some painting questions

AF Guy,

I normally don't apply primer before painting, but I do rub any imperfections out with steel wool (final rubdown using #0000), wash it thoroughly, dry it thoroughly, just before spraying I rub it over with a tack cloth. After 24-48 hours, carefully spray a coat of Gloss Coat, and let set for 32 hours (rub any imperfections with #0000 steel wool).
Apply whatever decals (wait 12 hours), then cover once again with Gloss Coat.

This technique gives a beautiful finish, makes the decals look like their PART of the finish, and can be polished later with furniture polish for a "metal" look.

*CAUTION*: Gloss Coat will "melt" silver paint, so avoid using silver on area's to be finished.

There's all kinds of techniques in obtaining a beautiful finish, this is the one I use.

Frank

Everyone seems to have their own opinion and technique for this subject.

I always prime my models and generally give them at least a once-over with some 400-600 grit wet-dry sandpaper (wet-sanding). If the body is smooth already and there's no imperfections on the body then it's really your call. I don't always wet-sand my color coats. I finished a Lambourghini recently that I painted with a small aerosol can of automotive touch-up paint and the paint came out so nice and laid down so well that I didn't need to sand it at all. On the other hand if you happen to get some dust or a run or something in the paint, wet-sanding can work great for getting rid of stuff like that.

The bottom line is that primer is designed to help the paint adhere to the surface of your model and the smoother the surface the better your paint job will look. So, depending on how anal you want to get with your kit you can sand as much or as little as you like. I've read of some people that wet-sand every coat, others every couple of coats, and some just sand when they 'need' to.

Try out some different sanding techniques on a test kit and go with what works for you.

Ray