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Mixing Paints


Modelman9912

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Should not be a problem provided you use the same brand as not all acrylic paints are compatible. You may need to experiment to get the right sheen. 

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1 hour ago, Modelman9912 said:

Can you mix gloss black and flat black acrylic paints to get a semi-gloss black?  Or will this ruin the paint?

I wouldn´t worry too much. Paint it black (whatever one) and then use a satin (semi-gloss) finish varnish coat.

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Whatever base paint you use, if you want to apply decals, its best to do so on a gloss finish and will probably use a gloss varnish for this. Then when the model is finished you will want to apply the appropriate gloss, silk or matt varnish, so the paint you start with is largely irrelevant.

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2 hours ago, Ratch said:

Whatever base paint you use, if you want to apply decals, its best to do so on a gloss finish and will probably use a gloss varnish for this. Then when the model is finished you will want to apply the appropriate gloss, silk or matt varnish, so the paint you start with is largely irrelevant.

If you mix matt and gloss paint of the same color/manufacturer, you will get a nice satiny semi-gloss paint which will be smooth enough that you will not have to apply a gloss varnish before applying decals.

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4 hours ago, Ratch said:

It is best to apply decals to a gloss surface.

This is a myth propagated by the sellers of gloss varnishes. I refer you this video by Paul Budzik, a man whose models and modeling techniques rank among the best. His video on surface primers for scale models is also relevant.

 

 

Edited by Space Ranger
Add'l. reference.
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2 hours ago, Space Ranger said:

This is a myth propagated by the sellers of gloss varnishes.

Probably not, sseing as a large proportion of gloss varnish used is floor polish & I'm not aware of any floor polish manufacturers promoting their goods as modelling aids. ;)

That is an interesting video from someone obviously a master at the game & I wouldn't take exception to anything he says, other than what works for Paul is possibly rather more effort than many of us will wish to go too & an extra layer of gloss is an acceptable trade off for most/many of us. I use Klear as a bedding agent rather than set & sol on a gloss finish, Paul uses set & sol on what is obviously a very smooth surface. IMHO I think the difference come down to small degrees of definition. Maybe what  @Ratch is saying above is applying decals to a matt surface is best avoided, as well demo'd by Mr Budzik.

Steve.

Edited by stevehnz
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I remember a local modeller who never used gloss paint before decaling, what he did was to polish all painted surfaces with very fine abrasive sponges. The results were fantastic, but I don't know if I'd have the patience to get such a finish before decaling.

Back to the original question, no problem in mixing gloss and matt paint from the same line of products, done that plenty of times myself. If the paints are from different brands, then better do a test first.

Said that, I personally prefer to simply add gloss clear paint to flat back to achieve a semigloss finish, or with acrylics even just add Klear or similar products to the flat black.

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As an aside to this discussion, the strip cutter that Paul Budzik shows toward the end of his video, about 8:36-39, looks like a useful device, is it a home built device or is it available? I'm picking the former & thinking of how to construct one.

Steve.

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1 hour ago, stevehnz said:

As an aside to this discussion, the strip cutter that Paul Budzik shows toward the end of his video, about 8:36-39, looks like a useful device, is it a home built device or is it available? I'm picking the former & thinking of how to construct one.

Steve.

why not ask him Steve?  He is a member of Britmodeller

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