Resin exhaust paint peeling off when masking

[lesthegringo]

Guys, I'm trying to do a nice paint job on the very nice Su-35 set Amigo do for the KittyHawk kit. I'm using liquid mask for the various petals and panels, however the paint (Gunze lacquer) is coming off with the mask. I washed the parts first, although I did not primer the parts as the surface detail is so fine I am afraid to lose it.

 

Do you guys have any advice on what I can do to get better adherence of the parts? The good thing of course is that I can strip the paint and start again, but don't want to keep bashing my head against the wall

Cheers

Les

[Wafu]

Hi Les,

 

I think you've answered your own question, the key is literally the fact that you've not primed the surface. Primer acts as a 'key' to secure the surface colour to the object you want to finish. If you use a good quality model primer you won't lose the detail on the exhausts. Even Tamiya rattle can won't degrade your surface if you don't spay layer upon layer.

 

So my advice is, and I'm no expert, light coats of a primer and leave to dry for a day or two, then apply your top colour. My personal preference is Alclad primer then Alclad metal paints on exhausts, I've found I've got good enough results for my builds.

 

Good luck.

[lesthegringo]

Thanks - as it happens I think I have some Alclad primer somewhere that I have never used, along with Alclad Chrome (again, never used)

 

I'll give that whirl

Cheers

 

Les

[Mike]

It could also have been that your washing didn't get all of the mould release agent, which is often a silicone spray.  It's tenacious stuff, so I usually bathe my parts (ooer! ) in a mixture of IPA and water in my ultrasonic cleaner.  If they're too big for the cleaner, I scrub them with neat IPA and wipe it all off with kitchen roll.  That seems to improve paint to resin adhesion, and primer over resin is a must IMHO

[lesthegringo]

Thanks for the replies

 

I have used resin parts before and hadn't had an issue with paint adhesion so I assumed that my washing technique was good enough, but live and learn, as they say. Also, to be fair, this was a much more intricate masking job, So, taking both replies points I have cleaned and primered using the Alclad white primer. As I had to remove the existing paint to start again from a clean surface, I used a local lacquer thinner that is similar to but slightly more aggressive than Gunze self leveling stuff. I tested the thinner on one of the resin pour blocks to make sure that it wasn't going to dissolve or attack it first, then washed off all the old paint. This also made sure the surface was cleaned again.

 

The thinners seemed to make the surface of the resin slightly tacky without attacking it, so I took a chance and put the Alclad primer over it. I'd never used the stuff before, and can't quite remember why I bought it and a bottle of Alclad Chrome (probably some hare brained scheme that I never actually followed through on). However I am impressed. It sprays really nicely from the bottle, and I sprayed some test pieces including a resin pour block that I hadn't cleaned, the one I did clean plus some styrene.

 

It dries quickly, and some messing around with the test pieces shows that it really has gone on stronger than the gunze alone, even on the uncleaned test block. It also goes down super thin, so my fears of obliterating the detail are unfounded. Stinks though, doesn't it...?

 

So is the Alclad one of those paints you let cure fully before applying over, or is it one of those where it's best to overpaint while still slightly soft?

 

Cheers

 

Les

[Nigel Bunker]

3 hours ago, Mike said:

a mixture of IPA and water

I trust you don't mean Indian Pale Ale, though I did know a pub to avoid where the landlord watered the beer.

[lesthegringo]

18 minutes ago, Nigel Bunker said:

I trust you don't mean Indian Pale Ale, though I did know a pub to avoid where the landlord watered the beer.

Just the one? You obviously didn't live in my town...

 

Les

[Mike]

1 hour ago, Nigel Bunker said:

I trust you don't mean Indian Pale Ale, though I did know a pub to avoid where the landlord watered the beer.

Isopropyl Alcohol, which pops up if you hover over the acronym (which has a dotted line under it), thanks to our handsome custom TLA system.

[lesthegringo]

right, had another go, and though they are not finished this is much better, no peeling or flaking of the paint. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for the help guys

 

Cheers

 

Les

[fewr9fkr9595]

They look really nice. Lots of variation 

 

Reminds me of when I had a titanium exhaust on my bike and the heat stained blue look was all the rage  

 

Nailed it mate. Perhaps a dark grimy wash next? 

[lesthegringo]

Thanks Tony, as you say some grime plus a couple of scuff marks will help. Got to do the inside too of course.

 

Ah, forgot- I have to do the rest of the model too!

 

cheers

 

Les

[Red Dot]

Mr Surfacer 1500 primer mixed 60/40 with their self levelling thinners is awesome. It's silky smooth and even comes in black, white and grey too so can be used as normal paint too

 

Andy

[lesthegringo]

Had a play with some dirt and grime to tone them down a bit, I think I'm getting to the point where there is little else I can really do. On to the rest of the model, and with some of Flankerman's advice and photos (thanks Ken!) I will have some fun with the tailplanes and engine covers next!

 

Cheers

 

Les

 

 

 

 

 

[tmeyer]

Gorgeous!