A few painting questions

[VeryQueasy]

I attempted to paint the frown of my bucket (ANH) last night. I taped the crap out of it but some paint still managed to get on the bucket.... I got it off with some rubbing alcohol but it seems like it molded part of the plastic some how so there's a section about the size of a quarter that is not as smooth as the rest of the bucket. It's almost as if the rubbing alcohol removed the color from the paint but the paint remained. Any suggestions how to smooth it out a little without scratching? Or would I be better off just leaving it? I'll try to take a picture of it when I get home.

 

Second question, I taped off the frown and used spray paint but it came out a little uneven, if I take a paint brush and touch it up will you be able to see brush marks?

 

And final question, I am in the process of a Hasbro conversion, this being the first time I've ever really painted anything I think I did a pretty crap job... Haha... The actual blaster isn't bad, it's the doopydoo parts that I'm really unhappy with. I didn't do even coats and the paint puddled because I didn't hang them up. My question is can I place the parts in a bucket of paint thinner without harming the resen (sp)? Is there a way to strip the paint off and start fresh on these parts?

 

Thanks!

[VeryQueasy]

This should probably of gone in the section about painting above. Sorry!

[Dmian]

Hi Nathan,

Well, it all depends on what are you looking for with your armor.

I guess by what you say that you're looking for an idealized style, right?

I've seen people spray painting details with great results, but I think they take great precautions beforehand.

Spray paint tends to leak between the tape and the armor oi you apply too much of it. Another problem is that when you remove the tape, parts of the paint may go off with the tape.

If somebody can share tips to avoid that kind of problems, it would be great.

 

You can try to polish the part that went dull. Some fine car polish will do, but plastic polish is better (something like Novus, for example). Do not use other solvents on the armor, or you'll ruin it.

 

I'm particularly fond of defects in my armor. I look for a realistic look, similar to what you see on the movies (and I can tell you, those armors had lots of defects and were totally battered!) So, if it was me, I'd leave it as it is.

 

A brush is always better to finish the details in any armor. It gives you better control over the result. So if you have to touch up the paint job, use a brush better.

 

As to the blaster: sand it down using some fine sand paper, then repaint. Did you use primer before painting?

 

Cheers.

[vicsouders]

Might want to check out this thread, lots of good tips in there----------

Edited April 19, 2022 by gmrhodes13
link removed no longer working

[VeryQueasy]

Thank you for your replies! The spray paint that I bought said "No primer needed!" however, after using it, I truely wish I would have used primer because it would not bond to the plastic at all. It was a nightmare to be honest. That's why I'd really like to just start over some how.

 

As far as the sanding goes, I'm assuming I'd just sand it down until it's flat again and repaint over that, I would not use primer for that correct?

 

And also one more question as far as touch up with a brush. Given that I used spray paint, Would it suffice to spray a puddle of the same paint I used and use that for the touch up? Or would it be better to go out and try to find the same color in a brush style paint.

 

Thanks, I love this site.

[pandatrooper[TK]]

I've done the "spray some paint in the cap into a puddle and brush it" trick many times, however:

 

If the paint you're using is lacquer based, it will dry very fast and you need to be quick with your brushing. Do it quickly and keep the brush loaded with paint, avoid "dry" coats and over brushing, this will give you streaks / brush strokes.

 

As stated, sand the bad paint off, do not soak plastic in thinner - you risk melting / damaging plastic if you don't know what kind of plastic it is and what solvent you're using.

 

The paint may also have cracked / peeled because of prep. Did you wash the plastic with detergent / water / rinse before painting? If not, you may have contaminated the surface with oils from your fingers, and potential mold release from the casting / molding process prevents paint from adhering well. Prepping is the MOST important thing to a good paint job!

 

Re: sand paper, I'll use 400 grit (black kind) don't get the "wood" brown sandpaper, I find the sand particles come off too easily. Sand, then wash, then dry your parts before painting. Wear latex gloves so that you're not getting your greasy finger prints on your items before painting. Hanging parts isn't always needed, I paint parts on a flat horizontal surface all the time, and it works fine. You just need the right technique.

 

When painting with spray paints, always do light coats, from about 10" away, and spray across you're object. Start the spray off the object, pan across, then when you've sprayed past the object, release. Always do several light coats instead of one heavy one with pooling. I hate watching those home makeover shows where they show someone just gunning and object with a spray can and "waggling" back and forth. Gah!! Light coats, do it right the first time.

 

*ps: re: your white spot the size of the quarter that's not shiny, you might be able to wet sand it / polish it to make it shiny again. What kind of plastic is your helmet, HIPs, ABS,?

 

Good luck!

[VeryQueasy]

Thanks for the tips Panda!

 

It's actually not a matter of not being shiny (on the helmet) it's a matter of uneven surfacing. It looks similar to as if I got some super glue on the helmet.

 

As far as prep goes, I did wash them, I actually used your post to do my conversion! I think my main problem was I did not use primer because the type of paint I got told me it was not needed. I used almost a full can trying to get it to stick on these parts, it looks horrible.

 

I wish I could go home and get to work on this, thanks everyone for taking the time to help me out.

[VeryQueasy]

My armor is ABS.

[pandatrooper[TK]]

My armor is ABS.

 

You should be able to sand it so that the surface is more even. ABS is very resilient! Take some 400 grit and a small sanding block, and even it out, then 600, then wet sand and polish that area. You won't even know it was damaged.

 

Even with all the new "plastic paints" available, I still use primer. My brother was an autobody expert, so he taught me all this stuff about adhesion, prep, etc..

 

BTW: paint should stick right away, even with one coat. You shouldn't need more coats to "make it stick more". I only ever do a max of 3 thin coats on most things I paint.

[VeryQueasy]

Thanks so much! That's a really big help, I can't wait to get home and try it out. I'm thinking maybe I didn't wash the parts good enough and the oils from the resin were still coming out, that's what one of the people in my garrison suggested.

 

I'm going to sand them down, wash very thoroughly and try again with all the tips you've given me!