Brush Painting HELP!

Aaronw wrote:

The paint you use has a lot of influence on the technique. I hate Tamiya paint for brush painting more than small bits, it just dries so much faster than other brands. It is hard to explain in writing but I find more paint usually works better than less, but you don't want too much paint. (I know real helpful ) One of the critical things is too keep the brush wet with paint, when the brush starts to get dry it makes the brush strokes much more noticable. Control how much paint is on the model by your brush technique not, the amount of paint on the brush. Use the whole brush to spread the paint, just the tip to work the paint. Clean your brush frequently as you work.  For a touch up like along seam lines I'll get the area I'm starting with nice and wet with paint, then spread it out from there so I can feather it into the rest of the paint. Work in the smallest area you can then move to the next spot. Sometimes thinning the paint helps, sometimes it doesn't. If you can end the strokes near a panel line or other detail that will draw attention from any differences in the paint it will help. When the paint starts to get the slightest bit tacky you are pretty much done, trying to keep working the paint will likely just make the problem worse. 1000 or 1500 grit sandpaper is your friend for removing any brush strokes although you do have to go over the area you sanded again. Sometimes a polishing compound like MacGuires Scratch X or Novus plastic polish will remove the evidence of sanding so you don't have to recoat. A clear coat like Future can hide minor brush strokes and imperfections. I brush paint a lot of stuff using acrylics, so I shake my head when people say you HAVE TO use an airbrush. It is a difficult skill to master though, so I think most people give up on it before getting enough practice. I would agree though trying to touch up an area painted with an airbrush is going to be tough with a brush. The airbrush puts down a very fine layer of paint that doesn't leave you much to blend into.

[ditto] to what Aaron says. I have yet to master the airbrush, even though I own two of them. I paint mostly with vallejo model colors and good ole fashion selction of artist brushes. The nice thing about vallejo's is for me they dont leave many brush strokes, and for the times they do I just coat with future and they are gone. When i want it to slow dry a lil I just add the Vallejo retarder. 

Nico

The paint you use has a lot of influence on the technique. I hate Tamiya paint for brush painting more than small bits, it just dries so much faster than other brands.

It is hard to explain in writing but I find more paint usually works better than less, but you don't want too much paint. (I know real helpful ) One of the critical things is too keep the brush wet with paint, when the brush starts to get dry it makes the brush strokes much more noticable. Control how much paint is on the model by your brush technique not, the amount of paint on the brush. Use the whole brush to spread the paint, just the tip to work the paint. Clean your brush frequently as you work. 

For a touch up like along seam lines I'll get the area I'm starting with nice and wet with paint, then spread it out from there so I can feather it into the rest of the paint. Work in the smallest area you can then move to the next spot. Sometimes thinning the paint helps, sometimes it doesn't. If you can end the strokes near a panel line or other detail that will draw attention from any differences in the paint it will help. When the paint starts to get the slightest bit tacky you are pretty much done, trying to keep working the paint will likely just make the problem worse.

1000 or 1500 grit sandpaper is your friend for removing any brush strokes although you do have to go over the area you sanded again.

Sometimes a polishing compound like MacGuires Scratch X or Novus plastic polish will remove the evidence of sanding so you don't have to recoat.

A clear coat like Future can hide minor brush strokes and imperfections.

I brush paint a lot of stuff using acrylics, so I shake my head when people say you HAVE TO use an airbrush. It is a difficult skill to master though, so I think most people give up on it before getting enough practice.

I would agree though trying to touch up an area painted with an airbrush is going to be tough with a brush. The airbrush puts down a very fine layer of paint that doesn't leave you much to blend into.  

If you have the spot covered and it looks rough and ugly, use a polishing stick to smooth the high spots down flat. I don't know whether you are going to go for the pristine new plane look or the well worn and tired real world look. The latter has its advantages when you have gross errors in your painting...you can make mistakes look like they were suppose to be there!

Anyway once you get the ridges knocked down, you should be able to even the sheen with a clear coat before decaling.

Hi William,

Sorry to say that touching up an airbrushed finish with a brush is always going to be an iffy proposition. Unless you're trying to achieve a particular effect, a brush touch-up usually sticks out like a sore thumb.

It may be made worse still under certain circumstances, for example, if one uses Tamiya acrylics. Any amount of Tamiya acrylic on a brush is likely to rip straight through an airbrushed coat of the same paint and roll it up. (BTW: I don't know what type of paint you're using,)

For something the size of a fingerptint, I find it easier to do touch-ups using the airbrush, using a strategically held piece of index card to mask any overspray.

If you really want to try it, use a fairly thin mix of paint and a soft brush. Don't brush over an area more than once - allow to dry and cure before recoating.