Newbie paint problem?

[Stubod]

Hi all, not sure if anybody can offer some advice please. I have just "re started", and decided to have a practice on a basic model (Airfix Red Arrows starter kit), before moving on to something a little more exotic.

I have cleaned all the plastic as previously advised, (warm water, washing up liquid). I have applied some of the acrylic red which was provided with the kit. Initially it seems to "wipe off" as soon as I applied it. However I left it alone to dry assuming I would need another coat or two, but after re-painting the 2nd coat it does not seem to add any extra "depth" of colour?....ie you can still clearly see the "grey" (original) colour of the plastic underneath?

I have never used acrylic before. Do I need to use a primer first? (If so should this be a red primer?) Could the paint have "gone off? (I gave it a good mix before application). At the mo I am just practicing on the "underside/none visible" part of the plastic.

many thanks for any advice..

[Tim Marlow]

Red paint is inherently transparent in nature Stu. It will show the underlying plastic. I would prime first with a red primer and then expect to put on three or more coats of red to get a good depth of colour. Don’t be tempted to put the red paint on too thick, it won’t help and will just leave brush marks and obscure detail. Thin multiple layers are the way to go. Good luck!

[PaulTRose]

a primer would definatly help........gives the paint something to adhere to

is this an airfix starter kit with those little pots of paint?.........cos they are rubbish to use

and as tim has said, red is a not the best colour for coverage

[Dave Ward]

Stu,
we did a group build beginning of 2019 - using starter kits only - no additional paint or other bits - I did the Airfix Jet Provost - all over Red! The red paint didn't cover very well, and I did four coats - I would have done more, but I ran out of paint.................
Red is a difficult colour - you really do need a red primer under it to make it work. Don't be put off by this, everyone has problems with it! As an additional comment - those tiny Airfix paint pots aren't up to much anyway, get some Vallejo, MiG, AK acrylics for your next build :thumb2:
Dave

[Guest]

Like Tim said, red paint is transparent to a degree — not just the Airfix one, but pretty much all red paint. The same goes for yellow and, surprisingly to a seemingly lesser degree, orange. The smooth plastic you’re painting it onto probably also doesn’t really help in getting it to cover well.

As the others suggested, a coat of primer will likely help a lot, but another trick you can use is to put on a different colour first instead of primer. Preferably one fairly close to what you need, like a medium brown if you want to paint the model red. However, this will cause the red to appear more brownish exactly because of the red paint’s inherent transparency.

Since this is a Red Arrows plane, probably the simplest way to get it to look right will be to build it, mask the canopy and spray it with red paint from an aerosol can. You don’t necessarily need to use model paint for that: you can get a suitable colour of car paint for this just as well.

[Stubod]

..hi all and thanks for the brilliant advice!!

..yes its a starter kit that includes the little paint pots. Was not expecting a lot to be honest, just wanted to try my hand at something before I "moved on". It seems a good idea to buy a can of "red" spray, particularly given that the main feature of this model is the red paint!

[Tim Marlow]

Just be careful you shake the can well and don't flood the model with paint. Keep the can moving while spraying....Tamiya sprays are good by the way, more suited to models than car sprays.

[BattleshipBob]

And start to spray before you hit the model and stop just past the model

[Guest]

Stu assume you are using Airfix (Humbrol Paint0 which came with the kit.

How I do it.

Clean as you mention. Then I use a 1000 gauge wet & dry paper with lots of water. Gets shot of the shine on the plastic plus gives a grip on the plastic for the paint.
After wet & dry clean, as there is residue, I use some airbrush cleaner better than water as it removes grease.

Then primer. For acrylics I use Stynylerez. Found it first class as it wet & dries well (1200 gauge paper) to give a nice finish for the finishing paint. Also if necessary it sands to a perfect edge & does not peel.

Just recently used red but Tamiya. Not sure if you are hand painting or airbrush. Tamiya stay away from hand painting.

Airfix paint. I would thin down a lot for the first coat & quite a bit for subsequent coats. Make sure the paint is cured between coats.

Airbrushing is much easier to get a consistent depth of paint with red. Hand brushing really thin down.

Just a thought is the red gloss ? If so get some flat red as close as possible. Gloss is the very devil to use direct on plastic also as a first coat on primer. Two coats of base flat red then gloss.

Laurie

[PaulTRose]

Just be careful you shake the can well and don't flood the model with paint. Keep the can moving while spraying....Tamiya sprays are good by the way, more suited to models than car sprays.

and make sure you take precautions.....not nice to breathe in!

[Stubod]

ta for all the good advise.....just brought some red spray paint of Amazon...Humbrol I think...will give it a go on the back of a piece to try it out....

..longer term I like the idea of airbrushing, but too early days at the mo given that if I do go down that route I would want a "better quality" system, and I understand these cost quite a bit...

[Tim Marlow]

Stu mate, have fun first, airbrush later.

[PaulTRose]

and I understand these cost quite a bit...

depends................you can get cheapo 'starter' sets that work quite well, to see if you get on with it, for 50 to 80 quid if you look

you would be surprised how many model makers started out with one, with a cheap chinese air brush, before moving on to something better

and dont think of it as a 'cost', think of it as an 'investment'...........look after it and it will last a long time

[Dave Ward]

Stu,
don't get the idea that a top of the range compressor gives better results than a budget model ! It's compressed air - it doesn't matter whether it comes from a £1000 machine, or £100 it's still compressed air! The airbrush itself - yes, you can spend a lot of money for a quality product. I've been using the AS186 since 2013, with really cheap & really expensive airbrushes, no problems..........
John has them in stock.................

https://www.scalemodelshop.co.uk/product/as-186s-airbrush-compressor-with-cooling-fan-scale-model-shop-as-186s/

Dave

[Stubod]

..ta for the advise. I had assumed getting an airbrush would make me a better modeller ..but I will wait a while longer and see how I get on!..

..and thanks for the heads up regarding compressors...I will be back at the appropriate time to seek further advise on all things airbrushes!!