Airbrishing / Painting white properly

[Bill1974]

Hello very clever modelling folk.

 

I have been musing with this question / problem I have for a little while now.

 

How to spray or brush paint white and get the beautiful thin paint layer that I see on others model aircraft weapons / rockets / missiles etc.

 

I have tried everything I can think of, thinning the paint, used various manufactures of white and mixed them together (with success but not in terms of a thin fully white white)

 

How are you amazing modellers doing that? 

 

I read peoples wip and rfi and I try to emulate and read and watch videos and think hard and try try try but I cannot get the same thin white, crisp and clean finish.

 

Whenever I have come to a new skill to learn or technique to try I have usually made good progress and had success, not stella success but better than awful or average.

 

What am I not doing?

[dnl42]

I find that white and yellow both require a build up from many thin coats. I will always spray a flat color to build coverage. If I want a gloss coat, that will only be applied after I have full coverage with the flat. You could also use a white primer. As I use Mr.Color, all those coats are very thin.

[daneel]

I had the same problem as you, white wouldn't cover at all, unless I get plenty of coats on, but that would obscure all the fine detail. It would be especially frustrating while painting sidewinders in 1/72! Then I discovered gunze white primer 1500, and it covers perfectly, in thin coats. Now I only use white paint to add to other paints to lighten them, and I never use white paint directly on a model.

Edited May 30, 2023 by daneel

[Greg B]

Just painted a Draken all white prior to the red bits. Top tip as above is the gunze white primer. I decant it into a dropper bottle, add a bottle of the tamiya gloss white lacquer (to get a semi gloss finish) and then thin down 50/50 with levelling thinners and some tamiya lacquer retarder. 

 

First coat is thinned even further, misted on very lightly in order to provide a keying surface. And then further light coats to build up, letting them flash off for a bout 10 - 15 minutes between. 

[theplasticsurgeon]

4 hours ago, Bill1974 said:

Hello very clever modelling folk.

 

I have been musing with this question / problem I have for a little while now.

 

How to spray or brush paint white and get the beautiful thin paint layer that I see on others model aircraft weapons / rockets / missiles etc.

 

I have tried everything I can think of, thinning the paint, used various manufactures of white and mixed them together (with success but not in terms of a thin fully white white)

 

How are you amazing modellers doing that? 

 

I read peoples wip and rfi and I try to emulate and read and watch videos and think hard and try try try but I cannot get the same thin white, crisp and clean finish.

 

Whenever I have come to a new skill to learn or technique to try I have usually made good progress and had success, not stella success but better than awful or average.

 

What am I not doing?

First,  don't use enamel.  The oil content will cause it to yellow with age.

Here's two Dominies that I've built, about 15 years apart. Both airbrushed with enamel.

 

For spraying white, I tend to use an Acrylic aerosol.  No oil content - no yellowing.  And beautifully smooth finish.

 

My favourite being Halfords Appliance White.  I warm up the can in a jug full of warm water, shake well, and usually apply to 2 or 3 models - but try to use it all in one go.

For white undersides of military aircraft, I tend to use the lightest grey that I can find - instead of white.

 

 

[speedy]

The same as TPS above. Halfords gloss appliance white is phenomenal. I use it for big areas and some kits nearly 15 years old are still brite white. It's got to be warm though, so I heat it up by letting it stand in a sink of hot water and shake it and put it back in. I've found this me5hod stops orange peel in any form. For the detail stuff as others a primer followed by spraying thin coats of white. I tend to use the Revell little blue square pots with decent success.

[Planebuilder62]

Tamiya laquer white is also fantastic, sprays well and does not need many coats. It dries in no time as well.

regards Toby