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iamMajesty posted an update in the group
Q/A & Help Group 8 years, 7 months ago Hey guys, so I’ve been wanting to paint my kits for a long time.It’s going to have to be by spraycans because I don’t own an airbrush but that isn’t the issue. After painting, I want to panel wash my kits. From research, I have learned that I must use enamel paint and thin it down with paint thinner. I understand how to panel wash panel lines on a painted kit, but the clean up is what I am afraid of. If there are blotches on the kit from my paintbrush making contact with the painted kit and I try to clean those blotches off with paint thinner on a cotton swab, won’t it strip the spray can paint off the kit? I like the idea of panel washing because you’re able to easily panel line even the smallest panel lines, but the idea of thinner stripping the paint of the kit is uneasy. I would appreciate my fellow Gunpla-ers opinions.
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Q/A & Help Group
use lighter fluid its not as strong dont use paint thinner enamels too strong unless ur using tamiya enamel thinner theres a difference
So if I thin the enamel paint with lighter fluid or tamiya enamel thinner, and use lighter fluid or tamiya enamel thinner to clean up any blotches from panel washing panel lines, the sprayed paint on the kit will me fine? I don’t have to worry about the paint being stripped?
so thin out the paint make it runny like water and then wait for it to dry for about 10min then clean it up with lighter just make sure u gloss coat the kit before doing any panel lining as gloss coat makes the lines run more smoothly plus its like an extra protector in case something were to happen but it shouldnt also when ur washing up the blotches be sure to no dip too much lighter or thinner just lightly dip it and lightly dab at it until it comes off
im not a total expert at it but i learned from this site called majorwillians the guys pretty much an expert and even though he uses an airbrush panel lining is the same so it should be good
Thanks for the advice banshee I really appreciate it! I’ll make sure to address any other questions I have when they rise. Happy building
And when did you learned this….. banshee…..? From whom…? LOL
Anyway, @iamMajesty, if you are not sure about the thinner dissolving the paint underneath you can use a empty runner, put a bit paint on it and spray it with your chosen gloss coat. Let it dry for a day, then use a cotton tip with the thinner you’d like to dilute your paint and go over the painted empty runner. If your thinner is safe, nothing should happen to your gloss coat and paint. If it does, choose an other thinner and/or top coat.
Some little advise: DO NOT use a Vallejo clear coat for this, they are the weakest.
Oh, and one more thing, in this group, there are a few people who had questions like this before, if you read them, you might find even more interesting tips and tricks on the subject.
Best of luck and have fun building
@teetee580 Thanks for the input! It does seem the most logical to test how the paint, topcoat, and thinner react to one another on an empty runner instead of the actual kit. Do I have to still be as cautious with lighter fluid as I would have been with paint thinner? I was watching vegeta8259s panel lining video and he said at the end when he was explaining and demonstrating panel washing that lighter fluid is supposed to be a much better alternative than actual paint thinner. Also, correct me if my order of operations in wrong: 1. Paint. 2. Topcoat 3. Panel wash 4. Topcoat 5. Decals 6. Topcoat. I haven’t invested in waterslide decals yet but it’s a must in my opinion if I am going to put in the effort to paint. Any other advise would be most appreciated. Thanks again! Happy building 😀
You’re welcome.
Lighter fluid is indeed really safe, but it also depends on your topcoat. As I’ve come to understand the Vallejo one is really weak. If you are using any other then you should be fine. Though when in doubt, you can always try it out on a runner. It is not a really time consuming job. If you don’t want to use a spray can of paint to test it out, you can always paint some enamel on the runner and topcoat that.
Again, you should be safe, but better safe than sorry…
For your order of operations: this order is fine. You could skip the topcoat between the panel wash and the decals. Enamel is, once dry, really scratch resistant and tough. You can save yourself some time and money by skipping it.
It is best to leave the enamel panel wash dry for at least a day. If you skip the topcoat in between or not. Enamel is dust dry in a few hours, but takes a whole day, up to 3 or 4, depending on the thickness, to fully cure. This means if you handle the painted surface to hard with say your fingers, you could leave a fingerprint in the paint. But a panel wash is only one light coat and not several so one day should be fine in order to handle the model for decals or applying a topcoat.
One tip for the decals, if you have a really sharp hobby knife, you could trim off the edges of the decals. So for say, the decal has a text on it, cut as close along the edges of the text. This leaves you with less clear edges on the decal giving the illusion the decal is painted on, or seems to be a dry transfer.
And before I forget, use a gloss coat before beginning with the panel lines. A gloss coat is much smoother and stronger than a semi gloss or mat coat. A gloss is a real clear, as semi gloss and mat coat have a substance to the which makes them sort of porous. This makes the flow and caterpillar effect of the enamel wash much more difficult.
And for decals a gloss coat is also better. You could get a silvering effect as with water slides and an other advantage with a gloss coat is that should the decal not be in the right place it is easier to take it off and the glue of the decal will come off with it. A semi gloss or mat coat could hold some glue to it. Resulting in a decal which doesn’t want to stick that good anymore and glue on the model which has to be cleaned, or else it will shine trough the next top coat or even worse, the top coat can peal off on that part.
So for order operations; First a gloss clear coat, panel lines and decals, or another gloss clear coat, then decals, and last a top coat after your wishing. Be it gloss, semi gloss or mat clear.
A lot of info and I hope I didn’t forgot something. If there should be something that needs more clarification, just ask. For a quicker answer you can always send me a P.M.
Anyways hope this help out. Good luck and lots of fun building
You’re very welcome. Always happy to help.
It’s very nice to know you’ve picked up the hobby again. I did the same a year back after a hiatus of 10 years, and now I’m putting all the techniques learned from building cars (real ones and scale models) and planes into Gunpla.
All thanks to Syd, Ryan, Scott, Brian and all the other staff members of HLJ I’m addicted to Gunpla! 🙂
And the same as you, whenever I watch an episode of Gunpla TV a get an itch and have to start building. LOL
I wish you all the luck and joy building and look forward on seeing your WIP and finished kits