Paint for Ameritowne buildings.

I can't give you specifics...but my wife, Connie, and I go spray paint crazy with any new building kit; especially these America-Town plastic building fronts.  Then we add details later with brush. 

I go buy inexpensive spray paints in various colors and paint everything immediately after removing from the box!

I try not to spray the building unless I need a desired brick color. I tend to use color acrylic washes, then age with a grimey black, than use chalks as necessary.

I initially sprayed mine.  Then I used acrylic washes for the mortar and weathering.  Matt

I use the 99 cent acrylic paints from Hobby Lobby or Michael's. For the trim, sometimes I try to match the colors on the box, sometimes I just pick colors I like. For brick mortar I use gray. There is a product called 'Roberts brick mortar' (or close to that) that is supposed to be real good for the mortar. I have never tried it but am planning to get some in the future. Will see if I can find a link and add to the post. Found it. It's here Roberts Brick Mortar

Do you buy the washes or is there a dilution recipe to make your own.  Thanks

For the gray mortar I think I tried thinning it with water, but ended up just using it as is and wiping it off. Maybe just a bit of thinning for the mortar, I may have used too much water, it didn't work well for me when thinned.  That's where the Roberts might be the thing to get? 

For everything else I just used the paint right out of the bottle. I have never used anything that was labeled as a wash. So far, I have never weathered anything, just painted it. Will have one to leave weathering to the more experienced. 

I think finding good brushes is tricky also. Some look just perfect until you use them, then you wish you would have gotten something else. I think my favorite ones so far have been in one of those large assortment packs for $10-$15. I bought a couple of nice brushes for probably $8-$10 each and those are the ones I liked the least. That is probably a more personalized selection as to what you like.  

I'm amazed at how well these lower-end kits look with a little detail!

MMBS:

First thing I do is wash the plastic with warm water and ajax/comet to get the oil off. Don't use liquid soap or dish washing liquid since they contain oils to make ones hands look pretty - you are just defeating the purpose of washing the plastic.

As mentioned earlier spray cans are probably the best way to start for a base color. I have tried brushes but I just end up moving paint around on the bare plastic. Once the first spray coat is on and cured brush work becomes much easier.

I spray first with the basic brick color I want. If I don't want mortar lines I will go to a 'textured' color. If I want to fill in mortar lines I use one of the 'normal' satin colors. After the paint cures for a few days I use Robert's Brick Mortar - it works as advertised. For small areas like the OGR stairway I will use light weight spackle. Simply rub it on with one finger and wipe with one of the other nine clean fingers. As mentioned above I will use a brush for all detail work.

One last item - Don't use Testors liquid over Krylon or Rustoleum – orange peel.

Please see below for some sample photos (OGR/DPM).

John C,

The AmeriTown kits are very nice. There are a lot to choose from as well as being able to order just some of the parts. Very reasonable pricing as well, and made by OGR. My LHS carries them, you may be able to find them locally also.  They are sturdy and well made and go together well. I have 3 or 4 and more planned.  I'm pretty inexperienced and they have all turned out better than I expected so far.  I would highly recommend them.

Model Structures,

I especially like the exteriors you have done in the 4th & 5th pictures down in your photos. Do you happen to remember what you used on them?

Thanks 

RTR:

Assuming you are referring to the kiln building - if I remember correctly I sprayed a based coat of flat black then followed it with satin cinnamon (rust-oleum). Because the building is a kiln I also added some grimy black powder in some areas then sealed everything with dulcoat.

Joe

Yes, it was the darker ones with some blackening, those look very nice. Was thinking that a couple of those would be a nice contrasting look to go with the others I have that all have the gray brick mortar lines. 

Never tried spraying any of them, I usually don't doo real well with spray paints. Have only painted mine with a brush so far. Yours look very nice though, encourages me to  give spraying painting them a try.

There are really some tremendously creative and talented folks around here, I appreciate looking at all the stuff that's posted. Hoping that if I keep hanging around here some of it will eventually rub off!

Thanks

MMBS:

"First thing I do is wash the plastic with warm water and ajax/comet to get the oil off. Don't use liquid soap or dish washing liquid since they contain oils to make ones hands look pretty - you are just defeating the purpose of washing the plastic..."

The above statement is not true. There is absolutely no oil in dish detergent. If you doubt that, just look up the MSDS sheet on Dawn or Palmolive. You do remember that dish detergent was use to remove the oil from birds that were caught in the oil spill several years ago. Dish detergent is specifically made to cut grease. I always wash plastic with dish detergent prior to painting and have never experienced any problems.

Dennis:

I may have painted a broad stroke by saying all detergents have oils in them. I don't know about Dawn or Palmolive.

If the detergent has fragrance as an ingredient it could consist of citrus oil. Sometimes the surfactant is coconut oil based.

Some products announce the fact they contain oils. "Mrs. Meyer's Clean Day provides hard-working, naturally derived ingredients and essential oils that are tough on dirt and grime, yet gentle on your home & the earth." 

What I should have said was why take the chance when one has Ajax or Comet.