help please: info on painting gun mods

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Permalink Reply by Captain Catreal on March 22, 2012 at 10:07pm

I do much of the same as Athanasia, I use an airbrush though.  I think it is really important to prime to keep the paint on the plastic.  I am a fan of acrylic and I use it on my miniatures so I just carry it over to my modding.  But as mentioned another key is the final coat,  things will get chipped and scratch depending on how you use it and there are a wide ranges of spray paints that can give an excellent protective coat.

Brushing on a swell should be done is many smooth layers.  If your paint is thinner the pigment won't carry as much but you won't make it blotchy.  This takes more time of course.  That is why i moved to airbrush.  Spray paints will be faster to a degree, I found that you need to get a good tape that isn't to sticky to block off other parts of the project if you are using any type of spray.  And I would say regardless of medium I find it best to let things dry as best I can before adding different colors and the such.  The temptation is for speed but if you tape onto something that isn't quite dry you will know what I mean.  So I find it best to work on a few projects at once to others can dry.

Also depending on how it is holstered, you can always add a felt or something softer to keep it from scratching while carried.

As for durability, rustoleum can be used on vehicles so I would say it is a safe bet that as a final clear coat it would do well to protect your project.

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Permalink Reply by Kitty MacDowell on March 26, 2012 at 9:35am

Oh yes! I love Rub-N-buff. However, I only use it for small projects because I find it difficult to manage over large surfaces unless you seal as you go. 

I am a HUGE fan of enamels- specifically Nail Polish. It's a permanent paint, you can get it in AMAZING colors and can find it everywhere. You just have to remember to let it dry COMPLETELY between coats. Any attempt at speed causes fingerprints and multiple smudged layers.

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Permalink Reply by Kitty MacDowell on April 4, 2012 at 8:18am

I've used clear Nail Polish to seal rub-n-buff because I worry that even with the wax seal, a good swipe of nail or heavy cloth can wipe the finish. Hence my issue with using it over large pieces. I must note, however, I've never used the acrylic primer or the matte fixative as a sealer, only acrylic enamels.

On the pieces I've used nail polish on as a sealer, I find that you can't just "brush" it on. You kind of have to goop it, and the spread with light touches. If you touch too hard, then you can leave swipe strokes in the pigment.

Here's a project I did using the Rub-N-Buff, sealed with clear nail enamel. The surface has been etched to create a wood grain, but other than that, you can see it covers well and has GREAT color.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/--JvnlwWzFY0/T3xlRJemw_I/AAAAAAAA...

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Permalink Reply by James Penny on April 4, 2012 at 11:48am

As an airbrush artist and small time custom painter, I have found some ways of preping plastic for paint that seems to work well for me.

 

First off, a paintjob is only as good as the surface preparation.  This means what we would normally refer to as "the body work" of a project.  I make sure to clean the surface before anything else.  A good degreaser should be okay, or a commercial plastic prep wax and grease remover to get ride of the mold release that is trapped on the surface or in the plastic material.  99% alcohol also works pretty good.  Too and helps with static charge.

 

Then you need to scuff the surface, with a light sand paper (400ish grit) or my favorite, a red scotchbrite scuff pad to totally get a matte surface sheen.  This gives the priming stage some mechanical tooth to help the paint grip.

 

Then you should clean the surface again.  I usually just use windex or alcohol again.

 

Some people have good luck with regular spray primer which is a nice toothy spray paint.  Plastic primers and plastic paints like krylon fusion is really enamel spray paint with what we call adhesion promoter in it.  Krylon fusion actually contains Sherwin Williams/Duplicolor adhesion promotor in the formula.  I use Duplicolor adhesion promoter followed by a regular spray lacquer primer.  It's the adhesion promotor product that acts as the "glue" between the paint and the plastic "oily" surface (it is a petroleum product after all).  Adhesion promoter works great on other surfaces too. 

 

Polystyrene plastic, which a lot of toys are made of takes paint better too I find.  But you can't count on all things being made out of that.  It's why you don't need an adhesion promoter on plastic figurines and models.  They are made out of porus polystrene.  That is a whole side topic though.

 

After you get your primer on your adhesion promoter, or plastic paint, you can then relax and wait for it to cure out.  One thigns I do suggest is another scuffing of the primer to give your acrylic paint, or whatever kind of paint something to grip to.

 

The final clear coating is also a must.  When I used to paint figures, I always said "your paintjob isn't complete until you get the clear on".  That is a huge topic too, and compatability with your color coat is a concern to look at too.  Like lacquers don't like going on top of enamels and such.

 

Really with plastic, and any paintjob for that matter "the proof is in the prep".

 

Cheers

 

James

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Permalink Reply by Professor Pat on April 10, 2012 at 12:48am

i used primer on almost all my stuff. I find that the rustoleum hammered ones look very timely.

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Permalink Reply by Professor Pat on April 10, 2012 at 9:58am

I used the brass and off gold one and they seemed to do pretty well. I did also hit everything with a bit of a light sanding to make sure that the paint would hold. My friends and I used alot of model paints to get the details on some things because they have such interesting colors.

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