The Sprue and You

[Didymus]

In all the stuff I've seen and read, I've never figured out what sequence most modelers use when painting parts that come on a sprue. Do you guys...

1. A. Prime, B. Paint, C. Clip

or:

2. A. Clip, B. Prime, C. Paint

or:

3. A. Prime, B. Clip, C. Paint

?

[MPWR]

Clip, cleanup, test fit, modify if needed, paint.

Always test fit parts before painting- hard to do when still on sprue.

I only prime bodies, and I would certainly never prime a sprue.

[da_ashman]

I usually, Clip, Clean, Test & then Paint. If there are alot of spruces & they are all molded in white (Like Most American companies) & most parts need to be black then ill Prime all parts on the spruces, then clip, & then pay special attentsion to the "major parts"

[ZoomZoomMX-5]

For me it depends on the level of finish I intend for a particular model. I only prime bodies, chassis (if body color...often they're a primed w/some fogged body color from the sides) & sometimes seats after they're glued together and smoothed out, to make sure all sanding marks are removed and often to get the base colors of all interior parts the same shade before painted in a color. A lot of kits have parts molded in similar colors as they are painted, I use hobby paints on them and they really don't all need primer at all...just adds more paint thickness and unnecessary finishing work if there's any undue primer texture.

If it's a typical curbside, I paint many parts still on the sprue, using the sprue for the clips to hold them while painting. Makes it easy to paint in batches, some parts flat black, some semigloss, some in metallic shades, etc. Then I clip and if it's particularly visible, dress the area & touch up the paint. It's amazing how much is hidden when built, and how easily you can make the part look pretty good w/a few minor touchups. Some parts, like exhaust, I'll clip and do a modicum of parting line removal, before painting in exhaust-like metalizer colors.

If it's a contest-level build, then it's clip, dress every part...remove all mold lines, flash & ejector pin marks, test-fit, paint, weather...whatever it takes. I don't do this often, but it's a fun diversion from my usual "assembly line" style of building models quickly...I have a ton of fun on simpler builds, getting them finished, they still look great, and I move on to the next one. My enjoyment doesn't require they all get an IPMS-level rectal/pelvic exam every time I look at them

I'm going all-out on a new "out of box" build...to make it as perfectly paint detailed & prepared as possible, hopefully to be competitive in OOB contest categories (and clean as a whistle for those awful exams ). No parts will be painted on the sprues this time

[Entau]

i usually clip>clean up mold line>lightly prime>paint or
clip>paint (usually very small parts without any cleaning neccessary )

i also testfit parts before painting, its really annoying to discover that the part doesnt fit when everything was painted

[Didymus]

Thanks for all the great replies!

About glue joints:

Do you glue painted joints, or only apply glue to an unpainted joint?

If you're using solvent-type glues like Tamiya Extra Thin or Testors Plastic Cement, do you paint the joints first and then scrape and glue them?

Or do you mask the joint before painting and remove the mask when you glue? If so, do you use one of the liquid masks? Or other stuff, like Blue-Tac?

When you're gluing small parts, are there any neat tricks to prevent glue from getting on visible surfaces?

DDMS

[Didymus]

Originally Posted by ZoomZoomMX-5

My enjoyment doesn't require they all get an IPMS-level rectal/pelvic exam every time I look at them

Umm, from painful experience I know what PMS is, but what is IPMS? And how do I avoid it?

DDMS

[ZoomZoomMX-5]

Originally Posted by Didymus

Umm, from painful experience I know what PMS is, but what is IPMS? And how do I avoid it?

DDMS

Seriously? Don't join them or go to their contests/shows...ask ScaleMaster; he's had some painful experiences from them himself

IPMS Website

[ZoomZoomMX-5]

About glue joints:

Do you glue painted joints, or only apply glue to an unpainted joint?

Depends...if it's a sub-assembly of parts that are the same color when finished, I'll glue them first, then paint. If not, I use superglue, Formula 560 canopy glue, or 5 min. epoxy carefully on painted parts.

If you're using solvent-type glues like Tamiya Extra Thin or Testors Plastic Cement, do you paint the joints first and then scrape and glue them?

I only use those solvent cements long before I begin painting. They're brilliant for bodywork and modifications. Less so for small parts. There are much easier glues to use on painted parts.

Or do you mask the joint before painting and remove the mask when you glue? If so, do you use one of the liquid masks? Or other stuff, like Blue-Tac?

I never mask glue joints, not necessary. I mask areas that need contrasting colors or different paints.

When you're gluing small parts, are there any neat tricks to prevent glue from getting on visible surfaces?

Use Formula 560 Canopy glue, or Microscale Krystal Klear, or Future, or 5 min. epoxy, or Tamiya X22 clear, all of them are water-soluble when wet, so you wipe away any excess...and the excess doesn't damage paint or plastic.

If you look at the workbenches of the best modelers, they have a lot of various glues that are used for particular stages of build and placement on the model. No glue should be considered a "one size fits all" solution.