first aircraft paint

[Guest]

Thank you for your replies.
I have left the layers longer between coats now.
I didn't prime this one, but definiently will the next.

If I get a spray can primer, do I spray all the spruces with all the bits on? Or make up the model, then prime (this way, there may be parts that are painted already, I.e. Cockpit)

My order is going to be
Paint,
Gloss,
Panel lines
Decals,
Weathering,
Finish coat.

Is this the right way round for decals, panels and weathering? I wanted the weathering over the top of the decals. Also, do I need to gloss or Matt coat in between these layers?

Cheers again.
(I will update with photos as I go along)
Edd

[spanner570]

Just to throw a small spanner in the works - see wot I wrote there?

As you are brush painting (Like me) large areas, such as wings etc., you could do worse than to swap those enamels and change to acrylics. Far easier to apply with a brush than enamels and the waiting time between coats is only a few hours.

Then save your enamels for detail work.

[Guest]

When it comes to priming Edd, if you're using enamels, the small parts don't absolutely need to be primed. Some do, but it's not really necessary.

The fact that the cockpit is already painted isn't an issue because the canopy will cover that area. If you're planning to have it wheels down & canopy up, just glue it temporarily with PVA glue.
Then prime the entire airframe.

Switch your order to do the decals before the wash - you want the wash to flow into the panel lines with the markings on. The wash isn't weathering, it's adding necessary depth to the model, and getting away from the toy-like look.

The final coat shouldn't really be too matt. Usually a satin finish looks best.

[Guest]

Just to throw a small spanner in the works - see wot I wrote there?

As you are brush painting (Like me) large areas, such as wings etc., you could do worse than to swap those enamels and change to acrylics. Far easier to apply with a brush than enamels and the waiting time between coats is only a few hours.

Then save your enamels for detail work.

You should see my reply in Edd's other post on this subject Ron. I pointed him in the direction of your Leopard thread to show what can be done with acrylics & a hairy stick.

Having said that, enamels are usually far more forgiving for the newbie than acrylics

[spanner570]

.....yes I did see the reference, and I hope the thread might be of some use to someone in the same situation as Edd.

Just going on my own experience, and over a large area, I've always found acrylics easier to brush apply than enamels......even for a newbie.

Let's leave it at that, or Edd will get confused as to what's what.

[Guest]

.....yes I did see the reference, and I hope the thread might be of some use to someone in the same situation as Edd.

Just going on my own experience, and over a large area, I've always found acrylics easier to brush apply than enamels......even for a newbie.

Let's leave it at that, or Edd will get confused as to what's what.

You were ever a newbie Ron?
Whilst I appreciate your concern for Edd, I'm sure he's smart enough to follow varying points of view.
And IMHO, the longer drying time of enamels make it easier to avoid brush marks.

[papa 695]

Thank you for your replies.
I have left the layers longer between coats now.
I didn't prime this one, but definiently will the next.

If I get a spray can primer, do I spray all the spruces with all the bits on? Or make up the model, then prime (this way, there may be parts that are painted already, I.e. Cockpit)

My order is going to be
Paint,
Gloss,
Panel lines
Decals,
Weathering,
Finish coat.

Is this the right way round for decals, panels and weathering? I wanted the weathering over the top of the decals. Also, do I need to gloss or Matt coat in between these layers?

Cheers again.
(I will update with photos as I go along)
Edd

edd I would
Paint
Gloss
Decals
Gloss
Panel lines
Gloss and then weather with a final coat of whatever gloss coat your after ie
Matt
Semi- gloss
Full gloss

[Guest]

I have tried a variety of acrylics, but personally don't find them as good as enamels. I like the fact enamels easily get rid of brush strokes. Admittedly though, I hate the long wait times!!

Here's a picture of how it's going so far
[ATTACH]283336[/ATTACH]

A lot better, one or two more coats and it's time for glossing.
I do worry that the panel lines are getting hidden under the paint, but we will see.
Most the bombs are painted and are awaiting decals.
My colour scheme is all over the place, have started randomly painting things in a colour I prefer! Still though, for me that's the point of this model
Cheers
Edd

[Thorbrand]

You mentioned about getting brush strokes appear with acrylics, well what I do is thin the acrylic paint with water (as it's water based) i find if you have a good prime coat, medium grey is pretty standard then you can get away with 2 acrylic coats, although with lighter colours like yellow, you can use a white primer and you will need 3 or 4 coats. When you are thinning enamel paint it is best to use a 'low odour' white spirit as opposed to standard white spirit, the reason being that low odour is less abrasive and standard white spirit is better for cleaning your brushes. Also if you have not thinned the paint correctly and end up doing too many coats or too many thick coats, you start to fill in the panel lines to the point that after the clear gloss coats and final clear coat (Matt, Satin or Gloss) you will struggle to fill in the panel lines with a colour wash. If you get into that situation then you can score down the panel lines with a needle or engineers scribe before you apply your gloss coat.

[Guest]

Just a wee update. Finished the build.
Excuse the terrible photos
[ATTACH]283707[/ATTACH] [ATTACH]283708[/ATTACH] [ATTACH]283709[/ATTACH] [ATTACH]283710[/ATTACH]

Definiently not a great build, however, learnt a ton, some of it looks really good, others... not so much, i.e. the one camo painted wing!

Oh well, on to the next!

[papa 695]

A great effort Edd, like you said plenty of new skill learnt, onward and upwards.
What's next ?

[Thorbrand]

Got to start somewhere right? The thing with model making is there is always things to learn and thats part of the fun. Heres a tip as i noticed you have a frosted cannopy. The cannopy frosts over when you fix it with poly cement or super glue because of the vapour given off by the glue. So to remedy that you can use 'tacky PVA' a opposed to regular PVA glue. It dries clear and doesnt give off any corrosive vapours. You can also buy cannopy glue but tacky PVA is a lot cheaper and can be easily picked up in hardware or craft stores. It will take a good 6 or 7 hour to dry but i find the results are good

[christos_swc]

I've got some good experience from the past using many layers of heavily diluted acrylics getting a very smooth finish with no brush strokes.
But when I tried the same with enamels of late it was a bit of a disaster.
Looks like using too much thinner also dilutes the previous coat so you aren't getting anywhere soon.
Acrylics dry out much quicker and, while much less resilient than enamels, they are a lot less sensitive to water than enamels are to white spirit and such.
Solution to the long drying times of the enamels is to build more than one project at a timeoop:
As for your first build, anything that is finished looks beautiful