Decanting for Airbrushing

[Guest]

Evening all,

Been a while since I've posted here but I've been sitting quietly at the back watching all your great builds and taking on board your top tips.

Anyway, I'm back out in the man cave this week now I've some free time and thought I'd make a start on a kit of the Mk1 Golf from the stash as a change from WW2 planes.

I made inroads on the shell and was applying the final coat when the spray can gremlins decided things were going too well! Basically, I was using Halfords car paint over primer and the rate which the paint came out had about as much finesse as my Karcher jetwash.

I'm half way through stripping the car shell back to bare for a second attempt but next time I want to revert back to my airbrush. So basically has anyone had success with decanting from a Halfords spray can and passing it through an airbrush? Are there any special techniques involved? Does it require thinning?

One reason I was using a can was to get a nice gloss finish on the car which eludes my skills with an airbrush.

Also on a side note, I'm using the Dettol method to strip the paint. I'll let you know how it goes..... or not

Atb, Colin.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[bluriusz]

You can buy car paint in a can. Not sure what to do next but it will cost the same at Halfords. Have heard that people painting model straight with a spray paint with a great result. Maybe you sprayed too close? It's better to make few thin layers than one thick to make it quicker

[Guest]

I raised this recently concerning a Tamiya Lacquer spray paint. It was very successful. The solvent (for cleaning the AB) is Cellulose Thinner, which is probably the same for many spray cans, so make sure that your AB has (PTFE I think) seals and not rubber ones. Rubber ones will be damaged by that solvent.

The same technique could apply to your question. Please see:

http://www.scale-models.co.uk/threads/decanting-gloss-lacquer-from-a-spray-can.26625/#post-202261

Edit: I have got very good gloss coats with both the spray can and via the AB. Give two misting coats (with the primer still showing through the paint) then a wet coat, really wet. A wet coat avoids orange peeling. Practice to avoid runs. Only very slight orange peeling can be polished out. Hold the spray can at least a foot or 18 inches away when spraying because spray cans are very fierce. (AB distance is the normal for ABs).

[Guest]

There's a company called Paints4u Colin that do exact colour matches if you give them the paint code or name of the paint.

Many years ago I used them to supply some Llasa Green for a Mk 1 Gti I was building. It came in a 30ml pot. I thinned it with Tamiya XA-20 thinners & it went on lovely.

Might be easier than the mess of decanting?

Cheers

Patrick

[Guest]

Just a quick point - most automotive paint & definitely the stuff sold in cans at Halfords is acrylic based, not lacquer based.

It's cheaper & less hazardous!

[Guest]

Thanks for the replies. I'll take a look at the links.

I guess really the colour coat shouldn't matter too much if it's slightly matt as I'll be applying a clear gloss top coat anyway. Is that right?

[Guest]

Thanks for the replies. I'll take a look at the links.I guess really the colour coat shouldn't matter too much if it's slightly matt as I'll be applying a clear gloss top coat anyway. Is that right?

When I asked advice for the paint for my 1934 Roll Royce, to get a good shine, I was told that generally speaking a gloss colour coat (acrylic or other type) over the primer would be better than a mat colour coat followed by a clear gloss coat. I chose Tamiya synthetic lacquer (a gloss colour paint), mostly sprayed from the can. It suited me. The lacquer paint is very hard and therefore possibly more durable than acrylic clear coats, but that might not be an advantage if the model will not be handled much.Tamiya and Mr. Hobby (and probably others) have acrylic gloss coats which are easier to use being water-based, but the choice of colours is smaller than the huge range of acrylic matt paints that are available.

[Guest]

As a quick update I'd just liked to say Dettol antiseptic liquid is fantastic as a paint stripper. I had approx. 2 coats of primer and maybe 4 coats of Halfords spray paint covering the shell, but 24 hours fully dipped in Dettol and 1/2 hour of gently scrubbing with a medium toothbrush and 99% of the paint has been removed. There's a little discolouration in the grain of the plastic but with a fresh coat of primer it looks like it will be smooth as silk.