Get rid of brush strokes

[John]

what am I doing wrong? I’ve tried all sorts of things to get a smooth finish, thinning paint, flat brush etc but still get lines.

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[Guest]

If Tamiya and a case of it drying too fast you can try adding a few drops of retarder but metallic paints must be one of the worst to brush paint since the metallic particles will "align" to the brush stroke and then look really streaky when it reflects light.
I don't even know if it is possible to brush paint that large surfaces with metallic paint and don't get streaks and lines?
I just use my airbrush and never have to worry about this phenomena but I hope you find a solution!

Would it work if you diluted the paint a lot and then applied it in several coats and you brush the paint on in different directions for each coat? That should take care of some of the problem perhaps?

[John]

I was going to use my Airbrush but wanted to try using a paint brush for bits that aren’t quite that obvious

[yak face]

Flow improver (windsor and newton) definitely helps but as Jens said even with this metallics can still show brush marks. The flow improver will make solid colours level out beautifully though. cheers tony

[spanner570]

John, it looks to me as though the paint has dried too quickly - and possibly too thick to start with.

To pick up on Jen's mention of Tamiya paints, I found them virtually impossible to brush paint on a large area like the inside of your fuselage. In fairness, Tamiya are not supposed to be brushed on anyway.

Try thinning your paint a tad more. You can get a smooth metallic finish, but it does require 3 coats or more of very thin paint. Ratios I know naff all about. I just thin the paint until it spreads to my liking. Once applied, don't go over it again, let the paint find it's own level naturally.

[John]

To pick up on Jen's mention of Tamiya paints, I found them virtually impossible to brush paint on a large area like the inside of your fuselage. In fairness, they are not supposed to in the first place are they?

I would have just painted it cockpit green, but the instructions say silver, I’m not too fused about it because it’s not going to be seen, but I would like to get brush painting right for bits that are seen, the cockpit green didn’t go on too well, it welled up in the corners, I used my Airbrush with just air to spread it out a bit and put another coat on.

[stillp]

Are you using a wide flat brush?

Pete

[John]

Are you using a wide flat brush?

Pete

Yes

[Thorbrand]

I've used extremely fine wet sandpaper before with interesting results. Normally for household applications you wouldn't go finer than 400 grit. I've got some 3000 grit paper which you use slightly damp. It's mainly used in garages to add a really polished sheen to paint work but you can use extremely fine grit paper on model kits too. It does require a lot of patience though because you will have to keep re-applying thin coats. Or use an airbrush

[Thorbrand]

Found a great deal on amazon which gives you 3 sets of pretty much every kind of sandpaper you would ever need in your life ever. includes all ranges up to 3000 grit.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/nouvelife-42-Piece-Sandpaper-3000-Water-120-150-180-240-320-400-600-800-1000-1200-1500-2000-2500-3000-Grit/dp/B0711CTJFZ/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1508701116&sr=8-6&keywords=fine+grain+sandpaper

[John]

Thanks, I will give that a try, I’ve got paper that goes up to 12000

[Guest]

Retarder and multiple thinner coats are the best way if you want to brush. You just have to get over that stage where it looks like you scraped it on with a toothbrush! Eventually, it magically becomes opaque and smooth!