Hello, this is my first time posting here. I have a question regarding paint and its application. I love making model sports cars, but every time I apply the paint color to the body, I am dissapointed. The shine is never what it should be, and it does not appear to be realistic, shiny, like a real car.
Does anyone have any suggestions for me? How do you get this nice shine on your bodywork?
Ned
Use a clear coat and get a polishing kit to polish out the orange peel in the paint. Mike Maze My brain is like lightning......One big flash and it's gone
Painting a gloss paint job with spray cans is difficult and requires lots of practice. The process is what I call brinksmanship. The coat needs to be very wet, i.e, just about ready to run. How do you know it is just about ready to run? Experience and practice. A good light source is an absolute requirement. You need direct light, not ambient room light. You need to hold the surface being painted in such a way that you can see the light source reflected in surface. That way shows you how wet it is. If you DO get runs, wait for it to dry thoroughly, and sand run out with #400 wet or dry paper, used wet. Then try again.
For the absolute best rattle can paint use the newer Tamiya Spray Lacquers.
Can they be wet-sanded? I've had pretty good luck with the Testors enamel rattle cans and wet sanding...
Frank Kranick
I use those a lot myself. Have you seen any of the new lacquer paints yet? There's quite a lot of discussion on the Hobby Heaven board but they haven't shown up around here and probably won't. The owner of the closest thing we have to a hobby shop doesn't order things like that.
Bill Banaszak, MFE
Or the even newer Testors lacquers. Or even the old Mr. Color lacquers, assuming they can be had outside of Japan.
BTW Tamiya's lacquers are suspiciously similar to Mr. Color's...
Funny, I'm in the same boat up here. If you want Lionel stuff, no worries. If you want even Model Master enamels, you're well out of luck and don't even think about asking... So much for me supporting THAT hobby shop.
Frank Kranick
I have tried the Testors lacquers and they spray like crap!
It is a great paint hampered by the same old crappy spray nozzles. The Tamiya nozzles are so good I didn't need to polish the finish. I used the Testors and had to color sand and sand out and polish the clear coat. What I do to the Testors paint is just decant the paint into a cup and airbrush it straight.
The Ultra clear gloss is the best I have used and have thrown out all my Boyd's clear paints.
This is a good tutorial for the basics of car finishes:
So, THAT shop is still in business...;)
Bill Banaszak, MFE
Roger that. A sad time indeed for those of us model-shop challenged...
Frank
What happened to the shop out in the 'burbs, or the one up at Clark's Summit?
Bill Banaszak, MFE
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