Panel Line Problems

[Cobra_Daytona]

Hi guys, got a quick question. I'm painting a body gloss black. I'm attempting to use Tamiya Gloss Black, in the spray can, number TS-14. So here's my problem, around every panel line, I get very fine white outlines, as a result of the paint not covering the corner where the two body panels meet. Even painting the panel lines with a brush leaves these white outline marks. Short of putting 10 coats of paint on the body, and loosing all of the detail, do you have any tips to get around this?

Thanks,
Michael

[hirofkd]

There are ridges on both sides of a groove, and that's causing paint to flow away. You should have sanded the body to smoogh them, and make so-called teeth, so that paint (or primer) grabs the surface better. If the coat is not to thick, that you can still apply a few coats of paint without losing too much detail, sand the area with 2000 grit or above sand paper.
To avoid this problem, it's better sanding the entire body first.

[Interlude]

It is not that the paint can't get any grip on the body, it is because of water tension (in this case it is the paint tension ). The same thing happens when you pour water into a cup really full. The water level is actually higher than the actual cup, but the tension is preventing it from overflowing. That is what happens around the panel lines during a heavy coat. I suggest making a few mist coats and letting them fully dry before you do your heavy gloss coats. That will insure that those areas will be covered in paint.

That's what I think. Other people may have differing explanations..

[RallyRaider]

A few ideas that may help.

Use primer, it gives the latter coats more to grip on.

Before the gloss coat, give the model a coat of matt black. Matt paints seems to be less prone to the problem you are experiencing.

Use very fine thin coats so that the surface tension doesn't draw the fluid away from the corners.

If you're already doing all of the above then I'm stuffed!

[primera man]

Did you sand and prime the body first?
Grey primer should be layed down first (if you dont have grey the white primer will do) followed by a few light coats of black.

[935k3]

Make sure you block sand areas of the body adjacent to panel lines, as the moldings usually curl up and have a sharp edge at panel lines. Try to knock that sharp edge off and definitely use primer. Also if you can airbrush you will have less of a problem because the paint goes on drier and adheres better due to better atomization of paint.