How many coats of paint?

I contacted the model manufacturer, and they said that the instructions assume a non-white primer, which is why they say to paint white over it.  But if I use a white primer, then I won't need to paint it again with flat white.

True.  I sometimes use Krylon flat white primer. In the past I have not been real happy with their white primer (love their gray and brown primers), but the cans now look a bit different so I am trying their white primer again.  Will report if it is okay now.

Three layers?  That's all?  Heck, I just built an F-15 that had something like 13 layers.

I don't see the instructions as being excessive concerning number of layers.

My models require the primer coat, the color coat, one clear, the decals, and then another clear,,,,,,,unless I am doing an SEA camo, then they get 4 color coats after the primer, in some places.

It is not so much how many coats we put on,,,,,we should be more concerned with how thick each coat is that we use.

We should be using the minimum amount of paint required for each coat,,,two thin coats of even the main color is better than one thick coat (with a thick coat, we really don't know if it could have been thinner or not)

An old real car painter once told me that "you can always put another coat on,,,,,,but, it is danged hard to take too much paint back off" Of course, he had been painting cars so long that he could "tell" how much paint he was spraying as he went. I still need to put a thin coat on, look at it, and decide if it needs another thin coat, haha.

Starting with White Primer is a great idea, though.

Rex

I'm really curious to know how you get to 13 layers.

Something like this:

1. Primer
2. Pre Shade
3. Base Color
4. Post Shade 1
5. Post Shade 2
6. Post Shade 3
7. Details
8. Clear Coat
9. Wash
10. Matte Coat
11. Filter 1
12. Filter 2
13. Filter 3

Some of these were very thin layers, of course.  And not all of the layers were applied to the entire model.

I find I put down lots of coats of gloss black in doing an undercoat for alclad!  The coats need to be flawless, and it is so hard to put down a perfect coat of gloss black without a few dust specs or other flaws, so it is sand out bad areas with superfine sandpaper and then another coat of black, ad infinitum!

BTW, have done a little more work with my latest can of Krylon white primer, and find it is much better now.  It works as a matt white on my current project.