Tamiya Spray Cans which do you need a base?

[clatescivicr]

I just bought Mica Red a few days ago from my LHS and she didn't mention about using a base for it and I know its not in her job description to tell me I have to, but I was doing some searches after I boughtthe Mica Red and saw a few people put a base coat on before. Do you have to, or is a primer coat just fine?

[freakray]

Primer coat is just fine, make sure to use a white primer though.
A gold or silver base will give a different hue to the paint but it's not necessary.

[CADguy]

Like Ray said it's not necessary. Using white primer will give you the true Mica red.

But if you are looking for a different hue, some experimenting will produce interesting results.

This is Mica red over Tamiya Maroon. Tamiya maroon is very dark, almost brown/red. The hue shown here is much different than just Mica red.



This is mike united's skyline undercoated with gold



Also, adding coats will darken the micas.

[nis.k.a.]

My experience with Mica Red is:

-primer is a must. white for pure Mica, gray for darker Mica
-the more layers the darker (make sure to keep count if spraying bodyparts seperately)
-sliver basecoat gives it a more metallic feel
-gold and copper basecoat deepens the Mica