Yesterday I painted my tranfer caboose, using craft paints. There are lots of brushmarks. Should I sand the paint off and get a can of Rattle-can spray paint, or try to find someone in the area who has an Airbrush? Would getting better paints help with brushmarks? I have a testors weathering paint set in the little glass bottles, I painted with those without any brushmarks.
Thanks,
Harrison
Homeschooler living In upstate NY a.k.a Northern NY.
Modeling the D&H in 1978.
Route of the famous "Montreal Limited"
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Acrylic craft paints are thicker and different than the testors enamel paint. Try thinning the acrylic craft paint and try on a piece of scrap plastic
Terry
Inspired by Addiction
See more on my YouTube Channel
i thin craft paints with air brush medium to get a smother coat.
.
Along with what Terry suggest, a paint more formulated for plastic would give you better results, which is why the Testors are probably working better.
Craft paint might be fine for scenery type painting, or even buildings, and it can be sprayed with an airbrush, with thinning, by experimenting with distilled water and 71% or 91% alcohol as a thinner, to see what combination works best for the brand of paint your using.
I would remove the craft paint, and use a spray paint. Krylon seems to work good with plastic. Or if you have a hobby shop close by, Tamyia paints work good, spray cans or brush. You need a paint that will "flow" and let brush marks settle out.
Mike.
EDIT: Others posted while I typed, all with good advise!
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Craft paints are the only paint I use. Each bottle,color,brand, could be different.
I use window cleaner as thinner. I have found that the brush used is a huge factor.
I've come to learn that each brush will give different results.
I'm guessing you used the wrong brush with a too thick paint
Not only the paint needs to be the right one for your endeavour, you also need to invest into a set of quality brushes! You can´t expect a quality job with cheap tools!
Happy times!
Ulrich (aka The Tin Man)
"You´re never too old for a happy childhood!"
Hi Harrison,
1) You need to thin the paint. The best product ever made for thinning water soluable paints was "Thinner For Acrylic Paints by Delta Ceramcoat", but it is not made any longer. We used to call it Skill-In-A-Bottle for good reason. Do not thin paints with water, you will not get the best results. I have been trying products intended as airbrush thinners with OK results.
2) You must use a good brush. I use Windsor & Newton Series 7 brushes. They are the best, but they are in a gray area legally, are expensive, and sometimes hard to locate. At minimum use a 100% pure Kolinsky Sable brush.
3) Use Citadel or Vallejo paints. Cody's office this week actually has a section on where to find Vallejo paints. The pigment load in these paints is very high and ground very fine. The opacity is excellent even when thinned. They are durable and dry nicely.
If you want more information, just ask. I could go on about brush painting all day. My brush painting skills are superb, and I have all the awards you would ever need to back it up.
Feel free to ask anything on this subject.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
Harrison, the thought of sanding off the craft paint is a bit drastic. There is a strong possibility your detail could come off with the paint. If possible try soaking the model in a paint remover formulated for plastics. I have heard of using a Windex type glass cleaner to clean air brushes after spraying craft paint so, it may work on your model. Let the model soak in it for half a day and then scrub gently with an old, soft bristled toothbrush. The paint should lift off. You may have to repeat two or three times so, be patient.
What I know of craft paints is, they seem to be made for porous surfaces and are therefore very thick when compared to model paints. Spray painting is favored among most builders because it can produce a thin uniform coat that does not obscure detail. I've had better results with solvent-based paints because they can be thinned without beading up when brushed on a non-porous material such as plastic or metal. I hope this helps and, your model turns out to your satisfaction.
UNCLEBUTCHI use window cleaner as thinner.
I've heard of that before, for thinning for airbrushing. Never tried it.
Craft paints are strippable using ELO (did it several times), possibly alcohol as well (tried once with so-so results, too impatient so I used ELO to finish)I tend to use craft for smaller detail brush painting rather than large expanses, so I can get away with thinning a bit with water vs Liquidex thinner.As for Vallejo... Craft paint: 2oz (59ml) for 1.39 or so, vs. Vallejo (17ml) for 3.00 and up...
Harrison Yesterday I painted my tranfer caboose, using craft paints. There are lots of brushmarks. Should I sand the paint off and get a can of Rattle-can spray paint, or try to find someone in the area who has an Airbrush? Would getting better paints help with brushmarks? I have a testors weathering paint set in the little glass bottles, I painted with those without any brushmarks. Thanks,
It's true, it is possible to paint with a brush and not have them but I'm not experienced enough to know how to get away with no brush marks using a brush. I did paint the ends of the flat car part of an autorack that should have been TT yellow but wasn't, and used a brush and it came out good, but being a narrow area that was inbetween the cars, I risked it and it worked out.
I would think if you are painting a surface that has wide flat area's like a train car, using an air brush would eliminate the risk of brush marks. That is why I bought an air brush.
Rio Grande. The Action Road - Focus 1977-1983
While I've not painted freight cars, I did brush painting with structures. The first coat generated brush marks. The got brushed over with a 2nd coat.
Testors paint is quite expensive, but I use that for fine detail. Painting a car with paint is probably easier, faster, and cheaper using spray paint. You can probably tamper down the paint with dull coat. Anyone use that approach for cars?
riogrande5761It's true, it is possible to paint with a brush and not have them but I'm not experienced enough to know how to get away with no brush marks using a brush
Jim,I use a quality brush and l "dry" brush the paint on since this doesn't leave brush marks. You will need paper towels to remove excessive paint from the brush and I clean the brush frequently to keep it from getting stiff and leaving those ugly brush marks..
I favor the old Polly S paints but,found Tru Color paint works.
Larry
Conductor.
Summerset Ry.
"Stay Alert, Don't get hurt Safety First!"
Thanks for the suggestions guys, I have a testors weathering set, painted some plastic with some and no brushmarks. I will be getting a testors Red flat today at HobbyLobby. My mom doesn't like paint stripper, so will sand off the craft paint before using the good stuff.
Does anyone know if craft paint will come off with isopropyl alcohol? That might be more acceptable to moms.
Henry
COB Potomac & Northern
Shenandoah Valley
You could also try a strong cleaning solution that your mom has around the house, it might soften the paint enough to remove easily, like 409 or Fantastic.
Worth a try.
SeeYou190Windsor & Newton Series 7 brushes. They are the best, but they are in a gray area legally,
What does that mean? Are the handles made from mari-ju-wana bush stems?
BigDaddy Does anyone know if craft paint will come off with isopropyl alcohol? That might be more acceptable to moms.
if he didn't seal it, it should wash off with warm, soapy water. Leaving it soak for a few minutes should help, then a light scrubbing with a toothbrush should take it off.
as far as rubbing alcohol, I've had success with soaking the item in 91% alcohol for 24 hours, then removing the sealer and paint with a toothbrush. Other success stories vary.
I highly recommend against sanding off the paint. You will loose detail and it probably won't even get it all off.
Craft paints that aren't sealed will come off easy with an overnight soak in purple power or Castrol Super clean degreasers. I've stripped hundreds of acrylic painted miniatures with these chemicals
Other possibilities that you might already have at home to safely strip plastic.
-Rubbing alcohol
-Simple Green
-"LA's Totaly Awesome" concentrated degreaser (sold at dollar tree)
-PineSol, but don't leave it in too long as it can attack the plastic over time.
-Even putting it in a strong degreasing soap like dawn or laundry detergent overnight will proabably loosen it enough that you can just take an old toothbrush and rub off the paint.
As to your original question regarding craft paint, the advice of folks here has been pretty much spot-on. I use craft paint for alot of things (especially weathering and terrain) but for surfaces I want to be nice and smooth and I don't necessarily plan on weathering I head to the hardware store and buy a can of spray paint. There's a ridiculously good range of affordable, reliable satin finish colors at most hardware stores.
Visit the Chicago Valley Railroad for Chicago Trainspotting and Budget Model Railroading.
Oh, keep forgetting....if you don't have scraps of styrene, you can get a 48 pack of plastic spoons at the dollar store to use as practice for your brush stroke and experimenting with the thinning of your paints.
For thinning acrylics, I've had good results using Liquitex brand thinners
Yes it will. 91% will take it right off. 70% may work, too.
Gary
Got the testors paint. Just stripped the car using 91% Alcohol, took alot of rubbing, could be because I put on 7 coats of paint.. After dinner I will be painting it with the testors.
maxman SeeYou190 Windsor & Newton Series 7 brushes. They are the best, but they are in a gray area legally, What does that mean? Are the handles made from mari-ju-wana bush stems?
SeeYou190 Windsor & Newton Series 7 brushes. They are the best, but they are in a gray area legally,
It, apparently, has to do with the actual fur used in the bristles and the interaction of various export certificates with endangered species treaties.
The Windsor and Newton Series 7 brushes are made from very select furs from a weasel that has various protections under international treaties and trade agreements.
These weasels also need to be harvested in Russia, which adds even more complication. Issues with dealing in animal fur also come into play.
They are available, but not all the time, and not from all suppliers.
Like Daco Strong decal setting solution, sometimes you just need to go around the front door and mail order from a small brick and mortar hobby shop in Europe.
Like Cuban Cigars, once you have tried them, nothing else will ever be good enough. Sometimes it seems Cuban Cigars are easier to get than paint brushes and decal setting solution.
Some have had positive things to say about the Harbor Freight airbrush. I used one when I had to send my Badger back for warranty repair (after 20 years) I didn't particularly care for it, but it got the job done and money is money. You shouldn't buy what you can't afford.
I painted it with the testors enamel paint, it worked a lot better. I think one more coat will do it, then on to the roof and details.
Harrison,
Two comments that echo what has been said:
Use better paint for this - citadel, Vallejo, testors, etc. they go on much smoother when thinned and they cover better. I have always used the best paint I can afford because the cost of painting is your time- for our uses, a bottle of paint can last a long time, making the cost easier to manage.
The standard method for this type of painting is to use an airbrush. The coats go on thinner, cover better and ultimately you have more control over the final finish. On a smooth, flat surface it is very hard to get a smooth, thin coat with a brush. When you get the paint thin enough to lie down, you need lots of coats to cover and it gets too thick. BTW: I brush paint all the time. For this work, I use an airbrush.
Good luck with the project,
Guy
see stuff at: the Willoughby Line Site
Ok- I put the seccond coat on, looking a lot better.
Can't wait to see it!