Painting Airliners

Hey, Bob...

I use automotive acrylics almost exclusively for airliners.  I decant straight from the spray can into my airbrush jar and thin with laquer thinners.  EVERYBODY will tell you that this is madness for styrene......yeah...laquer thinner IS "hot" and can craze styrene - but I've NEVER faced that problem.  The finish is very hard and durable and stands up well to handling and masking.  One good thing about the "hot" thinners - it bites into the styrene and bonds with it - I've hardly ever had paint pull up when removing masking.

Just spray very light coats, eventually building up to a wet coat.  The stuff dries in no time (but be sure to use a spray booth - the vapors are NOT good for you)...and it can be polished using very aggressive polishing compounds for a high gloss finish (great for decals).  If you need to, you can wet sand using 1500-2000 paper...or use the Micro-Mesh system - either way, you can easily get mirror-like shine.

Good luck!

You dont see to many high gloss airliners sitting around airports unless they have just rolled past the hangar doors at Boeing or Airbus

So my preference is to use satin enamels for a more realistic look, even a bit of fading and weathering here and there does not go astray

Regards OzRob.

Hey Bob, lately I have just been using Tamiya aerosols in gloss colors (3-4 coats, last one very wet to give the paint some thickness to wet sand perfectly smooth) then using some wet sanding pads starting with 1800 grit, working my way all the way down to 12000 grit. This removes all the orange peal and gives it a mirror finish. I don't go for the weathered look obviously. 

I have a Badger airbrush also, and with that I used airline specific colors...such as Boeing Grey, Southwest Ochre Orange or Canyon Blue. 

The satin finish isn't that hard- getting a good gloss can be a challenge, though.  I personally prefer enamels, and use mostly Testors- either the Model Master or the little square bottle line.  For good gloss I shoot at a slightly lower pressure (about 15 psi) rather than the 20 I use for flats.  For good gloss the last coat has to go down very wet.  Otherwise, the result is a nice satin.

For a shiny aluminum I use Alclad.