Begginers basic help!

[MichaelT]

Really basic question...I feel foolish for asking

So first model after 30 odd years, I initially started looking for a Porsche 996 cabriolet, but after looking at the kits available nowadays I fell in love with the italeria alfa romeo 8c 2300 roadster. So whilst waiting for its arrival I've been doing a bit of research into the car engine colours etc. Which now has led me onto paints.. oh dear can of worms! So where do I start😁?

Is there a reccomend manufacturer of metallics for the engine, realistic colours brass iron aluminium colours? And the best general paint for the other bits?  Adhesive recommendations?

Sorry ultra basic questions I know... so the plan is so far to assemble the kit and spend some time researching and finding missing details that can be added. Hopefully that will tie in with my real day job as an antique restorer and keep me even busier!

Any other advice things to avoid, buy, do etc would be greatly received... regards Mike

 

[Paul H]

41 minutes ago, MichaelT said:

Which now has led me onto paints.. oh dear can of worms! So where do I start😁?

Hi and welcome!

 

Do you have a preference for enamel or acrylic paint?  Will you be painting by hand with a brush, or using an airbrush?  If the former, it's still worth using spraycans for the larger areas and especially the bodywork.  These are all things to think about, and which affect which paint range to use.  I personally use Halfords spray cans for bodywork (and often matt / satin black cans for the chassis / underside), and then mostly Humbrol enamels for the rest, applied by brush, but am slowly switching to Humbrol acrylics as they are water based.  However, many modellers use an airbrush for pretty much everything.

 

In terms of engine part colours, perhaps have a look through some of the build threads on here, as many will explain which paints were used.

 

Pretty sure that the Italeri Alfa is still polystyrene, so any polystyrene cement would do (e.g. Humbrol, Revell, Tamiya) but don't use it for any clear parts, as it will fog them.  Regular PVA can be used there, as it doesn't affect the plastic and also dries clear.

 

 

Edited January 23, 2021 by Paul H

[MichaelT]

Cheers for the reply Paul

Was kind of thinking along the lines of halford rattle cans for primers etc then air brushing larger parts body work and the like and detailing with brushes after, luckily I'm just in the process of building a  commercial spray booth with drying for work, I knew it would come in handy!! 

Acrylics I think is probably the way forward I may buy a few from various manufacturers and see how they go ...

So more studying is required!

Mike

[Six97s]

22 minutes ago, MichaelT said:

Cheers for the reply Paul

Was kind of thinking along the lines of halford rattle cans for primers etc then air brushing larger parts body work and the like and detailing with brushes after

 

That's pretty much what I do, but I have to spray in the garage and I don't have the space for a permanent airbrush setup, so I generally use Halfords or Tamiya spray cans for bodies.   I'm used to using Humbrol enamels on interiors, engines and chassis - old hat these days, but it works for me.  I use silver mixed with a few drops of matt white or black for metallic finishes.

 

Rarely, if I have time and it's warm out, I'll airbrush Tamiya acrylics and Alclad lacquers for metallics, but generally it's too much of a faff.  I'm not going to spend all day masking parts or setting up and cleaning the airbrush when I can brush paint it in a few minutes. 

 

As Paul said, PVA is OK to use on clear parts.   I use Johnson's Klear to coat and fix headlamp lenses.  For general assembly, I use MEK - you can buy a litre bottle for about £10, decant some into a small jar and apply with a clean paint  brush (or refill and Humbrol/Tamiya liquid cement bottle).

[Spiny]

Pretty much the same process here, Halfords primer and then a colour coat of whatever (tend to go for what has the right colour, but if you're doing metallic it's usually a better idea to go with a model paint as the flakes should be smaller), before a final coat of clear. Like your plan, I do the smaller parts and details with the brush - much less faff and still gives decent results.

 

I know everyone has their favourites for clear parts, but just to throw another in the mix I tend to use crystal clear UV resin (you can find loads on Amazon and other sites) which is marketed at crafts. The advantage of this is that you can get the part in place, then set the resin with a UV torch to hold it in place.