Painting pre-coloured bodies

I'm new to this forums and have searched some old threads but I couldn't really find any answer for my question.

I have a few Aoshima kits where the bodyshells are already colour coded such as the Aoshima RX-7 GT-C Concept. The body itself is already moulded in blue would there be any benefit to to spray it with a base coat then apply a clear coat?

I also hand paint all my of my cars as I'm still trying to figure out a way to make a super cheap cardboard spray booth to be used with Tamiya sprays.

The paints I use are Vallejo Acrylics including the primer (can be brushed on) and a gloss varnish (I mainly use this for sealing the body and decals).

You'll get a much better looking model if you first, sand the body. Even a pre-painted kit generally has the mold lines still on them. So I'd sand the mold lines off, prime the body, paint it, then clear coat it. Check Youtube, there are lots of videos on "how to paint" etc. I wouldn't hand paint bodies, you almost always see the brush marks. As far as a spray booth, again Youtube it, there are a lot of videos on "how to make a spray booth". For a cheap booth that you can use outdoors or in a well ventilated space, use a cardboard box. But if you're spraying Tamiya paints, or another other kind of enamel or urethane paint, DO NOT do it indoors unless you have some sort of extraction system, the smell can be terrible, and it can linger for days. Also the fumes are very dangerous. If you don't want to invest in spray booth at this time, make sure you paint with sprays outdoors. You can buy and build a decent booth for under $100. I am about to build myself one starting next week and I figure mine will run me about $100-125 CDN, and that will be because I can spending some extra money on a fan that has a protected motor to avoid the chance of the fumes sparking.

Hope this helps some. Keep asking questions, there are a lot of world class builders here with lots of wisdom to share.

David

So you'd still prime the body even tho its pre-coloured? I can see why though because the primer will help seal up and reveal stuff.

I do have another kit where I might have sand and then prime it which is the Top Secret S15 Silva, there are some horrible mould lines on the rear bumper =/

I haven't actually used a spray paint yet but if I do I think I'd just make a painting jig out of a coat hanger + cardboard box. I've seen some people make spray booths out of cardboard boxes for I think less than $50 or so some of them buy a box fan from Rona and base the measurements off that etc.

In terms of the Tamiya stuff I guess its best to buy the base coat colour and then apply on the Tamiya Clearcoat spray as well?

I second what David wrote about the spray booth. A cardboard box might catch most of the overspray, but it will do nothing for removing the harmful fumes. Needs extraction or just paint outside. Even with an extractor make sure you grab yourself a proper respirator mask.

Re. the priming, I always do it. In addition to showing up any flaws it will also allow you to put down a thinner top coat, allowing more details to show through. Tamiya primer is excellent.

Here are two articles which give you a solid process to follow to get decent results:

http://www.scaleautomag.com/How%20to%20and%20Models/How%20To/2008/12/Great%20paint%20from%20spray%20cans%20Part%20I.asp x
http://italianhorses.net/Tutorials/PerfectPaint/paint.htm

KC

I have been building BIG cars - 1/8, and 'small' 1/12 models for a very long time.
A big cardboard box lasts me around 3-4 months, then replace it.
I like to think I get a decent finish using rattle cans and a fair bit of prep, plus 2 weeks before wet sanding with 1200 grade, then 3-4 topcoats, 2 weeks, wet sand, final top coat, then 2k clear. Leave AT LEAST 2 weeks.
Slow, yes..... End result???

http://i1201.photobucket.com/albums/bb355/roymattblack/P1010061_zpse08591c8.jpg

My current build.

So you'd still prime the body even tho its pre-coloured? I can see why though because the primer will help seal up and reveal stuff.

If you're going to paint the body then a primer is essential. It helps to show up any flaws in the plastic such as mold lines and seams and also provides a nice solid base for your colour coats. Grey primer works best to show up the flaws and you can paint your colour coats straight over the grey with darker colours. However I will use white primer after the grey primer if I'm using a lighter colour coat. White, yellow and red would be the most obvious choices where I would use white primer.

In terms of the Tamiya stuff I guess its best to buy the base coat colour and then apply on the Tamiya Clearcoat spray as well?

If you use Tamiya TS paints then the majority of them are already gloss paints. No clear coat is required to get a gloss, but you can add additional clear should you desire, perhaps if you wanted to seal in the decals for example. If you use an auto base coat paint which usually dries with a matt or satin finish, then a clear coat is essential, one to provide protection to the base coat and two to give the finish gloss..

Everyone paints differently. You have to find a method that works for you and then practice till you perfect it. My own preference is auto base coats followed by clear coat. They are easy and most of all, quick to apply. After primer and a few days drying I can literally spray the base colour coat, allow 30 minutes dry time and apply the 2k clear, it's that quick as they don't need long drying times. The 2k clear, if applied correctly, will leave virtually no polishing work. But you have to perfect the application. Although it's very hard to get it wrong, I have done on occasions. However it can still be polished to perfection. I like the auto base coat and clear method of painting, as it is probably the quickest and easiest way to paint models and it gives great results once mastered.

Cool thanks for the tips guys.

Perhaps I will apply them to the next model I build.

I've put my Initial D RX-7 on hold for now but its nearly done just looks like crap imo.

One more thing about primers I assume I use white primer for bright colours and I use gray for almost every other colour right?

yes that's correct.