[MLCrisis32]

Hello everyone! So after many attempts failing at correctly airbrushing I finally became decent enough to where I stopped sanding/repainting. Surprisingly airbrushing the Tamiya chrome silver was easier than the flat white by a great margin. (And clean up) This is my proudest moment so far.

Sadly I screwed up trying to make my own gray color and as it turns out Tamiya flat white + Tamiya light gray = weird sea greenish gray. I didn't like it at all so I sanded her down and started over. Another unfortunate thing is that the raised panel lines are now gone. The recesseed panel lines are slightly jagged as I tried to scrape them out without a proper tool. I finally decided it was "good enough" considering how much time I've spent un-warping parts, puttying, sanding, puttying again, sanding too much, re-puttying etc.

Also I've learned that masking + airbrushing is much less prone to bleeding under the tape than hand brushing. I'm pretty pleased with the engines. I don't think I'll attempt it for the main hull dark gray bits but here's hoping for steady hands tomorrow.

Now I just need to airbrush some Future, glue the rest together and pray nothing goes wrong. :thumbsup:

 

[irishtrek]

Those painted parts look great!!:thumbsup:

 

[MLCrisis32]

Those painted parts look great!!:thumbsup:

Thanks! One thing I've learned is that acrylic paint is incredibly easy to chip/scrape/scuff. Enamel has it's downfalls (smelly, hard to clean up, takes forever and a week to dry) but at least my Reliant didn't flake paint off because I looked at it funny. :freak:

I'm hoping to get the little details painted tonight, spray the parts down with Future over the weekend and then glue her together.

 

[irishtrek]

I've discovered that if you apply a coat of Future before you paint with acrylics then the paint is less likley to come off.

 

[MLCrisis32]

I've discovered that if you apply a coat of Future before you paint with acrylics then the paint is less likley to come off.

If that helps then so be it I shall do it as well! I've done some tests at low psi on a spare piece of styrene and got a really nice, even coat with it using multiple passes. (after painting).

 

[hal9001]

I don't get it. If you didn't like the color it came out why did you sand it down as opposed to just painting over it?

hal9001-

 

[MLCrisis32]

I don't get it. If you didn't like the color it came out why did you sand it down as opposed to just painting over it?

hal9001-

Unfortunately I laid too much paint down and it was already hiding details so adding another coat didn't seem like a good idea. Plus I am still new to this, live and learn etc.

 

[hal9001]

Understood. Try putting your paint down in thin layers rather than one heavy layer. See how that works. Maybe thin your paint some too. Try that.

Another good tip is to take and old model, if you have one, and test spray mixed paints to get a feel of how it looks before committing to the 'real' model.

Airbrushes take some getting use to. I think you'll find the more you use it, the easier it gets! Be patient and you will learn to love it and can't do without it.

Good luck.

hal9001-

 

[irishtrek]

To remove unwanted paint colors you don't always have to use sandpaper to remove the paint, instead why not invest in something like say a bottle of Pine-Sol and a good sized tub to poor it into and then you can soak your model parts for a few days and then use a stiff nylon brush to get the paint off?? Believe me when I say it will help to save the detailing like raised panel lines, even if they are inaccurate for Star Trek models.

 

[seaQuest]

I think the reason your custom color didn't turn out the way you thought is because there is actually blue pigment in white. The only pure white is Titanium White. The blue pigment in the white may have mixed with the light gray in a way you didn't expect.

 

[MLCrisis32]

To remove unwanted paint colors you don't always have to use sandpaper to remove the paint, instead why not invest in something like say a bottle of Pine-Sol and a good sized tub to poor it into and then you can soak your model parts for a few days and then use a stiff nylon brush to get the paint off?? Believe me when I say it will help to save the detailing like raised panel lines, even if they are inaccurate for Star Trek models.

Definitely something to keep in mind next time I paint myself into a corner, so to speak.

I think the reason your custom color didn't turn out the way you thought is because there is actually blue pigment in white. The only pure white is Titanium White. The blue pigment in the white may have mixed with the light gray in a way you didn't expect.

Good point because the mixture didn't look sea green/duck egg blue but boy when it fully dried it did! I noticed that Tamiya flat white is jot nearly as pure white as my 1/1000 refit that has Testor spray white enamel.

 

[MLCrisis32]

Understood. Try putting your paint down in thin layers rather than one heavy layer. See how that works. Maybe thin your paint some too. Try that.

Another good tip is to take and old model, if you have one, and test spray mixed paints to get a feel of how it looks before committing to the 'real' model.

Airbrushes take some getting use to. I think you'll find the more you use it, the easier it gets! Be patient and you will learn to love it and can't do without it.

Good luck.

hal9001-

Thanks and you're right the more I use it the less I want to hand brush anything. I just need to nail down the paint to thinner ratio.

 

[Chrisisall]

the more I use it the less I want to hand brush anything.

I hand brush very little now, rattle-can freak here!:lol:

 

[WarpCore Breach]

You can't beat the control of a double-action airbrush! They do take getting some used to (I was warned about that when I was first handed one to try) but I found I could control it easily enough. Still needed to practice, though and I'm still working on the paint/thinner ratio balances. Apparently my approach is very hit and miss! LOL!

 

[Seashark]

For paint removal, you may also want to try Easy off oven cleaner; Tamiya is the only paint I've found that is impenetrable to Easy off.

 

[irishtrek]

I just need to nail down the paint to thinner ratio.

Acrylic paints from Testors aka Model Master do not need to be thinned and niether does the Tamya acrylic paints, in fact the only acrylics I've found that need to be thinned for an airbrush is the type that craft stores stock.

 

[MLCrisis32]

Quick question to airbrush people out there do you sand your painted models with fine grit paper before clear coating?

I've found that using my detail master kit (3200-12000 grit) takes the 24hr dried Tamiya paint off even with the slightest of pressure and gently sanding it. I did this with my Reliant (all enamel rattle cans/hand painted) and never had an issue.

 

[MLCrisis32]

Acrylic paints from Testors aka Model Master do not need to be thinned and niether does the Tamya acrylic paints, in fact the only acrylics I've found that need to be thinned for an airbrush is the type that craft stores stock.

Oh? That's interesting because everything I've read says it should be "milk like in consistency" so I just add about 1/3 the amount of thinner to paint. Maybe it's just Tamiya flat white but straight out of the bottle that stuff clogged my brush in about 3 seconds.

 

[irishtrek]

I've only been airbrushing for about a year now and to be perfectly honest the paints I mentioned have been the only ones I've used, so far but that may change some day.
The MM paints sometimes need to be thinned a bit and so far I've not encountered any Tamyia acrylics that need to be thinned and so far I only got about 15 Tamyia colors on hand.

 

[machgo]

Quick question to airbrush people out there do you sand your painted models with fine grit paper before clear coating?

I've found that using my detail master kit (3200-12000 grit) takes the 24hr dried Tamiya paint off even with the slightest of pressure and gently sanding it. I did this with my Reliant (all enamel rattle cans/hand painted) and never had an issue.

This was refuted in another discussion, but I will say what I believe to be true: acrylics are soft, and EXTREME care must be taken when sanding them. I would not bother sanding acrylics before a clear coat. Lacquer paints, on the other hand, sand beautifully.

As far as thinning, I always thin Tamiya acrylics before airbrushing, although you can get them to go through unthinned. Thinning lets you get some transparent effects, pre-shading, and your paints go farther...