about primer and brush painting

Hi Sebby.

I'm a mostly airbrush person but you can get great results with brushes, what paint are you going to use? I'm a enamel user (Humbrol mainly) and they brush very well with a bit of thinning, a decent brush is most of the battle and the right type for the job, There's no reason you can't use a brush with primer, with Humbrol enamel it's not needed for adhesion purposes only imperfections.

Have to ask, why do you want to avoid an airbrush?

Cheers from Mick and welcome to the hobby.

Rattle can primer from Gunze or Tamiya. Don't brush it on. Clean the model very well before you start painting it.

thank your very much Mick for the reply u really seem like you know your stuff thats awesome . i use enamel paints as well i kinda avoid the airbrush beacsue my apt doesn't have good air ventilation and personally i enjoy hand painting more but we all know that airbrushing gives the best results and im glad to hear u think hand brushing still is a good way to go i know not the best but.one day ill switch im sure but right now hand brushing seems more therapeutic to me but i saw your page very interesting keep up your work as a modeler i wish u lots and lots of fun

thanks nathan

Sebby, most of us once painted with paintbrush only.

Well, except for the guys that jumped right in with "all the tools" when they built their first model.

You sure can use a primer or surfacer with a paintbrush, just make sure you have your brush cleaner ready to go when you start. You will also want to get some fine, very fine, and extremely fine sanding films for your primer coat. As you go along, clean your paintbrush fairly frequently, this keeps "stuff" from drying in between the bristles.

Then just follow the tips posted with airbrushers/rattle can sprayers in mind,,,,,in other words, apply primer to check seams and give a good bite for your paint and a uniform color over your plastic, filler, and any metal or resin parts, sand it smooth, knocking off any brush marks, fill again if needed, re-prime, re-sand, then brush your paint on top of that.

You can even get a pretty good gloss coat with a paintbrush, just sand your color coat with extremely fine sanding film, brush on a good "wet coat" of paint and thinner combined, and polish with a cloth, and then cover in a clear glosscoat such as Pledge(Future).

The best way to develop your technique is to use a model car body,,,,,,then do it and redo it until you think you have a presentable car body that you wouldn't mind showing anyone. Once you get that to your own satisfaction, doing a tank or aircraft in flat paints will seem easy in comparison.

Rex