paint

[alecras234]

Hi i've painted my red arrows Gnat but i think the paint is too thick. i used humbrol 19 acrylic but is wasnt sticking so i put a few coats on.  Does it look ok?  What do you think?

[andy wood]

Put it in a bag full of oven cleaner and leave overnight. This will strip the paint. once clean, spray on some Halfords white primer. gently rub that coat down once dry then apply several thin coats of red using a good brush. several thin coats is far better than one thick 

[dancho]

It's a bit lumpy. Paint wasn't thin enough.

[R159]

When you say wasn't sticking do you mean it was going patchy as you brushed it on?  If so this was probably the mound release on the plastic, next time give the kit a wash in warm soapy water before construction.  Humbrol paints need a bit of thinning before use, the acrylic ones can be thinned with a bit of water.

[alecras234]

i soaked the sprues in warm soapy water before i built the model,  i don't understand why the paint wasnt sticking to the model.   The paint went on but then disappeared, the splodge of paint i put on suddenly shrinked to almost nothing.    i waited for that to dry then applied paint again, same thing so then i added water which was a little better but still didn't stick properly.   I've also found that humbrol 34 white, is the same doesnt stick, why?????   What can i do now about my Gnat paintwork?  scrap it and start again.

[R159]

Oh

 

I think you can put a drop of washing up liquid in the paint mix to break the surface tension.  Other than rubbing the paint down...not easy on a small model and then a coat of clear gloss, sounds like the oven cleaner thing is the way forward and start again 

[Crossofiron1971]

Keep persisting mate and follow the above, you will get there...

[Mitch K]

3 hours ago, alecras234 said:

i soaked the sprues in warm soapy water before i built the model,  i don't understand why the paint wasnt sticking to the model.   The paint went on but then disappeared, the splodge of paint i put on suddenly shrinked to almost nothing.    i waited for that to dry then applied paint again, same thing so then i added water which was a little better but still didn't stick properly.   I've also found that humbrol 34 white, is the same doesnt stick, why?????   What can i do now about my Gnat paintwork?  scrap it and start again.

This sounds like oil or silicone - they repel water-based acrylics and they paint sort of pulls in on itself.

 

I'd be tempted to strip her down as described above, gently sand back and clean off the dust and grot, then prime with Halfords/Duplicolor spraycan, and consider even picking up a car spray in the right colour. I've tried handpainting gloss red and it was no picnic. A touch-up spray might be an easier fix.

[PhantomBigStu]

need to prime for the most part with acrylics, especially colours like gloss red 

[phildagreek]

No panic mate. Read the advice above, it can probably be saved. If not, put it in the burn dump and start another. Put it down to the learning curve. 

 

If you have any doubts or questions, shout out, there's tons of info on here.

 

Enjoy it.

[Mark4700]

Persevere with it. You will learn a lot from this. 

[alecras234]

for brush painting with acrylics do i dip the brush into paintpot and get a little bit of paint and do that eachtime or do i put paint onto a jamjar lid water it down?  I still don't understand why some paint won't stick.

[perdu]

You should follow the excellent advice above and when the Gnat is ready to paint put a couple of blobs of colour into a small container and thin it down with some water until it is slightly as liquid as milk

 

We often say mix paint to milky thickness for airbrushing but I like to do it if I'm brushing too

 

Don't blob it onto the surface, gently stroke the paint across the model keeping it thin

 

It may take several thin layers to complete the paint job

 

Don't rush it

 

Artists suppliers sell liquids that can make using acrylics easier, look for Flow Enhancers. Most artists paint makers do these under various names

 

Good luck

[alecras234]

I decided to start the build again so i bought it again.  I've finished the build but im worried about painting because the supplied paint number 19 red doesn'y stick.  What can i do to get the paint to stick?   i think 19 red is gloss paint.   I bought number 60 red which is matt paint, would that do for the red arrow gnat?

[Mattlow]

Hi

 

Some people think the paints supplied with kits, in the gift sets is pretty poor quality (I have no idea as I don't use them), The Humbrol acrylic in the square pots seems to get quite good reviews for ease of use. Getting a good all red finish isn't the easiest for anyone.

 

Some useful links:

 

http://www.airfix.com/us-en/support/humbrol-painting-tips

 

http://www.humbrol.com/us-en/support/how-to-use-humbrol-product-videos - some videos here that show how to use various products including acrylic paints with a brush.

 

Matt paint is easier to brush on than gloss, so give it a go. If you want, you can wipe the surfaces down with a bit of isopropyl alcohol which will dissolve grease and release agents and provide a good surface on which to paint. I also noted that Humbrol state that their paints should only be used at room temperature.

 

Paint is a hard subject... so many variables and some folk will love a paint others loathe... Keep trying..

 

Matt

[alecras234]

i've got vellejo grey primer, shall i brush some of that on, will that help the paint stick, will the primer cover the panel lines?

[goggsy]

1 hour ago, Mattlow said:

Hi

 

Some people think the paints supplied with kits, in the gift sets is pretty poor quality (I have no idea as I don't use them), The Humbrol acrylic in the square pots seems to get quite good reviews for ease of use. Getting a good all red finish isn't the easiest for anyone.

 

Some useful links:

 

http://www.airfix.com/us-en/support/humbrol-painting-tips

 

http://www.humbrol.com/us-en/support/how-to-use-humbrol-product-videos - some videos here that show how to use various products including acrylic paints with a brush.

 

Matt paint is easier to brush on than gloss, so give it a go. If you want, you can wipe the surfaces down with a bit of isopropyl alcohol which will dissolve grease and release agents and provide a good surface on which to paint. I also noted that Humbrol state that their paints should only be used at room temperature.

 

Paint is a hard subject... so many variables and some folk will love a paint others loathe... Keep trying..

 

Matt

 

I'd 101% agree with this and really don't understand why Airfix insist on supplying their kits with this abysmal paint. I went to an Airfix build and take thing with the kids a few years back and they were supplied with those little pots of paints. I watched my kids and the others there become really disillusioned with the whole process as a result of trying to use this stuff and having exactly the same problems that you describe. 

 

If i were you I'd do what others have suggested and strip the thing down, repaint with some decent stuff in thin layers, and finish with a gloss coat again in the thin. For brush painting give me Humbrol enamels over the acrylic every time; I think that the spirit base of the enamel makes it more likely to key onto the plastic than the acrylic.

 

Please don't get disillusioned with this, it really isn't your fault. The best thing to do with those little pots is take them into the garden and shoot them with an air rifle.

[alecras234]

Here is my Gnat with two thin coats of number 60 red and 19 red, if still to put 2nd coat of 19 red but so far does it look ok compared to my last paint job where the paint was blobby?

[alecras234]

Here is my red arrows gnat with 2nd coat of 19 red brushed on thinnly, does it look ok?                

[qn30jEkPz7]

Getting there - probably looks much better in real life as we're seeing a huge close up but in real life it is a tiny model. Like folks said - a primer makes a world of difference to making the paint stick and the small pots that come with the starter sets are difficult to work with. maybe even another coat in spots where the grey plastic is just shining through under the flash

[alecras234]

i dont want to cover the detail panel lines.