paint these paints over laquer paint.

Laquer paint is usually the stuff they use in automotive touch up paints and any paint that contains Toluline. (Fast drying)


----------



## superduty455 (Jun 21, 2000)

Orion, all the advice here from everyone is great! 

Now, my main modeling is automobile subjects. If you bought a Tamiya Porsche and are going to spray the body with Tamiya paint then you will not need any primer. However, primer is always a good idea to check for surface discrepancies. Fix and work from their, but if the body is pretty nice, being Tamiya it probably is, then I would skip the primer.

Do a couple of mist coats and let flash for about 5 minutes, give or take. Do a couple more mist coats and let flash again.
Now, do a nice wet coat, not too heavy though, but with good coverage. You'll find that the Tamiya sprays are very easy to work with and are self leveling. They are THE BEST sprays in my opinion. 

If you decide you need to clear (especially if you used a metallic) then you either clear within a few minutes after your final color spray or wait one month. If you do it anytime after a day(give or take) the Tamiya clear will crack. Of course waiting one month ensures that the color coat has gassed out and is safe for clearing. Tamiya clear and tamiya paints gas out at different rates.
Here are a few of my models with Tamiya paint:
Revell Mercedes 190E using Tamiya TS-14 directly on the plastic:








Tahoe with white primer(plasti-kote T237) and Tamiya TS-30 with TS-52:








Fujimi Isuzu Impulse using TS-7 directly on plastic:








Miami Vice Daytona Spyder using TS-14 directly on plastic:








Tamiya Lamborghini Countach using TS-8 directly over plastic:








You can see more of my stuff at My Modeling page
Now with exception of the Tahoe these all have no clear on them. The Tahoe was cleared with TS-13 and multiple coats of TS-65 (pearl clear).

Hopefully that will give you some help and a little understanding of Tamiya Paint.
As far as accessory colors, you should have no problems. 
Chris


----------



## MadCap Romanian (Oct 29, 2005)

Really nice models! 

I never went for the "Misting" of paint coats. I seem to do everything "Wrong" according to the "Established" painting "Rules" and still end up with a terrific kit. 

Usually I spray on a heavy coat, let 1 minute go by before painting the second heavy coat and maybe 5 minutes before the final heavy coat. 
End result is this :









Or this :









Or even this :









I guess I'm just the world's best "Heavy Handed" model kit painter.


----------



## superduty455 (Jun 21, 2000)

Hey MCR, I love that Olds Rallye! Sweet!

Anyway, You are right, their really isn't a set way to spray. Gotta do what works best for you. 

In the end, if you are happy with the results, well, then you've accomplished "it".

Chris


----------



## MadCap Romanian (Oct 29, 2005)

The Rallye 350 was built using the old Johan 1970 Olds for the body and trim and the Amt 1969 Hurst Olds for the spoiler, wheels and mirrors. The decals are from Fred Caddy, but I think they have long been discontinued. I bought all the Oldsmobile decal stock he had left in the late 1990's. Unfortunatly, it doesn't have the propper Ram Air hood.


----------



## accobra64 (Aug 10, 2003)

*Nice stuff Superduty455!*

Chris, you are definitely a talented guy.
Thanks for sharing the pictures of some of your models.
BYW, Chris does a great job of taking pictures of real 1:1 muscle cars and
such. This info is for those folks that aren't aware of this fact.

Cheers. Cobra


----------



## Domsq (Aug 10, 2006)

Hey guys

I've hit a bit of a problem with a model kit I'm building at the moment (a Tamiya 24270, Yellow Ferrari Enzo). 

Admittedly it's been about 4 years since I last built a model, and so my skills are painfully lacking. 

The problem I'm having is with spray painting some of the body panels (well, the 2 rear wheel arch assemblies). I started to end up with some orange peel effect, and so tried to sand it a little (using 1000 grit wetpaper, which is too rough I know). Also, I'm choosing to paint it red and not go with the kit's directions. 

Basically, I've ended up horifically over painting these 2 parts now, trying to correct my bugger ups along the way (the parts now have almost alternating layers of paint and primer [don't ask]) and now I want to clean them off completely (get them back to bare plastic). 

Someone suggested 'Ez Off' oven cleaner, but we don't get that here in SA. What else would work, without causing any damage to the plastic? If I mess these parts up anymore, I'm going to be having to buy a whole new kit, just for those 2 parts


----------



## Steve244 (Jul 22, 2001)

I believe the active ingredient in ez-off oven cleaner is lye (sodium hydroxide or potassium hydroxide). (link)

Here at least, lye is also the main ingredient in drain cleaners.

I'd look on your grocer's or hardware store's shelves for products containing lye. Test on something before the actual model of course.

Also popular are automotive degreaser products, but I don't know what the active ingredients there are.


----------



## Domsq (Aug 10, 2006)

Lye looks like quite hazardous stuff! 

If it's 'extremely corrosive', wouldn't it wreck delicate model plastic?


----------



## Steve244 (Jul 22, 2001)

well, the liquid drain cleaner with lye ("Draino" here) advertises "Won't harm plastic pipes".

I really think it's OK, but I'd put some of whatever you're going to attempt in a dish with some sprue from the kit to see if it softens or otherwise harms the plastic.

Other solvents you may try can and will dissolve plastics. I once tried carburetor cleaner from the auto parts store and the part disappeared!

Oven cleaner is probably more dilute than drain cleaner, but you would still use gloves to handle it. Try diluting drain cleaner and use stronger concentrations as needed.


----------



## Steve244 (Jul 22, 2001)

"Castrol Super Clean" is another product favored to strip plastic over here.

A quick google shows its active ingredient  to be, ta da: lye (sodium hydroxide).


----------



## Domsq (Aug 10, 2006)

Thanks for the advice


----------



## Steve244 (Jul 22, 2001)

disclaimer: wear protective clothing.

Oh, and welcome to the board! Don't think South Africa had any representatives before you.


----------



## Domsq (Aug 10, 2006)

I'm proud to be the 1st then


----------



## superduty455 (Jun 21, 2000)

Domsq

If you are able to order something like scalecoat paint and decal remover I would suggest that. You an order it out of a Walthers catalog or online or through a hobby dealer.
It may take a little while longer to get all the paint off but it is essentially safer and is re-usable. Their is another brand that escapes my head right now. Anyway, A hobby shop should have something and if not I would look into www.walthers.com and try them.
Chris


----------

