painting struts on glass

[Guest]

ok guys,

any advice it has taken an age to handpaint a windscreen surround and struts, any tips so as to not have a complete mess.

Regards

Antony

[stona]

Do you mean like the framing on a canopy?

Cheers

Steve

[Guest]

Hi Steve,

spot on, im building a hurricane at present , and the canopy is strut heavy.

Regards

Antony

[stona]

There are different ways and materials for doing this,but essentially you wasnt to mask the clear panels in order to allow you to paint the frame work. I did a quick series of piccies to show how I do it which I'll post again. This shows the technique,I'd normally take longer and be a bit more precise!!

First stuff your clear part with Blu-Tac or similar,you don't want to crack it.

Next place some tape (I use Tamiya masking tape) over the panel you want to mask and burnish down into the edges of the framework. I use a wooden cocktail stick as this won't tear the tape or scratch the clear part.

Take a SHARP blade,I always use a new scalpel blade, and carefully cut around the panel using the frame as a guide.

Voila,one masked glass panel. Now all you have to do is repeat for all the others. There's plenty on a Hurricane to keep you busy!

The only real alternatives to masking are to hand paint the frames (good luck) or to use decals. You can apply coloured strips of decal to the frames. Some kits (Hasegawa Ju87 springs to mind) actually supply these decal strips. I tried them but gave up and masked mine. That says more about me than the decals lol.

There are other ways of masking,for example laying very thin strips of tape around the edges of the panels and then filling in.

Some people swear by liquid masks. They would apply the liquid to the part either keeping the frames free of mask or carefully removing the dried mask from the frames afterwards. Hopefully someone who uses these techniques will chip in.

Cheers

Steve

[Guest]

Hi Steve,

Thans for taking the efort to post the pictures, great advice! Do you know a way of removing paint if it reaches the glass by mistake.

Reards

Antony

[stona]

The trick is to dip your clear part in Klear before you do anything. Any painty mis-haps will then be onto that layer and not directly the plastic. You can then use a cotton bud moistened in a suitable (ammonia containing) solvent to remove both the paint and layer of Klear.You may need a scrape with a cocktail stick to encourage things to shift.

Otherwise you'l have to use a combination of a cotton bud and solvent along with a good scrape with the cocktail stick. If you use enamel paints there is a risk of the solvent clouding the clear part which is pretty much irreparable. You may be able to test your solvent on an unused part from the same sprue.

I cut the end of the cocktail stick at about 45 degrees to give a "chisel" end

Once you've got the paint off you can bring back the shine with another application of Klear,I use a fine brush for this.

Cheers

Steve

[Guest]

Hi Steve,

Sorry to be ignorant but what is klear i have never heard of this, can you use this as a varnish once you have painted the model?

Regards

Antony

[stona]

It's a gloss acrylic floor polish,though why anyone would waste it on their floor is a mystery to me. The original formula is difficult to find since it has been discontinued but the new one seems to work as well. It's now branded Pledge Multi Surface Wax and apparently has a nice smell.

You can use it as a gloss varnish.

Cheers

Steve

[Guest]

Hi Steve,

View Household Cleaning Shelf

is this it ,does it come in a spray can, or do you brush it on.

Regards

Antony

[stona]

That's the stuff, the new formula. You can brush it on,that's what I've always done. I still have some of the old formula but I've read a two or three of reviews of this new one and despite suspicions,particularly about the scent,they were all positive.

I think Graham (Fenlander) may have given it a go.

Cheers

Steve

[Guest]

I have indeed done a test on it and it works fine. Word of warning though. When you brush it on make sure you don't let it pool anywhere as it can dry milky if too thick. Just make sure it is brushed evenly and be careful of edges and corners where it may build up a bit too thick. It is quite thin and, best of all, it is a self levelling material so it will not leave brush marks.

[Guest]

An interesting thread this. I spent all my youth and many years after that hand painting canopy frames but of course, although I got quite good I was only laying paint over the top and not down the edges of the frame. Masking really is the best way as you can easily paint the entire frame and it looks far more convincing.

Just a little word worth adding, a lot of aircraft had the insides of the frame painted the same as the cockpit interior rather than the outside camoflage so after you have masked put a coat of the cockpit interior paint on the frame first. Then paint over it with the external colour. When you look inside you will then see the internal cockpit colour inside the frame which looks particularly neat!