Pre-Shading (Sharpie)

No, I didn't take pictures of the after effect of the dull coat.  It was really weird.  Can't figure out why it did that?  Any idea's?  Maybe an acrylic flat coat work? 

I was never really good at Airbrushing panel lines.  This experiment makes my think that I can do it with black paint and a brush too if I wanted...

I disagree rather strongly with using a Sharpie pen for pre-shading, it will never look right. The problem with using a Sharpie pen is that the ink often burns through the paint if there isnt sufficient coats and leaves a stain under your paint job. Using a Sharpie pen alone for highlighting detail already painted black is fine but not as a preshade. Eventually the ink burns though forcing you to strip the paint and start over. Post shading using a wash over panel lines and a graphite powder rub is a better way to shade. The results are much more realistic.

Archangel Shooter wrote:

Hummm- What's a Sharpie???

It's what Baseball players use when they autograph a baseball card. It's what Bill Clinton was when he spoke to the Grand Jury...etc.

Peewee

Don't use sharpies and a dull coat.  I did this with my F-106

HEre's the result

of course that was after touching up a few spots with some pinkfill paintballs and a Tippmann 98 Custom hehehe

ygmodeler4 wrote:

Don't use sharpies and a dull coat.  I did this with my F-106 HEre's the result of course that was after touching up a few spots with some pinkfill paintballs and a Tippmann 98 Custom hehehe

Yg! LTNS! I was wondering when you were going to chime in. I agree with you Again! That Six is a poster boy for why you never use a sharpie pen to preshade and accent panel lines.  Hehehehe

OK, OK, OK, I did ruin an F-14 using two incompatable brands of clear finishes.  

LOL

Here are some pics of my Yoyager, pre shaded with a sharpie, painted with enamel.

Before painting 

first coat

third coat

RemcoGrob wrote:

Here are some pics of my Yoyager, pre shaded with a sharpie, painted with enamel. Before painting  first coat third coat

Rob, Believe it or not the reason the Sharpie pen worked so well with enamel on your Voyager kit is because the ink is enamel (oil) base. Yup. sure as shoot! I learned this the hard way the first time I had experimented with a Sharpie pen I had to use nail polish remover to clean it off. Nothing else but enamel thinner, mineral spirits or nail polish remover will work. Under an acrylic base it will only burn through and ruin the paint job. Enamel base clear finishes over acrylics only make the burn through worse and switching to clear acrylic finishes will not help.

Live and Learn,

Air Master 

I agree that using a Sharpie for pre-shading is a crap shoot.  I do use pens similar to Sharpies for post-painting detailing of major separation lines such as rudder/fin, wing/flaps, etc.  For that type os detailing, I use black pens from either Micron or Zig Millenium.  The inks in these are archival quality & true black without the purple hue that you sometimes get from a Sharpie.  They are available at most Art Supply Stores & are available in tip sizes from .005 to .05.  I find the .01 & .02 tips to be the most useful for my 1/48 scale a/c.  I have top coated these with both Acrylic & Enamel based flats with absolutely no problem.  Only downside is they are kinda expensive & they wear out quickly when used for modeling purposes.

Regards,  Rick

I have to agree with the sharpie ink bleeding through. I have a LOT of experience using sharpies on resin to mark where I see problems to fix later and no matter how much you try to cover it, the sharpie ink will "float" to the top with any solvent based coat.  This leaves a highly regular and very difficult to get rid of stain.  blue seems to be the worst offender of the sharpie world, with red next in line after that.

 I dont want to appear to knock your technique nor your post, but be advised that if you use anything other than an acrylic over the marker, it will dissolve the ink beneath it and the resulting  ink mess is frustrating to get rid of ( I remove all of mine by sanding prior to re-priming my figures).

David  

Air Master Modeler wrote:

Under an acrylic base it will only burn through and ruin the paint job. Enamel base clear finishes over acrylics only make the burn through worse and switching to clear acrylic finishes will not help.

I have two kits where I used a Sharpie under acrillic (tamiya) The shapie did seem to run runder the paint and I won't be using that combinations again (especially after the future coat) but I haven't seen it burn trough.

But this might stil happen over time....

I say burn because under a white primer coat that tested a Sharpie pen on it looked like it burned the paint. The color was a deep blackish purple. Other people refer to it as bleeding, running or floating through. Just the way I describe what it looks like to me. Like yourself I wont do it again.  

Air Master Modeler wrote:

ygmodeler4 wrote: Yg! LTNS! I was wondering when you were going to chime in. I agree with you Again! That Six is a poster boy for why you never use a sharpie pen to preshade and accent panel lines.  Hehehehe OK, OK, OK, I did ruin an F-14 using two incompatable brands of clear finishes.   LOL

yeah been pretty busy with lacrosse but i'm back for a couple weeks

Air Master Modeler wrote:

I say burn because under a white primer coat that tested a Sharpie pen on it looked like it burned the paint. The color was a deep blackish purple. Other people refer to it as bleeding, running or floating through. Just the way I describe what it looks like to me. Like yourself I wont do it again.

...I agree with all who advise against it...the ink and most paints don't gel well together...another problem is that black ink isn't really black at all; its a very dark indigo (purple) hue...and that purplish color seems to come out as the ink ages or is denatured by another chemical...those who use it are just asking for trouble, and it might not come for months or even years after the model is completed...