brush painting

About the only brush painting I do anymore is small details that are molded into larger parts that I have airbrushed with lacquer paint.  When brush painting, I have been using the old fashioned Testors square bottles, because they brush and cover really well.  The other advantage to using those for brush painting details on a larger part that has been painted with lacquer is that the solvent in the Testors paint is pretty much completey harmless to the lacquer.  So, it doesn't cause the lacquer underneath to start lifting.  Also, any mistakes you make can be removed with a Q-tip dampened with paint thinner, without damaging the lacquer underneath it.  Just one coat of Testors usually does the trick.

Liquid maskers I have found to not be good for much other than filling in areas between where you have applied paper masks to something like an aircraft canopy.  You just can't get a sharp, clean edge using a liquid masker.  I don't like using tape of any kind for masking either, because it is often too thick to lay down properly, and also quite often damages the paint underneath by leaving a residue or slightly altering its sheen.  Any masking I do now is done with Tamiya masking sticker sheets.  They're nice and thin, so they lay down really well, and they don't do any damage to the paint they're applied to.  The other advantage is that the adhesive that's on them is just the right amount of aggressiveness and it stays that way, so they're infinitely repositionable...letting you get your mask in exactly the right spot.

when you use the Tamiya sheets around curved surfaces how do you manage to get the curve correctly masked?

I hand brush paint all of my tools and extra fittings on armor and vechicles,I usually slide a post-it note under it or right up against it as a mask.If it's a small piece I never see the need to thin it,just straight from the bottle.

Same thing with molded on deck details on ships.

John3M

when you use the Tamiya sheets around curved surfaces how do you manage to get the curve correctly masked?

 

Assuming you're talking about keeping a straight line around a curved surface, I use the sheets that are printed with a 1mm grid on them, so to go around a curved surface while still keeping a straight line, I usually just cut a 2mm strip which gives enough flexibility for it to follow the contour of the color separation I want.  Then I use bigger strips to cover enough of the rest of the area I want masked just to make sure overspray doesn't get on it.  Usually doesn't take much.  I have used my Paasche H airbrush for so long, I'm pretty precise with it and don't get much overspray.

For curved patterns, of course, I just cut the masking sheet to the shape I want.  Did the scalloping between the white and grey on this F-4B that way, and the masking around the bare metal areas on the tail were done with several smaller strips as well.

Eaglecash867

About the only brush painting I do anymore is small details that are molded into larger parts that I have airbrushed with lacquer paint.  When brush painting, I have been using the old fashioned Testors square bottles, because they brush and cover really well.  The other advantage to using those for brush painting details on a larger part that has been painted with lacquer is that the solvent in the Testors paint is pretty much completey harmless to the lacquer.  So, it doesn't cause the lacquer underneath to start lifting.  Also, any mistakes you make can be removed with a Q-tip dampened with paint thinner, without damaging the lacquer underneath it.  Just one coat of Testors usually does the trick.

Liquid maskers I have found to not be good for much other than filling in areas between where you have applied paper masks to something like an aircraft canopy.  You just can't get a sharp, clean edge using a liquid masker.  I don't like using tape of any kind for masking either, because it is often too thick to lay down properly, and also quite often damages the paint underneath by leaving a residue or slightly altering its sheen.  Any masking I do now is done with Tamiya masking sticker sheets.  They're nice and thin, so they lay down really well, and they don't do any damage to the paint they're applied to.  The other advantage is that the adhesive that's on them is just the right amount of aggressiveness and it stays that way, so they're infinitely repositionable...letting you get your mask in exactly the right spot.

 

Eaglecash867

About the only brush painting I do anymore is small details that are molded into larger parts that I have airbrushed with lacquer paint.  When brush painting, I have been using the old fashioned Testors square bottles, because they brush and cover really well.  The other advantage to using those for brush painting details on a larger part that has been painted with lacquer is that the solvent in the Testors paint is pretty much completey harmless to the lacquer.  So, it doesn't cause the lacquer underneath to start lifting.  Also, any mistakes you make can be removed with a Q-tip dampened with paint thinner, without damaging the lacquer underneath it.  Just one coat of Testors usually does the trick.

Liquid maskers I have found to not be good for much other than filling in areas between where you have applied paper masks to something like an aircraft canopy.  You just can't get a sharp, clean edge using a liquid masker.  I don't like using tape of any kind for masking either, because it is often too thick to lay down properly, and also quite often damages the paint underneath by leaving a residue or slightly altering its sheen.  Any masking I do now is done with Tamiya masking sticker sheets.  They're nice and thin, so they lay down really well, and they don't do any damage to the paint they're applied to.  The other advantage is that the adhesive that's on them is just the right amount of aggressiveness and it stays that way, so they're infinitely repositionable...letting you get your mask in exactly the right spot.

 

I always use the Testors enamel, either over bare plastic or over lacquer or Krylon rimer.  Have also found liquid mask inadequate.  I mask with tamiya tape, cut with scalpel.

missileman2000

 

 

Eaglecash867

About the only brush painting I do anymore is small details that are molded into larger parts that I have airbrushed with lacquer paint.  When brush painting, I have been using the old fashioned Testors square bottles, because they brush and cover really well.  The other advantage to using those for brush painting details on a larger part that has been painted with lacquer is that the solvent in the Testors paint is pretty much completey harmless to the lacquer.  So, it doesn't cause the lacquer underneath to start lifting.  Also, any mistakes you make can be removed with a Q-tip dampened with paint thinner, without damaging the lacquer underneath it.  Just one coat of Testors usually does the trick.

Liquid maskers I have found to not be good for much other than filling in areas between where you have applied paper masks to something like an aircraft canopy.  You just can't get a sharp, clean edge using a liquid masker.  I don't like using tape of any kind for masking either, because it is often too thick to lay down properly, and also quite often damages the paint underneath by leaving a residue or slightly altering its sheen.  Any masking I do now is done with Tamiya masking sticker sheets.  They're nice and thin, so they lay down really well, and they don't do any damage to the paint they're applied to.  The other advantage is that the adhesive that's on them is just the right amount of aggressiveness and it stays that way, so they're infinitely repositionable...letting you get your mask in exactly the right spot.

 

 

 

 

 

Eaglecash867

About the only brush painting I do anymore is small details that are molded into larger parts that I have airbrushed with lacquer paint.  When brush painting, I have been using the old fashioned Testors square bottles, because they brush and cover really well.  The other advantage to using those for brush painting details on a larger part that has been painted with lacquer is that the solvent in the Testors paint is pretty much completey harmless to the lacquer.  So, it doesn't cause the lacquer underneath to start lifting.  Also, any mistakes you make can be removed with a Q-tip dampened with paint thinner, without damaging the lacquer underneath it.  Just one coat of Testors usually does the trick.

Liquid maskers I have found to not be good for much other than filling in areas between where you have applied paper masks to something like an aircraft canopy.  You just can't get a sharp, clean edge using a liquid masker.  I don't like using tape of any kind for masking either, because it is often too thick to lay down properly, and also quite often damages the paint underneath by leaving a residue or slightly altering its sheen.  Any masking I do now is done with Tamiya masking sticker sheets.  They're nice and thin, so they lay down really well, and they don't do any damage to the paint they're applied to.  The other advantage is that the adhesive that's on them is just the right amount of aggressiveness and it stays that way, so they're infinitely repositionable...letting you get your mask in exactly the right spot.

 

 

 

I always use the Testors enamel, either over bare plastic or over lacquer or Krylon rimer.  Have also found liquid mask inadequate.  I mask with tamiya tape, cut with scalpel.

 when painting a large area like a submarine I assume you would use an airbrush or rattle can of primer first?