Paint fail - twice!

Started by Tim New · 7 ≡ · ↻ 2 years ago
  • Profile Photo
    Tim New said 2 years, 2 months ago:

    Hi
    The pic is of some wing pieces from the 1/48 CNAC DC-3. The scheme requires a (mainly) all silver polished aluminium look.

    Attempt #1 – Alclad gloss black spray primer, dry 24 – hours, then, Vallejo metal steel spray. (No thinner required or used).
    Result was poor with pooling of the silver colour and black showing through.
    Used ‘Clean Slate’ to get back to bare plastic.

    Attempt #2 – MIG Grey Primer, dry 24 – hours, then, Alclad black gloss primer, then,Vallejo metal steel spray. (No thinner required or used).
    Result – better – but pooling on the trailing edges.
    Can one of you experienced chaps/chappesses tell me where I might be going wrong?
    The model was an expensive present from one of my sons and I want to do it justice.
    Very many thanks …

    1 attached image. Click to enlarge.

  • Profile Photo
    Pedro L. Rocha said 2 years, 2 months ago:

    Hey Tim,
    I would say the problem is downstream, meaning the metal paint. I have one from Vallejo and seldom use it because I never got the good hand on it.
    Have you tried AK Xtreme metal? I use them without primer and never had issues except for some paint being removed by handling on a few occasions. Nothing a second spraying wouldn’t so,vê without blemishes

  • Profile Photo
    Tim New said 2 years, 2 months ago:

    Thank you Pedro. I have heard that AK Extreme Metal is very good, and I will try that for the third attempt. I have also read on here that the Alclad Black Gloss primer takes ages to dry (more than 24 - hours even?).
    Anyway, thanks again for helpful response, Tim

  • Profile Photo
    Andrew H said 2 years, 2 months ago:

    Very odd... I hope you dont mind me saying, but looks to me like you may be spraying a bit too heavily. The metal color only needs thin layers misted on, and the layers can be done incrementally. It is quite thin, so you must be careful.

    Additionally, make sure the bottle is extremely well mixed/shook up. The pigments settles quickly, and are rather fine. If you are spraying a desaturated base mix, it may be triggering your brain to apply more than needed. Proper mixture will ensure proper application.

    Another consideration is what pressure are you spraying, and with what kind of airbrush?

    Other possible culprits, do you have a moisture trap on your airbrush? Perhaps trapped humidity in your air hose is diluting the metal color? If this were the case, I'm not sure how your base costs turned out, but alas, I'm just throwing out some ideas...

    The only time I've had issues with Vallejo colors is when my airbrushed needed cleaned such that I couldn't mist the layers on with my two-stage Iwata.

    And not to be overlooked... welcome to the site! I sincerely hope we can help you. I think the Vellajo metal colors are flexible and look good, even if not the best at nailing down the metal look.. be sure to keep us updated. 🙂

  • Profile Photo
    Tom Cleaver said 2 years, 2 months ago:

    @tdmnew - Don't use the Alclad primer if you are going to use Vallejo - the two paints don't like each other. I use Tamiya X-18 Semi-gloss Black for a Vallejo primer. Thin it with 60% thinner and mist it on till you get a nice, thorough, mirror finish. Let it dry 24 hours. Then apply the Vallejo paint properly. Mist it on, do several coats, giving it time to dry (it dries quickly) between, till you get the finish you want. BTW - you want Vallejo "Aluminum" not whatever color it is you're using.

    Here's what you get with Vallejo correctly applied.

    2 attached images. Click to enlarge.

  • Profile Photo
    Andrew H said 2 years, 2 months ago:

    That makes sense Tom.

    To add, I use Mr 1500 surfacer (black) which produces a slightly more matt semigloss black (may need slight polishing), but is a very durable base layer for the Vallejo metal colors as well. So much so that I'm able to mask off the Vallejo metals for additionally colors without lifting the metal color, which is something I cant say about Vallejo's own gloss black base coat for metal colors.

  • Profile Photo
    Tim New said 2 years, 2 months ago:

    Thank you all for your helpful and interesting replies. When I sprayed the main wings (Iwata Eclipse), it came out fine. Anyway, taking another look at the poorly applied part of the model, I think over-spraying at too high a pressure, plus, a miss match of primer, base black and aluminium are the likely culprits. I'm just waiting for (another!) bottle of clean slate to be delivered and I'll start again incorporating the suggestions shown here. Blimey - you guys are really friendly and nice. What a great site for a 'returnee' like me. Thank you all again.

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