Another......"HOW TO" prepare a body for primming and painting

Sanding

Make sure you sand the car well...removing molding lines etc. Start with 600, then 800 then 1000 and finish off the whole car with 1200 grit paper. The mold lines are very small raised lines that usually run along the side of the roof line, down each pillar, along the edge of the hood/boot and carry on down though the lights and bumpers.
Once you have finished removing the molding lines and sanding the body, give it a good wash in hot soapy water, then finally wash the whole car with hot water straight from the tap....using a good soft brush to get into all parts of the body. This gets rid of all the small sanding particles left on the body
Once you have done this, shake as much water off the car as you can, then using your soft brush, brush all the water off the car so it dont dry in "spots" on the body.
Once you have done this, you want to keep the car as clean as possible from dust. Place the body straight into a plastic container with a lid to stop any crap getting into the box and onto the car. This is AS CLEAN as you will get it and you want to keep it like it !! See pic....
http://files.automotiveforums.com/uploads/237662DSCF0083.JPG
I put a tooth pick under the lid just so that it can "breath" a little as it dries. Leave the car to dry for awhile. A good day is how long i leave mine.
IMO this is so important as there is so much crap floating around in the air, and it lands on your model....SO KEEP IT CLEAN !!
After a day or two, take the body out ready for painting. Attach it to your painting frame and give it a final brush and a good blow.

Primer

Spray the primmer on.
In between coats i put it straight into the microwave as this is a great DUST FREE place....this is were i think alot of people muck up as they leave it in the room to dry....but as its drying its also attracting the very small dust particles.....this is what is giving you alot of paint finishes that are "rough" looking....because the dust is being trapped under the paint.

Before painting, heat the can up in hot water for 10 minutes so it flows better from the can.
2 Coats of white primer. First coat very light, the second so that it covers the model. Dont be to fussy if it still looks a bit "see-though"
Leave for a week to harden the primmer.

The Finish Coat

3-4 Coats of finish coat about 5-10 minutes apart....thats it...nice a simple.(keep the can warm)
The first coat is a very light mist coat...the paint should only just be landing on the car. Spray at a distance of 8-10 inches moving quite quickly with the can as you spray.
Do the same for the second coat
The third coat you can spray a bit more heavy so it covers the model. This is done by slowing the speed that you move the spray can as you paint.
The last coat is the one you want to get perfect. Spray at a new distance of 4-6 inches. You should be trying to get a mirror like smoothness to the final coat. If you are to far away it will not get enough paint and you can get a orange peel look. Too close and the paint will go on to thick and will run and may cause bubbles to appear.
You may need to repeat the last step to get a better finish and coverage.
Dont rush...take your time. If the paint is not covering to well in the first couple of light coats DONT try and add more paint straight away as this will cause runs in the paint. Allow it to dry and then add a couple of extra light coats to help cover.
I always spray the front and rear bumpers first...then both sides along the whole length of the car body.
Then the last bit i do is the bonnet/boot and roof last

Dont bother sanding between coats as i dont really see the point...all you are doing is making more dust and removing half the paint you have just stick on.
After you have finished the last coat...leave for 10-12 days.......rub with some compound then finish with a wax.

Hope this help out

Cheers
PMan

Hi P-man!

A quick one: how hot is the water to heat the spray paint can?

thanks,
Wong

great "how to" pman, should really help with everybodies finishes on their cars.

Originally posted by mediamixhobby
Hi P-man!

A quick one: how hot is the water to heat the spray paint can?

thanks,
Wong
Hey there mate.
I have the water hot enough from the tap so that i can just leave my hand under it without burning myself....DONT USE BOILING WATER !!!
Hot tap water should be fine.

Thanks for the cool guide, PMan! :)

One question, though... I've heard of waiting times between new coats from five minutes all the way up to a week. Does it depend on the type of paint being used? Like, if I have a quick drying lacquer, can I wait less time (your suggested 5-10 minutes)? How much does the waiting time between coats affect the overall finish?

Thanks

Coug

Originally posted by primera man

Hey there mate.
I have the water hot enough from the tap so that i can just leave my hand under it without burning myself....DONT USE BOILING WATER !!!
Hot tap water should be fine.

Hi P-Man!

Thanks! I also use my fingers to test. But still getting orange peel everytime. I guess it's me :-(

:flash: thanks Pman thats really helpfull:alien: i just have one ? :confused: what kind of paint do you use?:confused:

I would just let you know something i have done last 2 model with good result:

I don't use soapy water.. I use Thiner ! I wash the body with Thiner (from the same brand of the paint you will use) Put thiner on a cloth, and wash the body. That get off all the finger print and dust from the model, and you don't have to wait after for painting... Better ! you won't get reaction if soap still on the body when painting (I remember a guy with his Porsche GT3 :p )

I wash with Thiner and go paint it. after this, I put my model in microwave for about 12 hours to keep it out of dust. after i leave it dry 24 to 48 hours on my desk (dust can be easyly removed since it's praticly dry after 12 hours in microwave)

This is my personal Howto... sure Primeraman is the king, so his Howto is probably better ! but just wanted to let you know an alternate way.:p

PMan, great how to guide!!!!!

I just want to add something that you kind of missed....... The reason you wash the body in hot sopy water, and then rinse with more hot water is ,...... this helps the plastic loose its static charge so that the dust will not stick as well. ( I just thought that if people knew the reasons for washing then they would take the extra time to do it, I hope you don't mind )

I have 2 very large plastic bins that I keep my washed parts in, I think these are as essisial as an airbrush or hobby knife!

Thankyou for the good advise on the washing :)

Originally posted by primera man
In between coats i put it straight into the microwave
What heat setting do you run it on.................................Sorry :)

Thanks for the guide it;s great and should help us out alot

Great guide! Thank you P-Man:) :flash:

Thanks P-Man, for sharing this with us!

Originally posted by Hiroboy

What heat setting do you run it on.................................Sorry :)

Thanks for the guide it;s great and should help us out alot

You dont actualy cook it, he means to let it dry in there because its the most dust free spot

but p man one Q, u sed sand all "molding lines"? do u just mean places where they are somt thin plastic coming out because of it being stamped?

Another suggestion on a dust free environment for drying in case your girlfriend/wife/mother gives you grief because "there's another damn car in the microwave again!"

One of my other hobbies is collecting/building/racing RC Cars and I have a few Mini-Z bodies. The bodies come in a clear plastic box, good for displaying them in when finished(and they're stackable too). When I set my models off to dry for the 1-2 week wait, I put them in the box up on a shelf, no dust...no bitching. :D About the only things this won't work for are bigger trucks and such, just 1/24 / 1/25 scale cars and, I think (havn't tried yet) 1/12 scale motorcycles.

thanx Pman for the post!! great stuff!!

YEH for P-man......
i think you should make a book on "how to MODEL" .... it would be a best-seller!:D

man... i did what was instructed and now my DC5 is very shiny...

thnx alot!!! :D

Originally posted by endlesskev86
YEH for P-man......
i think you should make a book on "how to MODEL" .... it would be a best-seller!:D

man... i did what was instructed and now my DC5 is very shiny...

thnx alot!!! :D

Glad to hear it work out O.K :)

Thanks for the Tutorial P-Man! When you put it in the microwave, how do you fit it in with it on the stand? and when you go to take it off the stand, wont you get all fingerprints on it? Thanks.

Originally posted by Camber
Thanks for the Tutorial P-Man! When you put it in the microwave, how do you fit it in with it on the stand? and when you go to take it off the stand, wont you get all fingerprints on it? Thanks.

I have a older type microwave that is alot bigger then the modern new ones :p

Thanks Pman for the tips.

I just tried this out on my Opel and it looks pretty good. I'll try and post a pic later.

What do you do when dealing with decals? do you put clear over the decals and then polish?

Heh, i wouldn't leave it in the micro for too long, it could melt!

To add an extra step, if you get fingerprints on the body before you paint or you want to make sure no hard-water, or other residue is left on the body use this....
http://files.automotiveforums.com/uploads/102037totalprep.jpg
Final rinse with distilled water so it dries clean. This removes all oils as well!!
Good luck!
Russ

Originally posted by primera man

[i]Make sure you sand the car well...removing molding lines etc. Finish off with 1200 grit paper.


Just wondering what grit you start off with?

Originally posted by chaos


Just wondering what grit you start off with?
Start with 600 on the molding lines only, then 800 on them again.
Then do the whole car in 1200 grit

That is a great guide Pman, but one question. Do you think it would work with, graffiti spray cans? I've done some research and figured that graf cans are better for models. 500ml for the same price as 300ml of Tamiya, you can also attach different types of caps to get a different effect on applying paint. Example, If I use a "fat cap" I can go through the whole tin in less then a minute. if I used a fat cap I could spray the whole car in less then 2 seconds :D I'll try it and let you know how I go. Yet another question though, do you use the sandpapper on the whole body to make the body have a very light texture? In other words make it more rough and less glossy then the plastic.

Graffiti paint? Is that what they call Krylon now? =]

Pman what do you do when dealing with decals?

Originally posted by Lowriders4Life
Yet another question though, do you use the sandpapper on the whole body to make the body have a very light texture? In other words make it more rough and less glossy then the plastic.
First off...i'd give the paint a miss ....IT WILL END UP AS ONE BIG PAINT RUN I.M.O :p

Correct about the sanding....it sound almost be as smooth as when you first started but no gloss. The primer will then give it a baby's bottom finish :cool:

Jedi801....have a look in the FAQ...it's all in there :)

Maybe I'm retarded I didn't see it in the FAQ. I saw the section on polishing and the section on decals but not on polishing over decals.

Originally posted by Jedi801
Maybe I'm retarded I didn't see it in the FAQ. I saw the section on polishing and the section on decals but not on polishing over decals.
Sorry, my bad...thought you meant how to put them on.

Some well clearcoat over the top....but i'm not a fan of doing that.
Once you have the body polished and the decals finished, i just wax over them with Tamiya Wax for a final finish

Thanks. I'll give that a try.

This is very helpful info, I gotta say I am overwhelmed with the amount of traffic this board has. The information is great, and everyone here seems really cool ... No Morons:D :finger:

Thanks 4 the tips on preparing a car.
Tom

Originally posted by Deejay360
Thanks 4 the tips on preparing a car.
Tom
:D

Is that Testors stuff any good cuzz I can't get hold of any Timaya stuff without driving 2 hours to SF and I dun wanna get nething by internet. THanks.

Hey its me again..
What's the difference between metallic paints and none-metallic paints? Is one glossy and the other not? Ahhh...so confused!:confused:

Testor's stuff is good, but only their top line like "Model Masters" and "Colors by Boyd". They're enamels, so you need to be careful when spraying wet coats.

Metallic paints are different from most paints in that they have small metallic flakes, so the finished product has a shimmery look.

Im going to use these following paints for my model, are they the right paints? And plz tell me if im missing anything.

primer: Tamiya surface primer white/gray
paint job: Tamiya lacquer TS-<insert numer here>
Polish: turtle wax stuff
Detailing:Testors enamels/acrylic (or should i use Tamiya paints instead?):confused:

Originally posted by DJ RaYgU
Im going to use these following paints for my model, are they the right paints? And plz tell me if im missing anything.

primer: Tamiya surface primer white/gray
paint job: Tamiya lacquer TS-<insert numer here>
Polish: turtle wax stuff
Detailing:Testors enamels/acrylic (or should i use Tamiya paints instead?):confused:

After painting try and get some Tamiya compound and Wax to bring out a good gloss.
I have tryed other but dont get the same results.
I like to keep all the same brand as it works well.
Same for the paint IMO

I kno this has absolutely nothing to do with car modeling, but which movie is better: 2 fast 2 furious or Bruce Almighty?

How long do you wait in between coats of primer? Do you use acrylic paints for detailing?:confused:
Thanks!

Originally posted by DJ RaYgU
How long do you wait in between coats of primer? Do you use acrylic paints for detailing?:confused:
Thanks!
Wait about 10 minutes between primer coats.
You can use either acrylic or enamel for detailing...but i like enamels better as they take longer to dry and give a better finish.

Wuts the proper way to remove the parts from the trees? I can't seem to find anything on this in the FAQS. Thanks for the help!:confused:

How come the body of my car is kinda rough after priming it? How do i fix that? THanks for the help!:newbie:

Thats really how most primed bodies are- it should smooth out after the paint coat- Primer is a drier substance than a tamiya spray :smile:

Just updated the first page about painting and added a few extra things to try and cut down on alot of the threads and PM's i get about stuff i left out. Not to much added but hopefully it maybe abit better.

Have another read and see if its improved now and helps out

hey choppinporkchop, wut he means is you need to sand out all the mold lines where it wuz stamped. They are mostly around the front and rear bumper.

hmmm, just wondering if sanding is supposed to be done after primer-ing, meaning: sanding the primer-surface to a baby-smooth smoothness... :tongue:

Originally posted by jomz
hmmm, just wondering if sanding is supposed to be done after primer-ing, meaning: sanding the primer-surface to a baby-smooth smoothness... :tongue:

he means sand it before priming. But u can sand after u prime if u have any flaws on the surface of the primer.

I am really dumb as I am very new to this and I don't understand with text explanations. Sorry... :p Please bare with me.

When you say that we must sand the Molding lines away, Could you maybe give a picture to show what these look like. I am not sure what you mean by this. Also, I am concerned about the Grit of the sandpapers you mentioned. The sandpapers here in South Africa are a little rough @ 600Grit. Im not sure whether your grit is the same as our grit??!? Please help

Regards
Headlight :)

Can you explain to me how to exactly clearcoat a car since im a newcomer!!

email me at [email protected]


Thanks for your help!!

I have a little tecnique to avoid finger prints:
Use rubber gloves/ doctors gloves...very thin like a 2nd skin and no prints at all :icon16:

Hi guys, / and girls if any...

I am new to building models; I am actually an rc guy (Mini-z). I want to paint autoscale bodies and build some models like you do.

I want to make sure I understand the proccess of painting a body, and please correct me if I am wrong.

1- sand body to eliminate error and fill in little gaps with putty and sans and make is nice an smooth. Work up to a 1200 grit SP. Q: do I sand it wet?

2- apply primer, (tamiya fine white) I apply coats to create a smooth surface for paint to grip on to. if there are inperfections in between coats I sand with 1200 grit SP? and repaint. wait a few hours between coats if I need to sand, otherwise apply coat evey 20 mins just to be save... apply enough coats to cover the body but not hide details.

3. let dry for a day or two.

4. begin color coat light a light mist, let it dry for a few minutes (20mins) then apply second coat. Once I start to build some color I let it sit for a day or two then I sand the paint with 1200 grit? to get rid of imperfections (orange peel if any) - Q: do I sand it wet? then wash? then paint final coats.

5. let dry for a week at least.

6. sand very lightly once gain to get rid of errors (as per another thread i read here) and ..

7. Use rubbing comppound to "cut" back the paint/clear coat... (is tamiya rubbing compound ok?)

8. apply clear coat.. let it dry <-- not always needed unless decals are applied... let it dry for a day or so.... (go back to seven and then to 9.)

9. Wax it with modeling wax.

10. enjoy your model


thanks for you help. I look forward to comments. My main concern in the sanding, wet or dry on paint and primer. and why does the finish coat needs to be slightly sanded?

thanks

Link to my refences:

http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?s=&threadid=89313

Yo wut up guys. This is a kinda newbieish question given that im still kinda newbie: before you prime, do you sand the whole car or just the mold lines only? Thanks.

you sand the whole car

After some searching, I've realized I'm not going to find rubbing/polishing compound, nor sandpaper above 600 grit (best I find is those Testor's sanding films) around here. Do these have other names?

this is going to sound like a really dumb question
but
what is a mist coat?
what is a wet coat?

also has one 'sounds-silly' question. i've got this tamiya rubbing compound, and been using it pretty recently. the question is, do i press hard or just lightly scrub the body??? how do i get into those tiny or tight crevice (spelling??). so yea... anyone can help?

as for drunken monkey, this is my intepretation:
* mist coat -> a light coat, u spray it with quite a far distances like covered earlier in the topic.
* wet coat -> a more thicker coat that u applied on ur model. add a little bit more on this one, u'll get that runny paint job.

well, those are mine. corect me if im wrong.

ok, another quick question.

if i'm going to be applying a clear coat finish, do i need to sand down any orange peel (major or minor) in the colour coat first?