You answered your own question....RED PAINT....Red and yellow are the hardest colors to get to cover an area especially with a brush. It's time to invest in an airbrush and even then, an airbrush is hard to get red or yellow to completely cover an area without a few more coats added. I have to paint light coats and let it dry in between coats whenever i'm using red or yellow paint to cover an area completely.
Badger paints aren't the best either. My LHS has them on sale right now to get them out of his shop because of the poor performance he's come across with customer complaints about the paint....chuck
Modeling B&O- Chessie Bob K. www.ssmrc.org
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Ditto on the washing plastic parts in a dish detergent or something similar.
I built a bulk oil tank this week also that revealed necessary washing before it will accept paint.
Im beginning to resolve to wash all plastic parts from now on in dish soap and drying before construction. The amount of "Crap" they contain from the factory is increasing if such a problem is possible. Finger prints, grease, oils or whatever it is.
The situation improved when I would paint a bit and then when brush started to dry (Within a few minutes) I dipped that brush into the water dish and cleared it. Then dried it mostly. It improved the performance greatly. But Im still not happy with this paint for brush painting.
I'll be able to finish the project with acceptable results but it will require weathering to make it good.
I think it is the paint pooling and the surface refusal in spots that is not generating good performance. I usually try anything once anyhow.
Thanks for the ideas!
Jay
C-415 Build: https://imageshack.com/a/tShC/1
Other builds: https://imageshack.com/my/albums
I have the same problems (except for the ware of the brush thing) when brush painting with Badger and agree with you that the paint seems best suited for the airbrush. I have great results there!
As for the dry time issue; try a little retarder mixed with the paint you are using. Mixing a little, not the whole bottle. This should extend the time a bit and perhaps will help with the brush clotting.
And...Just an extra thought about the pooling. You mention keeping / rotating the brushes in water to keep the clotting issue down. Be careful that you brushes are not wet to the point of thinning the paint.
Ive been hand painting for over 30 years. I started off with the classic tiny glass bottles of blob makers and worked my way to Tamiya paints that were just the best.
I tried a bottle of Badger Model Flex Paint this week with a redstable brush of different sizes. The brushes were ok but after the second building was finished I was surprised at how much the brush appeared torn up or frayed. Maybe Im using brushes past thier effective lifespan but it is amazing.
A second mystery is that the plastic peices seem to refuse the paint and pool it away from certain spots requiring a second coat to get it.
A third mystery is it does not seem to clean very well with water if left on for more than a few minutes. Ive taken to keeping a dish of water and throwing the different brushes into it when it's part in the overall painting is done.
I think I post here because I get the feeling Im playing with Airbrush paint with a brush and should stick with Tamiya instead.
What do you think? It's a nice color and would hate to subistute it.