Paint

[David Bogard]

jchrisf wrote -

I'm a newb so I don't know how to fix your problem but I used the Testor's Metallic silver in the tiny bottle on a camero I build and it looked great... but, that paint never dried and I ended up messing it up too.  I am going to respray the same paint on that body again soon and then set aside for about 6 months to cure, but I am not ever using enamel on anything else after that.

This brings up an interesting subject. Maybe explain more your process because something's "off" here. It shouldn't take "6 months to cure".

[Brian Conn]

....One thing that is common with either Styrene plastic or resin is that both are petroleum based which means that with the porous surface of a body, the paint is trying to seep into the body as oils are trying to escape (come to the surface)....once a styrene plastic body is totally void of any and all petroleum based products, it starts to become brittle.  Resin, by nature, will have a higher percent of oils, hence the first thing you do before anything else is soak it to remove enough petroleum byproducts to make it paintable.
  So lets say for the sake of discussion that you have laid down a good coat of primer....the primer of course gives the base color coat something to stick to ....and you shoot it with color that never seems to dry right.  Not all paint is compatible with every other paint....do your research on what works best with what.  I've had good luck lately with Dupli-Color sandable automotive primer....I can either shoot it straight out of the rattle can or decant it for the air brush....now this is not to say that the next builds color paint choice will be compatible with it or not....your mileage may vary.
  What I have started doing to see if everyone will play well together is to use a plastic spoon (same as #6 Styrene) and spray the paints...primer and color...to see if they dry correctly, no bleed thru, etc etc.
  I have 4 other different primers that I could use to get the right combination...Testors, Krylon,Rust-Oleum Automotive Primer and Rust-Oleum Filler Primer.
  I have had in the past tested the paints with decent results, but when applied to the body the result was bad.....that one I have yet to determine what happened. 

[TarheelRick]

jchrisf wrote -

I'm a newb so I don't know how to fix your problem but I used the Testor's Metallic silver in the tiny bottle on a camero I build and it looked great... but, that paint never dried and I ended up messing it up too.  I am going to respray the same paint on that body again soon and then set aside for about 6 months to cure, but I am not ever using enamel on anything else after that.

This brings up an interesting subject. Maybe explain more your process because something's "off" here. It shouldn't take "6 months to cure".

Not sure if I am on base here or not, but those small Testor's bottles are normally enamel, and a very slow drying enamel at that.  I have used them and some are still tacky several weeks/months later.  That is one of the main reasons I use a dehydrator, even with other typed/brands of paint.  I remember building a P-51 when I was in Thailand.  I built it early in my assignment there and it was still tacky when I got ready to leave several months later; of course the 125% humidity there could have been part of the reason. :-(

[Brian Conn]

  Make sure you shake the paint, whether it be in a can or bottle vigorously for at least a minute or two to thoroughly mix the paint.   
  Enamels require 48-72 hours for a full cure. To avoid possible wrinkling, recoat within 3 hours or after 48 hours. MODEL MASTER Acrylics will dry to the touch in minutes; they require 24 hours for a full cure.

......Even if the paint is the same color by the same manufacture but one is in a bottle and one is in a spray can the paint properties them selves are going to be vastly different....enough of a difference that it could make the difference between a good decent paint job and a complete and total disaster.....use the plastic spoon method like I described and your issues will more than likely be a thing of the past.

[jchrisf]

This was the only body I have painted with Testor's Enamel Silver Metallic.  I used 1 part paint to 2 parts Lacquer thinner like shown in the video below.  I did not use any primer.  At the time I did this car I didn't have many in reserve and waited three or four days to work with it but that wasn't long enough.  Now I have more models in reserve so when I finally get the car prepped again I have decided to use the same paint just because I liked the result and wanted to see how it would turn out if I completely let it dry.  6 months was just a figure I thought would give it plenty of time to cure since I will be building other models in the mean time. 

Since this car, I have been using Duplicolor sandable primer and it has crazed the two bodies I have used it on.  I think I need to put it on really thin or switch to Tamiya. 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lCKZ_fo4eW0

[Brian Conn]

   It never hurts to wash the body with dish soap and warm water before painting....removes oily fingerprints and any thing else that might detract from a good paint job.

[jchrisf]

Thanks David.. I will give those tips a try.  What allows your holder to spin?  Is the pipe metal and just sits in the flange?