Airbrushing: first attempt

Brad,

What kind of paint are you usin g? Malcolm

 

 

 

What kind of paint, what color? Was it primed or brass? Normally I use two or three light coats.

Do yourself a favor and practice airbrushing on:

 

1) a white piece of cardboard to learn how much the paint covers, how far away to hold the brush, etc.

 

2) a cheap freight car (HO or some junkbox Lionel piece)

 

BEFORE you try to paint a brass freight car.

Was plain brass Bob I figured I can strip it Paint was PRR Tuscan testors I have scale coat too I cut it with thinner per instructions but it was way too thin

Brad,

I use SCII whenever possible. I thin it 80-20 with regular paint thinner and follow Railroad Guy's advice and apply 2-3 thin coats. SC also gives you a wonderful finish for decals.

 

For GM&O red I use Testors 1104. I have to thin it about 60-40 because it is very thick out of the bottle.

 

Practice on anything for a while. I primed old spray paint cans to learn how to airbrush. I also have a 5 gal bucket of HO stuff I ruined trying to learn. It still sits in my shop to remind me not to get to overconfident.

 Malcolm

Luckily, lately. I have just been doing structures, and get away with rattle cans, sometimes overspraying one shade on another to get a different tone, and weathering

with acrylics.  And with a freelance prototype, cars have not had to be painted a

prototype color, and shade can vary as branchline shop would accomplish.  It has been

a while since I fooled with the sprayer, its "gun"cleaning, the bottled paint solidifying, etc.,

BUT for a prototype color, you are stuck, with all the above plus PRACTICE.  The Floquil

spray cans of prototype color seemed to be useable for one run, and then the valves clogged, but haven't seen those for a while.  They did not seem cost effective either.  I

have never used Scalecoat so can't comment on it.  Neither it nor Floquil are convenient

for me to run out and get as it is not stocked for miles. 

Brad,

 

You'll find that different color paints have different covering abilities depending on the amount of opaque pigment in them. Reds and yellows are usually in the poor covering group. Just use multiple light sprays.

 

Jim

I practiced again today and am getting a better feel for the brush, dispersal etc.     I will strip the hopper tommorrow as well.

 

Here is a thought: if I prime with black, won't PRR red be deeper in color?

 

As I look at the model, the PRR has a pink cast on bare brass.

 

Thx

I would not use black primer except and only if you are trying to darken the top coat...I'd use (light) gray, or in the case of PRR Tuscan, maybe a red primer...but I am unfamiliar with what primer is compatible with a Scalecoat overcoat....hope somebody on here who is experienced with it can tell you what primer to use with brass and under the Scalecoat!!?  (unless, of course, you are using a Scalecoat primer)

Well, it could of course be me.    I went to the scalecoat website and it says you can spray right on brass....

 

I will still try both MOW gray and black to see how it all goes.    hoping someone chimes in!

Brad is correct, neither Scalecoat I or Scalecoat II paint requires a primer. 

Application instructions.  From the Weaver website.

I had done a picture file of my air brush with all the necessary items a year of so ago.

Air brush slideshow

On brass, I use Scalecoat thinned very little. I bake the finished model at 100 degrees. Scalecoat II is made for plastic. Weather if desired then clear coat with Dullcoat or Deft finishing paint.

 

Frank

You don't have to have a primer with SC1. That's all I use, however, I still shoot a gray primer on the brass as any color/tarnish in the brass will be evened out.

 

I bake at 180 for 1 hour. Here is the last car I finished. Remember two or three coats are better then one heavy one.

 

R r What grey primer do you use please?

Cheap Walmart auto primer. Yes, it works spray a light coat and let 24 hours before masking / painting. Everyone has there own way but this has worked for me.

Some people use Floquil to paint brass and you need to primer before painting. Floquil changed from a lacquer base to a enamel base a few years ago so if you have some old bottles, the logo is different between the old and new. You cannot use Dio-Sol with the new. I believe Dio-Sol has been dropped in favor of the new multi purpose thinner.

 

Frank

SCII Oxide red on white styrene, no primer.

 

CO Highrailer - If the valves on your rattle cans are clogging turn them over and spray until it runs clear. And then LEAVE them inverted. Store them UPSIDE DOWN. I paint everything with rattle cans and since I learned this trick I have never had a problem. Good luck!

Some basic painting tips I have picked up from my Hot Rod building days....

 

Start with a clean,dry surface...be sure and wash the part before painting it I like to use Dawn...some parts come with mold release or a packing lube residue on them.

 

Test your paint gear before you use it, I like to use the white cardboard mentioned earlier trick...adjust your spray pattern and percentages...

 

I primer everything...dark primer if I want a deep dark top coat, gray light gray or white for a more lighter effect...also, for reds I add either black or orange to change the tint... there are many variations of red.

 

lastly I like to out a dull coat over the finished car weathered or not...it gives it the realistic prototype look...

 

just some more random thoughts to help...

 

spaceghost...