Tinting individual panels on clear parts?

QUOTE: Originally posted by chris hall The trouble with tinted Future is that if you're not careful, it runs, and can be a devil to remove without spoiling the transparency.

That's good to know, Chris. Like I mentioned, I've only tried it with little, bitty lights and it worked fine on them. Thanks for the info.

The trouble with tinted Future is that if you're not careful, it runs, and can be a devil to remove without spoiling the transparency. I've tried various methods, and this is the one I've found works best.

Use the relevant clear Tamiya acrylic. Mask the whole transparency except for the panel you want to tint. Make sure the paint is well-thinned, and spray the panel, from the inside, with your airbrush at the lowest pressure that it will work with. Spray very light coats indeed, and let them dry before spraying the next one. Gradually, a deep clear tint of the required colour will develop. When you have got the result you want, put the transparency away to dry, in a dust-free atmosphere, for at least a day. Tamiya acrylics actually need much less than this to dry properly, but there's no sense in taking risks, because what you're doing isn't easily correctable if you get it wrong. Remove the masking, and you should have a beautifully tinted transparency.

Laying on a tinted coat of Future is how I'd do it, I think.

I've only tried it on small parts like lights, but food coloring in Future seems to work just fine. Nice thing is that if you don't like it you can make it go away pretty easily.

I normally paint them Clear Green(Tamiya, Gunze) from the inside, this can be done while the part is still on the sprue prior to installation.