painting tips

Shake, shake, shake, shake, SHAKE, shake, shake and then shake. Then shake some more. Especially if you are using metallics.

And before doing that place the can in a bowl of warm (NOT HOT) water. The propellant used causes the can to freeze which slows down the paint. Spray until the can starts to feel real cold, then put back into the warm (NOT HOT) water. Repeat as necessary. Don't forget to shake.

Use light coats, start spraying before the model and end after the model. Don't forget to shake.

And only use in a well ventilated area. A respirator is highly recommended. Don't spray around little kids. And don't forget to shake!

 Yes, shake the can. Shaking the model is definately not recommended. 

 Be very careful not to put coats on too heavy. This is very easy to do with a paint can (and a big advantage to using an airbrush).

  Spray from a bit of a distance away from the model (at least 6", maybe more) and put on only a light coat. Don't worry if it doesn't seem like it's covering the previous color. Every light coat adds up and eventually, with patience it will cover just fine. Let the previous layer dry a little before you put the next layer on. The wait time is quicker with flat paints (just a minute maybe) than it is with gloss paints (maybe 5 to 10 minutes). Don't try to do it all in one session. Be prepared to come back the next day and put a second coat on, and maybe even the day after that.

 Remember, you can always add another coat, but if you put it on too thick, cover details and/or get runs in the finish, it is very difficult to fix.

   Every can is slightly different, so when you start to spray, paint a little bit on a piece of cardboard or an old soda bottle or something to get a feel for the pattern of the nozzle and the distance required for a light coat.

 Primer definately helps. Something like a light gray overall will give you a consistent color that is easier to put your top coat on when painting light colors. 

 You need to get good with using masks on the model for the camo or different colored sections. Painters tape is good for square and large sections, for curved and smaller sections, Tamiya tape, flexible 3M 1st Aid tape, Silly Putty, etc can really help. Paper and plastic bags can be used, along with painters tape to mask off large sections.

 Oh yea, and shake the can too.   

plumline wrote:

Just so I understand I shake the can right. :)

Jeeze, did I forget to mention that?

Oh, and keep away from cats.

Cats don't like to be spray painted.

Don't forget to shake the can!

Also, the further you get into the can, the less it will like being held off vertical. If you Keep the can at an angle there is the chance that propellant will be pushed through the feed tube & into the nozzle rather than paint - this will leave you will big spatters on your job, which is not nice.

Remember to shake the can!! It is also advisable to hold your work in your hand while spraying, but dont use latex or ploy gloves for obvious reason's.

plumline wrote:

why is holding the model in my hand better than on a flat surface or a stand made for painting.

 The trick of course is to plan how you will be holding the parts, so that you can pick it up and rotate it, but then put it down again to dry without any of the painted surfaces contacting anything. You can get creative with rolling tape sticky side out to attch parts to ice cream sticks, bamboo skewers, wire coat hangers, pieces of wood scraps, whatever you have laying around. For jets, I save old paper towel rolls, slit along one side lengthwise, then roll it tightly around a wooden dowel. Insert this in the tailpipe to act as a handle for the model. It will try to unwind itself and provide a little tension to hold it in. You can wrap some tape around it if necessary. I have a vice on my paint bench to hold items such as this when I'm not handling them.

Milairjunkie wrote:

dont use latex or ploy gloves for obvious reason's.

Unless you were joking, then excuse my denseness. 

plumline wrote:

Bgrigg wrote: Oh, and keep away from cats. Cats don't like to be spray painted. Don't have any cats but I do have a dog

From what I can tell, dogs don't care. Maybe because they don't have to lick it off.

Depending on what your painting, it's a lot easier to move the model around while keeping the can vertical. I'm not sure why Milairjunkie says not to use latex gloves. I do with no problems. You do need to find the "dustless" ones so the cornstarch that is used in most latex gloves doesn't contaminate your paint job.

You can buy paint stands such as these ones, or you can make your own. I built one like the one on the right (mine's taller) using a small pieces of 2"x4", some clothes hangers and a dowel. It hold auto bodies very securely and allows me to rotate it around as needed.

I also built a rotating stand for aircraft and armor which you can see in this thread: /forums/1/545933/ShowPost.aspx my stand is about 2/3rds down the page.  This stand can be used for painting, decaling or assembly.

Bgrigg wrote:

I'm not sure why Milairjunkie says not to use latex gloves. I do with no problems. You do need to find the "dustless" ones so the cornstarch that is used in most latex gloves doesn't contaminate your paint job.

Sorry Guys, I was having a laugh - the question brought me back to my first attempt at spraying a model, an Audi Quattro in gloss white, when I was about 8.

I cant remember what type of paint it was, but I imagine it would have been enamel. You can imagine the mess, my hand & fore-arm were white for days - the model, it was rapidly fired into the "to repair or rework - never" container.

dmk wrote:

Milairjunkie wrote: dont use latex or ploy gloves for obvious reason's. OK, that's not so obvious to me. Why not use gloves? I always use Vinyl or Nitrile gloves when painting to keep paint off my hand and to keep oils from my skin off the model (which I clean with alchohol before painting).

The reason for not using the latex gloves is simply that SOME paints and propellants in spray cans isn't compatible with latex gloves (it eats them).  So, instead of protecting your hands, you're melting latex to them, THEN painting your hands.  Actually a pretty cool effect - if you spray the gloves when you're NOT wearing them!  As a rule of thumb, if the paint has a strong solventy smell, it will probably attack the latex.  (Nitrile is supposed to not have this happen, and I don't know about vinyl.)

I learned this at work once when I was spraying some paint on a pump housing, and my gloves went bye-bye in front of my eyes

Michael 

Milairjunkie wrote:

Sorry Guys, I was having a laugh - the question brought me back to my first attempt at spraying a model, an Audi Quattro in gloss white, when I was about 8. I cant remember what type of paint it was, but I imagine it would have been enamel. You can imagine the mess, my hand & fore-arm were white for days - the model, it was rapidly fired into the "to repair or rework - never" container.

MY first attempt at using spray paint ended up with more paint on my hands than on the model.  I had a hard time explaining why my hands were blood red, though!

Michael 

Mixael wrote:

[ The reason for not using the latex gloves is simply that SOME paints and propellants in spray cans isn't compatible with latex gloves (it eats them).  So, instead of protecting your hands, you're melting latex to them, THEN painting your hands.  Actually a pretty cool effect - if you spray the gloves when you're NOT wearing them!  As a rule of thumb, if the paint has a strong solventy smell, it will probably attack the latex.  (Nitrile is supposed to not have this happen, and I don't know about vinyl.) I learned this at work once when I was spraying some paint on a pump housing, and my gloves went bye-bye in front of my eyes

plumline wrote:

thanks for the info, one more question at the local hobbie shop I noticed testors has what looks like an air brush kit that attaches to a spray can have you seen that. It looks like a poor mans air brush system.

It is.  It's only slightly better than a spray can in that you can mix your own colrs.  Otherwise, it's a bust... 

Yes there is one more question any truth about turning the spray can upside down to clean out the paint from the tip. Is it a good idea when it comes to painting models.

It's true and will save you some clogged nozzles on expensive paints.

The reason for not using the latex gloves is simply that SOME paints and propellants in spray cans isn't compatible with latex gloves (it eats them).  So, instead of protecting your hands, you're melting latex to them, THEN painting your hands.  Actually a pretty cool effect - if you spray the gloves when you're NOT wearing them!  As a rule of thumb, if the paint has a strong solventy smell, it will probably attack the latex.

Most likely the cuprit was laquer... Enamels and acryllics don't bother latex...

Placing a rattle can in a pan of water as hot as coffee which was previously posted (which is near boiling point) could make the can explode.

You can put it in warm water for 10 minutes, however be warned that the atomization will thin the paint out and it will come out faster much more liquid and will be prone to drips if applied in anything but light coats.