Painting Door with Tamiya TS - Help!

[Trypticon]

Hey guys. I'm working on a model car door as the paint faded off and I'm in need of some help.

I want to paint it in 2 colors: Tamiya TS-21 and Tamiya TS-18. Gold and Red

Now I did the following on a separate dummy model car to test it out and I'm having some trouble and how I should tackle it.

What I have:

• Tamiya TS-21 + TS-18
• Tamiya Fine White Primer
• Testors Wet Look Clear
• Micro Mesh 1500 - 12000 Grit
• Sand Paper - 300 - 2400 Grit
• Food Dehydrator
• Novus Scratch Polish Kit

1) I primed it with 2 coats of Tamiya White Fine Primer with 10 mins between the coats.
2) Waited a day for it to dry, then wet sanded it with Micro Mesh 1800 and 2400 (Questioning if I did that part right), masked 3/4 of the top of the door with 3M Fine Line Masking tape as I only want to paint the bottom portion red.
3) Spray painted the bottom part with 3-4 coats of Red
4) Waited a couple of hours and then peeled off the masking tape (Did I peel the tape too soon or what? When should I peel off the tape?)
5) Waited a day for the red to dry and then masked the red with masking tape.
6) Painted the top portion with the TS-21 Gold, 3-4 coats with 5-10 mins in between each coats.
7) Waited a day and then peeled the masking tape off the red.

I'm stuck on what I should do after this. I have a bottle of Clear Coat and Novus Polish Kit.

I was wondering if someone can give me a detailed break down on what would the best thing to do next?

Should I wet sand (What grit of Micro Mesh should I use?) the Gold and then apply the clear coat right after? Or should I just apply the clear coat without sanding the Gold, wet sand and then finally use the Novus Polish Scratch Kit?

I ordered a Food Dehydrator which will be coming in this Weds to help dry the door as well as other projects I have.

I'm just confused on specific things I should do and use. Such as waiting time between the red and gold or what grit I would be using here and there. Any help would be grateful!

[stevenoble]

Personally I wouldn't have masked before applying the first colour (red) no need to mask. Maybe also I would have painted the gold first. General rule of thumb, paint lightest colour first. If you mask twice you won't get as neat an edge between the two colours as if you'd just painted the first colour on the whole door, then did one mask and apply the second colour.
Second rule is not to sand metallic paints before clear, unless you have any defects to sand out (dirt nibs etc) if you have to sand out any imperfections do so, but then apply another layer of colour. Never sand the last layer of a metallic. Reason is it compromises the flakes in the metallic. The clear will do just fine straight over the un-touched colour coats.
I would advise a maximum drying time of 20-30 mins before you remove the fine line tape, any longer and you risk getting a poor edge between the two colours. You want to be taking off the tape whilst the paint is still flexible, that way you'll get a nice clean edge. Clear over the two colours once they are dry. I leave a day with Tamiya TS before clear. You only need to wet sand the clear if it's got orange peel or is not a good finish, or has any dirt etc in the finish. If you've achieved a good finish with the clear skip the sanding and go straight onto the polishing stage.
Your priming steps are perfectly fine, I see no problem there. Drying time between paints I'd maybe leave a day for that too.

[Trypticon]

Originally Posted by stevenoble

Personally I wouldn't have masked before applying the first colour (red) no need to mask. Maybe also I would have painted the gold first. General rule of thumb, paint lightest colour first. If you mask twice you won't get as neat an edge between the two colours as if you'd just painted the first colour on the whole door, then did one mask and apply the second colour.
Second rule is not to sand metallic paints before clear, unless you have any defects to sand out (dirt nibs etc) if you have to sand out any imperfections do so, but then apply another layer of colour. Never sand the last layer of a metallic. Reason is it compromises the flakes in the metallic. The clear will do just fine straight over the un-touched colour coats.
I would advise a maximum drying time of 20-30 mins before you remove the fine line tape, any longer and you risk getting a poor edge between the two colours. You want to be taking off the tape whilst the paint is still flexible, that way you'll get a nice clean edge. Clear over the two colours once they are dry. I leave a day with Tamiya TS before clear. You only need to wet sand the clear if it's got orange peel or is not a good finish, or has any dirt etc in the finish. If you've achieved a good finish with the clear skip the sanding and go straight onto the polishing stage.
Your priming steps are perfectly fine, I see no problem there. Drying time between paints I'd maybe leave a day for that too.

Thanks Steve. I actually stumbled upon your post in 2012 on another Tamiya thread and it made me post here. I actually wanted some feedback from you.

So

1) Prime it with 2 coats of Tamiya White Fine Primer with 10 mins between the coats.
2) Let it dry for a day and then apply 3-4 coats of the gold
3) Let it dry for day, mask the gold portion where I don't want the red and then paint the red on the bottom, over the gold. (Wouldn't that cause a slight color hue change in the red?)
4) Wait 30 minutes and rip off the masking tape, let it dry for a day
5) Clear coat it and use the novus kit if polish isn't needed

What about general sanding inbetween coats or sanding the primer before the base coat? Would you recommend it? Some say to do it so that it's smooth while others say it's not needed.

EDIT: I forgot to mention I want to add a black panel line in the door. When would be the best time to do this? I'll be applying it with a small brush and with Tamiya XF-1 Flat Black.

[stevenoble]

Generally you're on the right lines with your steps. 1 and 2 are fine, no problem there. 3, again seems good. You shouldn't get any colour shift, just make sure the gold is properly dry. What you don't want is the wet red re-activating the gold. 4, fine but please don't rip off the tape..!! Very gently and pull the tape at a right angle to the mask line so that it will actually 'cut' the paint as it goes and give you a neat edge. 5, yes, that's fine.
I don't personally sand between paint layers if I'm gonna clear the colours. Unless you get dirt or debris in the finish, then sand that out by all means. If I'm going for a multiple gloss layer finish with no clear I would sand a little between colours, just to smooth the finish and knock the gloss off so the next layer will adhere better.
Put your black panel line right at the end, after you've applied your clear and polished it to a finish. Otherwise it will be gloss, or just might get white polish residue in the line from when you polish...

[Trypticon]

Originally Posted by stevenoble

4, fine but please don't rip off the tape..!! Very gently and pull the tape at a right angle to the mask line so that it will actually 'cut' the paint as it goes and give you a neat edge.

How do I peel off the tape then? I'm not getting the "right angle" without a visual

Also can you give me some tips on how I can use the Food Dehydrator for this? How long to put it in, temperture, etc.

It's been raining here lately and been pretty humid so when I get the Dehydrator I want to use it to properly dry the piece.

I ordered the

[stevenoble]

I'll post you a picture later today of the way i remove the tape keeping it at a right angle to the paint edge. I use a Mr Dry Booth to speed up the drying time. I suppose you could say it's like a mini low temp oven. Never used a dehydrator before. But i noticed it has temp settings etc. Well the Mr Dry Booth runs at 45-50 degrees maximum temp. I usually leave primer for an hour after spraying. But still allow it to air dry too for a week. Base coats can be cleared within an hour. Different paints have different dry times, so experiment a bit. Maybe one of the chaps who uses a dehydrator regularly can help with the times etc..

[stevenoble]

Ok I'll use some photographs I took whilst I was testing colours for my Williams FW14B. You have to imagine in the following photo's that I've painted the yellow section and am removing the masking tape after that as I didn't actually paint this today but a few weeks ago but you should get the idea.

Tape on as straight after painting



Preparing to remove the tape. Tape pulled away and folded down at a right angle to the painted edge



Tape being removed. Keep the tape down and away from the edge



Never pull the tape straight off in line with the paint edge



and never towards the colour you just painted




Hope this helps demonstrate better with the pictures. If you have any more questions fire away and I'll be happy to help..

[Trypticon]

Much thanks for the visual aid with the tape! I used to peel it straight up.

I'm getting my Scotch Ultimate Paint Edge Masking Tape this Friday so I'll be trying to paint then. Also picked up some tack clothes as I heard it helps removes dirt and dust after applying paint. Do you know anything about these cloths?

Also some minor specific painting questions if you can give some tips on.

How far away from the object do you paint from when using Tamiya cans? 6 inches? 8? I'm still trying to get the hang of the right distance so it doesn't run or cause a orange peel effect.

[Trypticon]

Originally Posted by lemanskis

I could start with taking some reference pics.

Picture isn't showing

[stevenoble]

Originally Posted by Trypticon

Much thanks for the visual aid with the tape! I used to peel it straight up.

I'm getting my Scotch Ultimate Paint Edge Masking Tape this Friday so I'll be trying to paint then. Also picked up some tack clothes as I heard it helps removes dirt and dust after applying paint. Do you know anything about these cloths?

Also some minor specific painting questions if you can give some tips on.

How far away from the object do you paint from when using Tamiya cans? 6 inches? 8? I'm still trying to get the hang of the right distance so it doesn't run or cause a orange peel effect.

No problem, happy to help. Yes, tack cloths, I use them all the time, very handy to have. Just a quick once over before you spray your paints and they will help to remove any dust, hairs, anything surface borne which may affect your finish. I also use them on metallic finishes (basecoat) to remove any dust/dryness on the surface before I shoot the clear coat.
With the Tamiya cans 6~8 inches is a good distance to spray at. A good tip is to place the can into a bowl of warm water, not too hot though..!!! Just stand it in the bowl of warm water for 5~10 mins before you spray. This does two things. Warms the paint, warm paint will spray much better than cold paint (flows easier) and it raises the pressure in the can, this makes the paint atomise much better.
Orange peel is usually because you either spray from too far away and the paint is dry before it hits the surface (spray nearer) or you spray too light (spray wetter) Don't spray too wet though because that's when you'll get runs/sags in the paint. Remember there is a difference between a light, wet coat and a heavy wet coat. You don't have to be blasting paint on in thick heavy coats to make it wet. Just sensible light, but wet coats, built up in stages is all you need to do