Skipjacks
Member
Here's the issue....
I need to paint this tiny N scale car....
So it looks like this....
(Obviously I've still got some more detail prep work to do before its' time to paint...headlights, windows, etc....) I can handle the painting details fine. My hand is steady enough.
The problem I have is getting the paint to adhere. I made the model out of bass wood. Small strips glued together. The vent things in the back and Mr Fusion are all bass wood pieces glued together.
The glue is the problem.
Acrylic paint doesn't like to adhere to it. I've run into this on other larger models I've done of buildings and stuff, and can overcome it by just adding extra paint in the small areas where there is glue. On a model of a building the glue spots are a small percentage of the total and usually are in the corners where the walls meet and stuff. I just easily just apply 3-4 coats until the paint builds up enough to stick.
On this tiny model I suddenly realized that half the car is covered in glue. And the detail is so small that 3 or 4 coats of paint aren't a viable option as that will add too much thickness to it that cover up the details.
The whole car is a little less than an inch long, to give you an idea of scale. It's similar to any normal N scale car.
So how do I paint this?
My first thought was to spray a light coat of normal household white over the whole thing first. That might work to cover the glue so a brushed on acrylic would adhere. But I only get one shot at this so I don't want to take any chances.
Do any of you painting experts have suggestions? Perhaps a different kind of paint?
The glue is Ethyl Cyanoacrylate. (Specifically, EZ Bond brand. This stuff.)
Roughing it up with sandpaper usually helps a lot, but that's not an option here as there is no way to sand the tiny details.
I'm open to any suggestions about how to do this. Primer layers, different paint type, black magic, etc etc etc.
Also any suggestions on how to make the final result look glossy? It's supposed to be a metal car. But the paint is going to show the wood grain. I was thinking an acrylic laquer as a final coat to make it shiny. Specifically glassy nail polish. I'm open to suggestions on that as well.
Thanks to anyone who has a good idea on this. (Heck, thanks for anyone with bad ideas! Half the good ideas in the world come from tweaking bad ideas!!) I'm very used to this wood and this glue and painting it all, but not for this tiny scale. I realized when I got this far that painting would be different than the buildings I'm used to making.
I need to paint this tiny N scale car....
So it looks like this....
(Obviously I've still got some more detail prep work to do before its' time to paint...headlights, windows, etc....) I can handle the painting details fine. My hand is steady enough.
The problem I have is getting the paint to adhere. I made the model out of bass wood. Small strips glued together. The vent things in the back and Mr Fusion are all bass wood pieces glued together.
The glue is the problem.
Acrylic paint doesn't like to adhere to it. I've run into this on other larger models I've done of buildings and stuff, and can overcome it by just adding extra paint in the small areas where there is glue. On a model of a building the glue spots are a small percentage of the total and usually are in the corners where the walls meet and stuff. I just easily just apply 3-4 coats until the paint builds up enough to stick.
On this tiny model I suddenly realized that half the car is covered in glue. And the detail is so small that 3 or 4 coats of paint aren't a viable option as that will add too much thickness to it that cover up the details.
The whole car is a little less than an inch long, to give you an idea of scale. It's similar to any normal N scale car.
So how do I paint this?
My first thought was to spray a light coat of normal household white over the whole thing first. That might work to cover the glue so a brushed on acrylic would adhere. But I only get one shot at this so I don't want to take any chances.
Do any of you painting experts have suggestions? Perhaps a different kind of paint?
The glue is Ethyl Cyanoacrylate. (Specifically, EZ Bond brand. This stuff.)
Roughing it up with sandpaper usually helps a lot, but that's not an option here as there is no way to sand the tiny details.
I'm open to any suggestions about how to do this. Primer layers, different paint type, black magic, etc etc etc.
Also any suggestions on how to make the final result look glossy? It's supposed to be a metal car. But the paint is going to show the wood grain. I was thinking an acrylic laquer as a final coat to make it shiny. Specifically glassy nail polish. I'm open to suggestions on that as well.
Thanks to anyone who has a good idea on this. (Heck, thanks for anyone with bad ideas! Half the good ideas in the world come from tweaking bad ideas!!) I'm very used to this wood and this glue and painting it all, but not for this tiny scale. I realized when I got this far that painting would be different than the buildings I'm used to making.
Last edited by a moderator:
