Polishing two-tone body?(And primer question)

[Dr. Bob]

Hi there,

I am planning to spray a two tone color on my Tamiya 1/24 Mini. Dark Blue with white stripes on the hood. What color primer should I use, white or grey? Grey is best for blue I think, but white is offcourse best for white paint. Will the Dark Blue (TS-53) cover white primer?

And about polishing, if I polish the body, will the colors flow into eachother?Do I have to spray clear before I start polishing to stop this?

Thanks!

[MPWR]

Honestly to do that on a 1/24 Mini, I would paint the whole thing blue (grey primer), and put the bonnet stripes on with decal film. It's getting pretty easy to find for printing do it yourself decals- if your LHS doesn't cary it it should be easy to order. Trying to mask dark blue and white on a Mini bonnet will drive you freaking crazy, and the decal film will look better anyway.

You can apply dark colors over any color of primer.

[white97ex]

you will be spraying the blue base coat first then masking and spraying the white stripes correct? In this case the primer will not affect the white, but will change the look of the blue, it will be darker over the gray primer and lighter over the white. You won't want to polish the bare paint, as the colors will mix, since polishing is essentially removing some of the paint. When you mask the stripes, make sure you build your color SLOWLY don't get to thick as this will give you HARD THICK edges. once the paint is down, follow with a clear coat. I would lay down a couple of good coats of clear, wet sand with 2000 grit paper to hopefully knock down what edges are there from spraying the stripes, then clear again and polish

[Dr. Bob]

To avoid the thick adges I wanted to spray primer, then mask of the stripes, spray blue, remove mask, let it dry, mask of the blue, then spray white. If there are any edges, they should be minimal that way, since the paint will have the same thickness, isn't it?

[kyuuketsuki]

im having problems with masking off stripes. for me, my mini is red, racing white for stripes. i can't even remember how many times i've removed the paint and repainted, re-masked, but its either i get thick edges or the mask bleeds. I just can't get it right. i've consulted this forum about how to mask, how to prevent bleeds etc..doesnt work. now, i've put it aside, too fed up to continue.

i'm thinking of printing own decals. but can i use a normal injet printer? is there a detailed write up on this?

would love to get back on my mini...=(
thanks guys

[white97ex]

if you want to prevent bleed before you spray the white for the stripes, either hit it with some red or some clear, that will "seal" the edge of the tape

[kyuuketsuki]

yeah.. i did that...didnt work..still bled. ive tried the advice.solutions..didnt work..dont know what went wrong. how do i go about to prevent thick edges? that drives me nuts...sigh

[bobss396]

You can polish out thick edges with Micromesh cloths to get it most of the way there. Then give it a coat or two of Tamiya TS-13 clear which will really minimize it for you.

Bob

[MPWR]

Guys, you really want to be using decal film for this. Seriously. You can mask all you want, but however you do it you are not going to be happy with the results.

Dr. Bob, please feel free to try your double mask techinique- but make sure you have some 91% isopropyl on hand because you will want to strip it when it's done. If you want to try it again afterwards it's up to you, but it will cost you more time, paint, and alcohol- as kyuuketsuki can tell you at this point.

I'm really not trying to be an ass about this, but masking and painting for those hood stripes is the wrong way to go about it.

Decal film is easy, and it will look great. You don't need to print anything. Get some masking tape, and stick it to the bonnet. Trim it to the size and shape that you want your stripes to be. Then gently stick the tape to the film, cut around the edges, and peel the tape off. Apply the film as you would any decal. Simple. And if you screw it up, you remove the decal film and try it again- no stripping and repainting. Get it?

[tajoe]

I have done many 2 and 3 color paint jobs. The easiest way that I found to do it is this way. In your case you should paint the the whole car white first. Then cut a long enough piece of masking tape the width you want your stripe to be to mask off the white. Make sure the paint is completely dry first. I usually let mine sit for 2 days but I use Dupli-Color auto paint. After you mask off the stripe paint your blue right over the white. Be careful when you remove the tape. I remove my masking about 15 minutes after I put on my last coat. Doing it this way will guarantee that you have an even stripe from front to back and you don't have to mask the whole car, just the stripe. Then clear then polish.

[white97ex]

I painted the stripes on this car with no issues what so ever