HELP.... TS45 pearl clear

Hey fellow members, I am going to be spraying a model with TS45 pearl clear... and I ahve a couple questions. First off, do I need to use a base coat with this paint or will spraying over the tamiya white primer be sufficient to give it a good colour??
My second question is, how critical is spraying the pearl in the same direction on the body.... I usually spray down the length of the vehicle, but I am wondering which direction I should paint the tailgate of the truck in??? the model is an AMT monster truck USA-1. If the tailgate is sprayed in a different direction,will the effect of the pearl be different?


Thanks in advance for any answers you may provide...
By the way this is going to be an xmas gift for my 3yr old son who is crazier about vehicles then I was.... scary:). He has given me the desire to get back to building. I will open a progress thread once i get the paint on the body!!

Pearl Clear is exactly that, a clear which works best when laid over a proper basecoat. I'd recommend spraying some Tamiya Pure White first, achieve a glossy finish, and then coat it with the Pearl.

As for directions, I've never had any issues with the direction of spray affecting the pearl effect. Then again, you should really be spraying perpendicular to the surface.

Oops my mistake TS45 Pearl white, not pearl clear..... Yes but One can paint the tailgate top to bottom or from left to right.... I hope I make sense. I also bought the pearl clear as well :)

I dont think you'll have a problem painting L to R or R to L. During the second coat, you can paint top to bottom. Just get even coverage.

That's what i was thinking, I was hoping to see my neighbour out hes a professional body guy...but he's not around... I will hopefully get some paint down on the body today.... need to do a few minor fixes of imperfections on the body, and it will be good to go.... I haven't built in 3 yrs, sure feels great to be getting back into it!!

Use Tamiya white primer as the base. If it's Pearl White paint it will benefit from white primer. Apply the paint in light coats and to make sure you get even coverage you can apply each successive coat the opposite way to the last if you prefer. Although it's not entirely necessary....

Just did it for a yamaha motorcycle... white primer, pearl white and pearl clear ... it turned out excellent!

Make sure you get a very even white primer or gloss white base before spraying the pearl white, it will help trust me. As for spraying direction models are pretty small & forgiving esp with an aerosol can.

Thanks for all the input, weather and time permitting I should lay down the colour coat this week. I just have to fix a couple blemishes on the truck box. Ive used the other tamiya colours, just never the pearl...they spray great...so i'm not worried that way at all

Hey fellow members, I am going to be spraying a model with TS45 pearl clear... and I ahve a couple questions. First off, do I need to use a base coat with this paint or will spraying over the tamiya white primer be sufficient to give it a good colour??
My second question is, how critical is spraying the pearl in the same direction on the body.... I usually spray down the length of the vehicle, but I am wondering which direction I should paint the tailgate of the truck in??? the model is an AMT monster truck USA-1. If the tailgate is sprayed in a different direction,will the effect of the pearl be different?


Thanks in advance for any answers you may provide...
By the way this is going to be an xmas gift for my 3yr old son who is crazier about vehicles then I was.... scary:). He has given me the desire to get back to building. I will open a progress thread once i get the paint on the body!!
Dean - My experience with applying pearls is to ensure that you apply thin coats to achieve even coverage - and when painting 1:1 we were always taught to spray in a criss-cross (X) pattern - that way the light reflectivity is equal to the eye no matter what angle the painted object is viewed from. The best advice I can give is to maintain the speed of the painting stroke so that the density of the pearl is equally applied - try not to spray to thick in one location - Hope that helps you - John

Well i laid the white primer down, and gave the truck light even coats of Pearl white.... it seems to have turned out great. Im going to let it sit for a few days then Im going to lay down some pearl clear. It turned out well, but thats expected when using tamiya sprays. I will have some pics later this weekend. I will be away for a couple days. will start my progress thread once I am back.

Thanks to everyone for their tips, they are greatly appreciated.