Help. Im beginer. Not sure how to paint

Justine · Feb 7, 2018

Hello all. I got a b17 1\48 model for christmas. It didn't come out to well because I didn't do anything right. I painted it all by brush. Got glue all over Windows. Didn't use spray or primer.
Now I got a b29 coming in the mail. Monogram 1/48. I wanna do this one right. So I done research and I went and got testors enamil semi gloss enamil grey primer and testors Enamil chrome, silver, gray, olive drab spray cans. Don't have airbrush yet. Anyway I tested the paints o. A car model I have. I sprayed the body with the primer. Have a can blowing in it. I let it dry for an hour. I then sprayed the chrome color and it looks terrible. Like its not sticking. It runs right away. Looks like it bubbles. I don't know it just looks horrible. So I stripped it. Primer again and tried the silver. Did the same thing. So I stripped it again. Washed with thinner then soap and got water. Applied the chrome without primer. Looks the same. I don't know what to do. I spent allot of money on this kit and I don't wan to ruin it. Can someone tell me what I'm doing wrong here? And I'm not holding the can close I know how to spray. I restored a motorcycle few years back. Can someone help me? Thanks

Wurger · Feb 7, 2018

First of all .. welcome to the site.

Secondly... the question.. is the chrome colour peeling off with the primer together or just it does that separately? I mean the primer is still applied on the plastic.

Judging by your description it seems that the problem might be the time between applying of the primer and the Chrome colour and a proper stirring of the paint.. One hour isn't enough for that. If these testors colours you use, are the enamels you need at least 1 day ( 24h) to get the enamel layer cured fully. Also I suggest longer stirring of the Chrome by longer shaking of the can.Additionally the grey primer ( although it is a semi-gloss ) isn't a gretest stuff for primming. Usually enamels don't require the primer at all. It is enough to wash a model up with a wartm water and a soap ( also it may be a dish soap ) and get it dry. The cleaning of the model in the way should remove the dust and other dirt ( e.g finger prints ) from the surface of the model . If you are going to use a primer the best one is a gloss, black enamel for the metalic colours. The grey coat is a good one for matt colours ( e.g Olive Green etc... ) especially if the colours are the acylic ones. Please note that the acrylic paints can be applied over the enamels but never backwards. The reason for that is that the enemel thinners are more agresive and can destroy the acrylic coat. Therefore I would suggest checking on the kind of colours you have. If the Testors primer is an enamel and the Chrome is an enamel all should be fine. But if the primer is the acrylic paint and the Chrome is the enamel it might be the reason for the effect you got as well. But I would say the interval for the curing of the coats is the reason together with the stirring. On the other hand , the Chrome colour can be quite old or kept with wrong conditions ( e.g the temperature ) . This can affect the enamel too.

Anyway I'm looking forward the answer to my question.

fubar57 · Feb 7, 2018

Welcome. With regards to the clear parts. Use any one of these, they don't bond as well as hobby glue but they do the trick

Justine · Feb 7, 2018

Wurger said:
First of all .. welcome to the site.

Secondly... the question.. is the chrome colour peeling off with the primer together or just it does that separately? I mean the primer is still applied on the plastic.

Judging by your description it seems that the problem might be the time between applying of the primer and the Chrome colour and a proper stirring of the paint.. One hour isn't enough for that. If these testors colours you use, are the enamels you need at least 1 day ( 24h) to get the enamel layer cured fully. Also I suggest longer stirring of the Chrome by longer shaking of the can.Additionally the grey primer ( although it is a semi-gloss ) isn't a gretest stuff for primming. Usually enamels don't require the primer at all. It is enough to wash a model up with a wartm water and a soap ( also it may be a dish soap ) and get it dry. The cleaning of the model in the way should remove the dust and other dirt ( e.g finger prints ) from the surface of the model . If you are going to use a primer the best one is a gloss, black enamel for the metalic colours. The grey coat is a good one for matt colours ( e.g Olive Green etc... ) especially if the colours are the acylic ones. Please note that the acrylic paints can be applied over the enamels but never backwards. The reason for that is that the enemel thinners are more agresive and can destroy the acrylic coat. Therefore I would suggest checking on the kind of colours you have. If the Testors primer is an enamel and the Chrome is an enamel all should be fine. But if the primer is the acrylic paint and the Chrome is the enamel it might be the reason for the effect you got as well. But I would say the interval for the curing of the coats is the reason together with the stirring. On the other hand , the Chrome colour can be quite old or kept with wrong conditions ( e.g the temperature ) . This can affect the enamel too.

Anyway I'm looking forward the answer to my question.

Thank you so much for your reply. I'm going to wait 24 hours for the primer to dry before I apply the chrome color and see if that helps. I also read that it would be good to run the enamil paint can under warm water before use. Not sure if that's true or not. And there are 2 reasons why I wanted to use primer. When I build my first plane, the b17, I painted all by hand but I had to do multiple coats especially with the flat colors. Also I watched a few utube videos on how to build this specific model that I'm getting in mail and everyone used primer. But none reported what kind of paint they where using. I'm very glad I decided to test all this out on this car model before starting this plane. I reprimed the car model last night so tonight I'll try painting it again with chrome and see what happens. I'll post results. Again thank you for your response. I could use all the help I can get. I this is my new found love. Eventually I'm gonna get airbrush and maybe learn how to do some weathering. But gotta get basics down first.

Wurger · Feb 7, 2018

My pleasure. Lookning forward to the pictures. Painting with metalic colours isn't easy. and also applying with an airbrush may cause a trouble. Unfortuantely the Testors spray cans aren't the best paints. There are better ones e.g Alclad or Vallejo.
Regarding a primer.. usually enamels don't need that and as I said it's enough to wash a model up. The kind of background appeared when the acrylic water paints were introduced. The main reason for that was the easy peeling off of the paints. To be honest these suffer from that to this day. Also a primer is welcome when parts of a model are moulded with the plastic of different colours in order to get the background of the same tone at all surfaces.

BTW you may use the warm water for the can ... as memo serves sometimes it can help too. Also please make a focus on that the 24 hours for a colour getting cured is the minimum interval. I would suggest two or even three days for that.
Painting of large models with a brush is possible but you have to remember that you need colours of longer time of drying. The oil-enamels like Model Master, Humbrol etc.. are a good choice. But these days painting without an airbrush is something for quite experienced modellers rather. So if you want to stay with the hobby purchasing of the tool with a compressor is really a good idea.

Crimea_River · Feb 7, 2018

As Wurger said, be sure that the primer is ENAMEL and not ACRYLIC. Suggest also to maybe start with smaller, cheaper models til you get the hang of it.

Wurger · Feb 7, 2018

Crimea_River said:
..... Suggest also to maybe start with smaller, cheaper models til you get the hang of it.

Also I agree. That's a very good piont.

mikewint · Feb 7, 2018

If you intend to continue modeling I would suggest putting aside any actual models and practice your painting technique. Next GET AN AIRBRUSH there is no substitute and you will be VERY glad you did. There are many different brands and everyone here has their favorite. My first was Testors Aztek internal mix double action model. I love their screw on screw off spray tips in 9 different configurations that are complete with needle and tip for about $10 each. I also have a Badger 360 airbrush with ultrafine tip for fine detail cammo work. The 360 has a tip that rotates 360 degrees so it will feed paint by gravity top or side and will also draw paint upward from a large jar for painting large jobs. You'll also need a compressor to supply air. Tankless models are smaller and you can usually find one for about $50 or so. Then spend time spraying plain water on to paper. Make fine lines and broad lines; write your name in script. Then add some food color to the water and practice some more on paper or cardboard. Then graduate to actual paint. I suggest acrylic to start as there are few fumes and the cleanup is simple, water and isopropyl alcohol. Start out by painting restaurant styrofoam take-home boxes they're FREE and have both flat and curved surfaces.
Don't be in a hurry practice, practice. and practice

Justine · Feb 7, 2018

Wurger said:
My pleasure. Lookning forward to the pictures. Painting with metalic colours isn't easy. and also applying with an airbrush may cause a trouble. Unfortuantely the Testors spray cans aren't the best paints. There are better ones e.g Alclad or Vallejo.
Regarding a primer.. usually enamels don't need that and as I said it's enough to wash a model up. The kind of background appeared when the acrylic water paints were introduced. The main reason for that was the easy peeling off of the paints. To be honest these suffer from that to this day. Also a primer is welcome when parts of a model are moulded with the plastic of different colours in order to get the background of the same tone at all surfaces.

BTW you may use the warm water for the can ... as memo serves sometimes it can help too. Also please make a focus on that the 24 hours for a colour getting cured is the minimum interval. I would suggest two or even three days for that.
Painting of large models with a brush is possible but you have to remember that you need colours of longer time of drying. The oil-enamels like Model Master, Humbrol etc.. are a good choice. But these days painting without an airbrush is something for quite experienced modellers rather. So if you want to stay with the hobby purchasing of the tool with a compressor is really a good idea.

Justine · Feb 7, 2018

I forgot to ask. What about sanding the model first before priming or painting? I will try to post pictures when I make another attempt to paint. I definitely do not want to hand paint this large plane. I also forgot to mention with this car model , I also primed all the small parts thinking it would solve the problem of having to do multiple coats with the brush. Well that didn't work either. Tried to paint a small piece with flat red and it wouldn't take. Would need 2 coats So I tried another piece using silver and that wouldn't take either. So I painted a piece with no primer and it did same thing. I don't know why all this is happening. All my jar paints are testors enamil which worked fine for the most part on my last model except only 2 or 3 colors would need 2 coats

Wurger · Feb 7, 2018

Oh .. sorry for that.. I have forgotten... having the airbrush bought it doesn'r mean the brush should be given up and binned. All of us here and in all around the world use them for painting of small details and sometimes larger as well. To sume up , that's still a very usefull tool.

Justine · Feb 7, 2018

mikewint said:
If you intend to continue modeling I would suggest putting aside any actual models and practice your painting technique. Next GET AN AIRBRUSH there is no substitute and you will be VERY glad you did. There are many different brands and everyone here has their favorite. My first was Testors Aztek internal mix double action model. I love their screw on screw off spray tips in 9 different configurations that are complete with needle and tip for about $10 each. I also have a Badger 360 airbrush with ultrafine tip for fine detail cammo work. The 360 has a tip that rotates 360 degrees so it will feed paint by gravity top or side and will also draw paint upward from a large jar for painting large jobs. You'll also need a compressor to supply air. Tankless models are smaller and you can usually find one for about $50 or so. Then spend time spraying plain water on to paper. Make fine lines and broad lines; write your name in script. Then add some food color to the water and practice some more on paper or cardboard. Then graduate to actual paint. I suggest acrylic to start as there are few fumes and the cleanup is simple, water and isopropyl alcohol. Start out by painting restaurant styrofoam take-home boxes they're FREE and have both flat and curved surfaces.
Don't be in a hurry practice, practice. and practice

Thank you for advice. I will definitely get an air brush and do allot of practice before I attempt on doing a model. Money is right right now so I'm stuck with spray cans for the moment. I'm so excited to start this b29 model. But I won't ruin it either.

Justine · Feb 7, 2018

Wurger said:
Oh .. sorry for that.. I have forgotten... having the airbrush bought it doesn'r mean the brush should be given up and binned. All of us here and in all around the world use them for painting of small details and sometimes larger as well. To sume up , that's still a very usefull tool.

I actually don't wan to spray paint anything really unless your weathering or trying to mix color like camoflouge. The only thing I'm spraying is the fusolodge and wings because it's just so large. Rest is brush.

Wurger · Feb 7, 2018

Justine said:
I forgot to ask. What about sanding the model first before priming or painting? I will try to post pictures when I make another attempt to paint. I definitely do not want to hand paint this large plane. I also forgot to mention with this car model , I also primed all the small parts thinking it would solve the problem of having to do multiple coats with the brush. Well that didn't work either. Tried to paint a small piece with flat red and it wouldn't take. Would need 2 coats So I tried another piece using silver and that wouldn't take either. So I painted a piece with no primer and it did same thing. I don't know why all this is happening. All my jar paints are testors enamil which worked fine for the most part on my last model except only 2 or 3 colors would need 2 coats

There is a couple of colours that may cause the trouble with applying. These are the yellow, red, white. Depending on the paint brand you may need to apply more than one layer of the paint. Or you may use the primer. That's one of the reasons it was introduced.
As far as the sanding of a model is concerned... it is required only if you need to make the model surface smooth.For instance.. you used a putty for filling of gaps or too much of glue was spilt around joints or at other places on the model.. Also it is welcome especially if you are going to apply the metalic colours because the silver or chrome will reveal all scratched and other irregularities of the plastic surface for sure. The sanding routine is a part of the procedure I call the preparation for painting but is omitted often by many. Then they are surprised the final effect isn't great. Of course the sanding of the entire model isn't needed. Just at these areas they need to be. By using sandpaper of two or three grades you may get the very nice effect. Also the polishing of the sanded areas is required as well but that's omitted often too.

mikewint · Feb 7, 2018

Justine said:
What about sanding the model first before priming or painting?

Not sure what you mean by that. If you are filling gaps with putty then a qualified yes to the sanding though you can get better results IMHO by using Q-tips and nail polish remover like Cutex. There is a very excellent tutorial on this site. After the Cutex evaporates for a couple of hours you might still need a brief fine sanding.
If your talking about sanding the entire model I don't know why you'd want to do that. Some model parts can have some mold-release chemicals on them but you can simply wash your part trees in water and Dawn to remove any grease/chemicals before assembly/painting.
I also do not understand all the problems you're having with paint. Any good quality enamel or acrylic paint should go on easily and stay on with very few problems. Post some pics of your problems

mikewint · Feb 7, 2018

Rattle cans have their own inherent problems starting with the cheap spray tips.
First I'd suggest a Trigger Spray grip. It will give you much better control and aim.
Second check to see what you are spraying. Often times it is a LACQUER type paint
Third ALWAYS spray a LIGHT coat. Allow to dry/cure. Then another LIGHT coat and allow to cure. Build up your color with many light coats rather than one big gloppy coat

Justine · Feb 7, 2018

Wurger said:
There is a couple of colours that may cause the trouble with applying. These are the yellow, red, white. Depending on the paint brand you may need to apply more than one layer of the paint. Or you may use the primer. That's one of the reasons it was introduced.
As far as the sanding of a model is concerned... it is required only if you need to make the model surface smooth.For instance.. you used a putty for filling of gaps or too much of glue was spilt around joints or at other places on the model.. Also it is welcome especially if you are going to apply the metalic colours because the silver or chrome will reveal all scratched and other irregularities of the plastic surface for sure. The sanding routine is a part of the procedure I call the preparation for painting but is omitted often by many. Then they are surprised the final effect isn't great. Of course the sanding of the entire model isn't needed. Just at these areas they need to be. By using sandpaper of two or three grades you may get the very nice effect. Also the polishing of the sanded areas is required as well but that's omitted often too.

Can't get it to work. Have 24 hours for primer to dry. Warmed the spray can shook it for 60 seconds. Won't go on right. Here's pics you can see on hood of car to different shades. The roof looks like sand paper. The roof was sanded and smooth before primer. I have to get different paint. Just runnin to Wal-Mart to try automotive

SuperFire · Feb 7, 2018

Just my two cents but I never prime or do more than one coat with enamels. The solvent in the paint eats the previous coat unless you let it dry hard for days and days first in my experience. I stick with enamels because I don't want the hassle of all the other steps acrylics require. I'm sure others may think differently on this topic but I was always taught to never ever paint over enamels with other enamels or it boils up and peels in large spots often.

Justine · Feb 7, 2018

SuperFire said:
Just my two cents but I never prime or do more than one coat with enamels. The solvent in the paint eats the previous coat unless you let it dry hard for days and days first in my experience. I stick with enamels because I don't want the hassle of all the other steps acrylics require. I'm sure others may think differently on this topic but I was always taught to never ever paint over enamels with other enamels or it boils up and peels in large spots often.

Ah. My primer is enamil semi gloss and enamil chrome paint and I only do one coat. But the thing is. This testors enamil chrome spray does the same on the things that are not primered. I'll just have to get different paint I guess. Thank you for replu

SuperFire · Feb 7, 2018

Keep in mind it all comes down to how detailed a model you want. If you want a basic but decent looking model you can use Testors enamels in one heavy coat and it works and stays put. But if you want to go to museum quality models it's going to take awhile and you'll probably move over to acrylics or a combination of acrylics and enamels. One costs a little and is quick but acceptable. The other costs lots of money and takes a long time to learn how to do correctly.

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