Newbie Paint question, White lines around panel lines.

I've been lurking around for quite a while trying to soak up as much as I can but my latest project has a little problem. I'm hoping someone can set me straight as to what I did wrong. After painting the body I have found fine white lines around most of the panel lines where the blue metalic paint is so thin that the white Tamiya primer shows through. I prepped the body removing the mold marks and then block sanded it. This was followed by three thin coats of Tamiya white primer sanded to get what I thought was a nice finish. Four or five coats of TS-51 from a rattle can left me with the depth of colour I wanted but the thin white lines remained. I was worried about getting too much paint build up and the blue colour kept getting darker so I stopped. Undaunted I added a few coats of TS-13 telling myself that the white lines wouldn't bug me as I managed to get a decent gloss finish. (Getting a nice gloss finish was a build goal for this kit.)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v294/complete/models/cars/sidetopviewdark.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v294/complete/models/cars/sideviewdark.jpg

I've kept going hoping that the white outlines don't kill my enthusiasm for the build but I'd like to know so I don't muck up my next one. What did I do wrong? Should I have added more paint? Or did I botch the paint job in the prep stage? Should I have used a blue paint for primer? The models on show here have such fantastic paint applications it is hard to measure up. I hope someone can steer me in the right direction. Thank you for help with this problem.

Thanks for taking the time to look.

Dan

there could be a few reason, one is that u ahvent shaken ur can enough, so the paint is a bit thin

two is that ur actual layer of paint is thin, so cannot cover up the base color~

three is u spray clear too fast, so dissolved the base color so ur primer shows (thats what happened tpo my evo)

but from what they look like, i think its the first 2

bai- save the aimspeak for another forum. Use complete sentances, proper capitialzation and punctuation only here please.

ScanmanDan- Welcome to AF!

Other than your panel line issue, it looks like a lovely job you've done painting the Escort. It seems you're applying your paint in thin, even layers- exactly how you want to be going about it. But you probably just need a few more of them.

Laquer (such as TS) has a characteristic that it pulls away from edges. If you spray a flat panel with engraved panel lines, the paint will be thinnest on the edges of the engravings. This is both an advantage and a disadvantage. On the plus side, you can spray on a number of layers without much risk of drowning out surface details. But you also have to be aware of this tendancy and remember to correct for it when necessary. To avoid it in the future, you just want your paint a bit thicker. Apply it in thin even coats (thicker wet coats will allow the wet paint to pull away from the edges even more), just more of them. Do two coats, let it dry for an hour or so, do two more, let dry, repeat as necessary.

Are the decals under or on top of the clearcoat? If the decals are protected, you may be able to hide the bare edges somewhat. Take some Tamiya acrylic (they make two dark blue colors, pick the one that's closest to or a touch darker than TS-51), thin it with acrylic thinner or window cleaner, and apply it to the engravings. Wipe up any excess with a cloth/tissue wet with window cleaner. It may not fix it completely, but it may help to make the edges stand out less.

Other than your panel line issue, it looks like a lovely job you've done painting the Escort.

Focus :redface:

And I've noticed TS51 tends to pull back more from panel lines and edges if you apply the final coats too heavy, the trick is lighter coats.

I've hade the same problem to. And I think it was because i sprayed to thick. Just keep building a lot of thin layers and you won't have this problem. i don't know if it's possible to correct it without stripping.

The paintjob looks stunning all the same.Fantastic gloss and the blue looks very vibrant.I painted mine in the same paint and it looks a lot darker,too dark really,yours looks perfect.I think you could fix the problem you have with the white lines showing quite easily in 2 ways. 1: Use a thinned down black/dark grey paint/ink whatever is your preference and flow it into the panel lines.This will darken the lines,add depth to them and cover up the white,whilst still keeping it looking natural and not overdone. 2: Use some of the bodypaint colour thinned down and flow it carefully into the lines with a very fine pointed brush.If you take your time with it you won't notice it at all and it will cover the white lines.The Tamiya paint dries very smooth.I have used this method many times before and it always has worked for me.

I make it a point to spray panel line areas and other high spots and letting that dry before giving an all over coats. I only spray from the can so this does mean I end up having to sand down smooth before the all over coats but I find it reduces the chances of this happening.

Focus :redface:


Damnit! And it even says so on the side. I just can't seem to focus on Fords (except Gronholm's '06 :tongue:).

Many thanks for the quick replys, comments and wonderful advise. Seems I should have gone just a touch lighter on the paint and added a few more coats. Well I'm always learning :). I wish there was some magic potion to keep me from rushing as that impulse to push forward quickly seems always to be my downfall.

MPWR - I have used Tamiyas model wax over the body before I started decaling and as such I'm affraid to clearcoat over the wax. Disaster looms as I don't know how the TS-13 would react over the wax. Thanks for the two coat -wait - two coat regime I will adopt it on my next build.

stevenoble - Thanks for the encouraging comments. I was wondering how to go about darkening the panel lines and I will be exploring your advise,thanks.

Happy Christmas to all.

Dan

Paint won't adhere to the wax, once you've waxed the body you need to find a way to remove the wax before you can clear - in your case wax removal would involve decal removal.

For future reference, apply wax after decals, not before - and if you care about accuracy, rally cars don't have clear over their markings since the markings are vinyl cut stickers.

I have used Tamiyas model wax over the body before I started decaling and as such I'm affraid to clearcoat over the wax. Disaster looms as I don't know how the TS-13 would react over the wax.

I have clearcoated over Tamiya wax before using TS-13 and I had no adverse reactions.However I would maybe be a little cautious as you don't want to ruin what is an excellent spray job.Maybe you are right to er on the side of caution.I have always viewed the Tamiya wax as more of a cleaner that removes fingerprints and decal residue etc,not as a true wax in the vein of say an automotive wax that actually has real wax in it.It always smells like posh washing up liquid to me.:lol2:

You can get a product that I used to use in the automotive trade that we used to wipe over panels before we painted them.It's called panel wipe funnily enough and was designed to remove all traces of wax etc before painting.I still use it today on my models to clean away sanding residue etc.It is kind of a cleaning solvent.It's gentle enough so it wouldn't harm the decals.

Thanks for the info on panel wipe. Another bit of kit to add to my growing collection :). I was a little underwhelmed with the Tamiya wax but as you said it does do a good job tidying up fingermarks, etc. I try and handle the painted body as little as possible and when I do I have been useing a pair of cheap white cotton gloves. Looks silly but it seems to be working. I am constantly amazed at just how hard it is to keep everything spotlessly clean and tidy. To view some of the work here is to look at the work of surgeons not modelers :). Much to learn but fun doing it.

Thanks again.

Dan

Not sure anyone posted this, but the easy fix for this is to flow the panel lines in with an acrylic black. This should help mask the white areas.

hth,
Bill

Haven't seen this posted yet so here goes... I had a problem like this once, it was due to the angle I was spraying. It was because it was at an angle the grooves were "shadowing" (sorry for the bad example word) the inner areas.

This is a common problem with Tamiya colors painted over light primers. You must resist painting too quickly, light mist coats are best, and even better is transferring it to an airbrush where you can really atomize the paint so much finer so that this isn't a problem. I had similar problems w/TS 51 or 53 (can't remember) dark blue metallic on a Ferrari model, even when I was reaaaaalllly careful spraying it. The panel lines aren't white, but they are slightly lighter than the areas around it. Clear might make it worse if you spray it on too heavily, as it slightly melts the layers below it.

One idea would be to do the white primer, and then a solid (non-metallic or pearl) base coat of dark blue, make sure it's dry, and then a few coats of the metallic. I did that all the time when airbrushing enamel metallics which never covered well w/o a base coat in a similar solid color.