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Painting details - How


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Hello, I started building my AP kit and painting my helmet. I started with the tears but every time I look at them I feel like I should just buy the "painted looking" decals. Besides using stencils (I tried and the paint bleeds) are there any specific techniques for painting a decent straight line? :-/

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The right brush is part of it.  You want longer bristles that will hold a decent amount of paint.

Paint needs to flow correctly, not too thick not too thin.  You may need to thin the paint or do 2 coats if it's a bit too thin.

Being steady is key, you want to brace your hands against the work and ideally your elbows onto something solid too.  All that should be moving is your fingers and maybe a little wrist movement.

 

But ultimately it's practice. I did a few tests on a bit of scrap and even then made plenty of mistakes.  Have some thinners to hand and a cotton bud to wipe up mistakes before the paint can dry.  

 

I also used a pen (fine line sharpie) to mark out all my lines first with a flexible rule and then painted over the top.  Made it far easier to get the spacing I wanted.

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The right brush is part of it.  You want longer bristles that will hold a decent amount of paint.

Paint needs to flow correctly, not too thick not too thin.  You may need to thin the paint or do 2 coats if it's a bit too thin.

Being steady is key, you want to brace your hands against the work and ideally your elbows onto something solid too.  All that should be moving is your fingers and maybe a little wrist movement.

 

But ultimately it's practice. I did a few tests on a bit of scrap and even then made plenty of mistakes.  Have some thinners to hand and a cotton bud to wipe up mistakes before the paint can dry.  

 

I also used a pen (fine line sharpie) to mark out all my lines first with a flexible rule and then painted over the top.  Made it far easier to get the spacing I wanted.

Thanks! Yeah, I used a short brush, that is my first issue. So I'll go for a longer one. The marker is a great idea too!

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I did the gray background and the black outline freehand on the traps and the tears and then masked the lines with painter's tape. There are a few tricks to using tape this way. I always smooth it down well with a fingernail. Some people like to lightly paint the area with the background color to seal the edges and prevent bleed but I find that a carefully adhered tape job is usually sufficient. Then paint your black lines and carefully remove the tape before it is completely dry. You may need a little touch up with gray but if you're careful, it will be very little.

Here was my go:

_DSF4946_resize.jpg_DSF4947_resize.jpg_DSF4948_resize.jpg

Edited by Addertime
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I did the gray background and the black outline freehand on the traps and the tears and then masked the lines with painter's tape. The there are a few tricks to using tape this way. I always smooth it down well with a fingernail. Some people like to lightly paint the area with the background color to seal the edges and prevent bleed but I find that a carefully adhered tape job is usually sufficient. Then paint your black lines and carefully remove the tape before it is completely dry. You may need a little touch up with gray but if your careful, it will be very little.

 

Here was my go:

 

_DSF4946_resize.jpg_DSF4947_resize.jpg_DSF4948_resize.jpg

this looks amazing. even the outline....damn! Nice job!

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Those lines look incredible, Michael!  One hint that may help you go with Michael's method, Alberto.  After masking off the areas to be painted black, paint them very lightly with the gray first and let it dry for a few minutes, then use the black paint.  This will seal the edges of the tape so you don't get any "bleed through".

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this looks amazing. even the outline....damn! Nice job!

 

Thanks. Admittedly, the outlines took a little back and forth with the gray and black before they were tidy enough and then a little scrape here and there with an X-acto knife goes a long way. :)

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I did the gray background and the black outline freehand on the traps and the tears and then masked the lines with painter's tape. There are a few tricks to using tape this way. I always smooth it down well with a fingernail. Some people like to lightly paint the area with the background color to seal the edges and prevent bleed but I find that a carefully adhered tape job is usually sufficient. Then paint your black lines and carefully remove the tape before it is completely dry. You may need a little touch up with gray but if you're careful, it will be very little.

 

Here was my go:

 

_DSF4946_resize.jpg_DSF4947_resize.jpg_DSF4948_resize.jpg

Very nice job, looks awesome!
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I suck at masking. I tried and my paint bleeds under it. I did a fairly decent job around the ears...maybe I should stick to "painted looking" decals. They are ok for centurion right?

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They are ok for centurion, but they don't fit as well. I didn't trust my hand painting and used decals, but they wrinkle, had to fill in bottom of tears because angle was so off and doesn't fit quite correctly. It might be easier, but as a decal user, I feel paint is better.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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I suck at masking. I tried and my paint bleeds under it. I did a fairly decent job around the ears...maybe I should stick to "painted looking" decals. They are ok for centurion right?

Yes. Decals are acceptable but give the paint another try. It's more authentic and people notice. You can always take a little paint thinner to it and start over. The first tear I did got messed up and I used a paper towel, soaked in thinner, to remove 100% of the paint with no problem.

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