F-22A Raptor painting question

A good hand brushed finish is a real art.  Even though airbrushing takes some practice, I really believe to get a good hand brush paint finish on an entire model requires more skill and practice than an airbrush.  So do a lot of practice on scrap plastic before you try again, after you get old paint off.

I am sure you'll get a lot of responses- there are a number of things that will remove paint, everyone seems to have their own favorite.  One thing that is not frequently mentioned, that works for things like modern jets without a whole lot of fine surface detail is very fine wet or dry sandpaper- say 600 grit.  A lot of work, but it does get rid of paint.  You do not need to get every bit off, just get it down to a smooth surface with no runs or spots, then apply again.  Do NOT use paint thinner.  BTW, you did not say what kind of paint you used.

From what I understand, and I could be off on the colors, but I believe the Raptor is dark ghost over light ghost gray.  What makes it a bit different is the metalic hue to the pant as part of the RAM coating.  Hawkeye Hobbies out there offers a product called "Raptor Sheen" that you can add to the grays to give them that metallic hint.  Only works on enamels though and it is designed for airbrushing.

A question is, why do you have to remove the paint? Why not just light-sand it down to a smooth surface and call it your prime coat (basically the same thing Don suggested)? You may not have to do much sanding at all. Less sanding will reduce the potential of damage. BTW, that Academ kit is nice; I have one in my stash!

Don Stauffer

A good hand brushed finish is a real art.  Even though airbrushing takes some practice, I really believe to get a good hand brush paint finish on an entire model requires more skill and practice than an airbrush.  So do a lot of practice on scrap plastic before you try again, after you get old paint off.

I am sure you'll get a lot of responses- there are a number of things that will remove paint, everyone seems to have their own favorite.  One thing that is not frequently mentioned, that works for things like modern jets without a whole lot of fine surface detail is very fine wet or dry sandpaper- say 600 grit.  A lot of work, but it does get rid of paint.  You do not need to get every bit off, just get it down to a smooth surface with no runs or spots, then apply again.  Do NOT use paint thinner.  BTW, you did not say what kind of paint you used.

I've been hand brushing every model I've made ever. I never had an airbrush up until this past October but I haven't been able to use it because I have no where to use it. I also would rather stay away from sanding because I don't want to sand down any of the fine detail on the model. If the detail wasn't raised, I'd have no problem sanding. And I already have used thinner, but I didn't know any better then.

I use testors enamel mostly. Sometimes, usually on my few Tamiya kits, I use Tamiya Acrylics.

DiscoStu

From what I understand, and I could be off on the colors, but I believe the Raptor is dark ghost over light ghost gray.  What makes it a bit different is the metalic hue to the pant as part of the RAM coating.  Hawkeye Hobbies out there offers a product called "Raptor Sheen" that you can add to the grays to give them that metallic hint.  Only works on enamels though and it is designed for airbrushing.

I think you may be thinking about the YF-22A. I was planning on painting the model that in the beginning but I decided to paint it after the F-22A  that are currently in service with the US Air Force. Theres more than just those two. Those two colors are part of the painting guide, but there are a couple more colors. What they are; I currently can not recall.

Yeah in addition to the two grays I mentioned there is also a light gray trim over the leading edges.  Not sure what it is though.

DiscoStu

Yeah in addition to the two grays I mentioned there is also a light gray trim over the leading edges.  Not sure what it is though.

I can get the painting guide in a bit.  But also another reason why I want the other layer of paint off is because it's a bit too thick to really act as a base coat.