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I've been following your progress. It's too bad the first painting attept didn't go too well. If I'm in need of a good flat black I use the cheap Wal-mart spray-can (it has a very slight grey tint to it) You can spray it dirrectly into the cup of you airbrush and spray it from there.
I use the grimy black as a weathering color only, thinned considerably, and the airbrush volume turneed way down)
What kind of airbrush are you using? It is an internal or external? I've found that an internal works better with acrylics (water based).
When I'm trying to match paint I often take a sample (picture or color swatch) to the hobby or craft store and compare the paint. I also noticed you are trying to use gloss. you might have better luck with flats?
Firstly, thanks for the comments & suggestions.
Airbrush is a Badger 150 - Internal, dual action and I've done some "satisfactory" (IMHO) work with it in the past. I'm looking at the "great stripper incident" as an incentive to do better this time round - We'll see as soon as the damn rain stops round here!
I did cut one of the heralds from the (crazed) decal sheet - Oh dear - I think I must have used too much sealant! It wouldn't budge in water, so I upped the ante to Microsol and then Solvaset - I then had to "fold" the backing sheet away and it eventually released, but by then I'd wiped most of the color off!
The other problem I've now noticed (duh!) is while I need white decal paper to get the center of the herald to work, the outside is also white, and that sucks as it's pretty much impossible to cut it close enough to the black ring without leaving a border of white or chopping the black off......
Lessons learnt:
- I'm gonna have to redo the heralds with a yellow ring around the outside - While I probably can't match the color of the paint exactly, it won't then jump out the way a white (or lack of black!) border does now.
- I think I got a little greedy with the decal spacing - I now reckon a larger border (for cutting 'em out) will help with the getting 'em off the backing paper problem - It'll hopefully allow me to "manipulate" the decal without marring the surface. [And less sealer - Gonna try that on the "good" sheet now.]
Oh well - Live & (hopefully!) learn!
Cheers,
Ian
Wherever you need a herald you can mask and paint a white circle a little smaller than the size of the herald and then apply a clear decal film herald over the white area.
If you can size the heralds right, you could use a punch of some variety to cut it out dead circular. Micro-Mark has a punch for metal paper etc which might work, but it looks like a pretty simple tool to make.
...I did cut one of the heralds from the (crazed) decal sheet - Oh dear - I think I must have used too much sealant! It wouldn't budge in water, so I upped the ante to Microsol and then Solvaset...
Oh dear, part two; In order to test the "too much sealant" theory I tried one (actually a few) of the heralds from the "good sheet" which hasn't seen the sealant - Pretty much the same behavior except that the ink runs (as expected) - Tried water thru solvaset and ultimately turned into a gooey mess on it's backing paper
I don't know if there's a shelf life (this stuff is old), but FWIW right now I'd say Testors decal paper for inkjets is worthless! Is *anyone* using it successfully?......
Wherever you need a herald you can mask and paint a white circle a little smaller than the size of the herald and then apply a clear decal film herald over the white area.
Not a bad idea, thanks - I guess the little reinforcing rings for paper going into binders may be about the right size. Do magic marker do one in white? [This may at least lessen the inevitable ridge that comes with painting.]
I guess I'm gonna try the clear sheet (won't bother printing onto it for now!) and see if that releases any easier - If it does I may try this approach.
If you can size the heralds right, you could use a punch of some variety to cut it out dead circular. Micro-Mark has a punch for metal paper etc which might work, but it looks like a pretty simple tool to make.
I looked at that;
http://www.micromark.com/Micro-Punch-Set,8603.html
It appears from their pic the punches are solid, not hollow (?) and simply "tear" thru the paper - I guess it works and may try and do something similar (a buddy can get me tool steel and drill the holes on his cnc machine) Hmmmm....
For now though, my decal experimenting days are over! I read (somewhere, can't find it now) about someone using delaminated photo paper - Wonder how you do that?
Cheers,
Ian
I'm pretty sure what I used was Testors, and I laid the sealant pretty thick. Looks like the batch you've got sat for waaaaay too long. (Odd, the really old decals I've found fall apart when I get them wet. Different chemical process, I guess.)
The delaminated photo paper's an interesting idea. I assume you'd print, seal, scrub the paper off of the back until just the shiny surface was left, and then... stick it on somehow?
It tears yes but because the tolerances are so tight, it comes out cleanly. Supposedly.
I'm pretty sure what I used was Testors, and I laid the sealant pretty thick. Looks like the batch you've got sat for waaaaay too long.
That's my thinking as well.
To put an end to this sorry tale, I tried the clear stuff with the same (disappointing) results :-(
Oh well - I guess I'll pick up some "fresh" stuff (How do you tell I wonder?) and try again...... In the meantime at least it's stopped raining so I can try painting the sucker *again*!
BTW, I tried separating the photo paper - Suffice to say that didn't go well either!......
Cheers,
Ian
- I guess I'll pick up some "fresh" stuff (How do you tell I wonder?) and try again.....
The LHS had it in stock, and the pricing sticker was dated 1/16/11......
It's a long way from perfect, but at least it came off the backing sheet......
Cheers,
Ian
It's a start anyway. Just needs a little weathering.
It's a start anyway. Just needs a little weathering.
And the use of a
square decal! I'm gonna redo the herald decals with a square yellow background that I can cut to.....
However, we're now up to "disaster #3!" It's back in the 91% again!
This sucker will have seen more paint than the prototype before I'm done!
I did the green stripe first this time. Then I used a single 6mm width of tape to protect it and get a nice parallel edged stripe - Something learnt from the earlier effort. However, much to my surprise, the yellow just sort of "pooled up" over the green - While pulling the tape off did reveal (surprisingly!) satisfactory edges, the finish sucked - It didn't really cover the green until it was *way* too thick! Maybe I should have re-primed it first(?)[Both paints were Model Master acrylics to save anyone searching btw].
It adhered really well to the Tamiya primer - Actually well enough that it looks like it's gonna need an overnight bath, but its already fallen off the green areas..... I dunno what went wrong - Maybe I should have just misted it, let it dry properly & repeated, but it never "felt" (or looked!) right while I was spraying. [Anyone got any theories?]
Current thinking is I'm gonna do it solid yellow then add the stripe with home made decals - In fact if I do 'em on the clear paper I'll work the Virginia & Truckee name into 'em as well - It's gonna be difficult (impossible?) to match the cab color, but can't be worse than where I am now.......
Oh well - Still having fun & living & learning!
Cheers,
Ian
If you put the green on clear paper, then put it over the yellow, the yellow will try to show through. Any color but black on a clear decal is translucent (and even black may not be totally opaque). It might work on white paper, but then you've got to cut the edges just right.
If you want to match the cab, print out a few shades of green on photo paper, then select the one closest to the cab color. You can do a lot of color adjustment on a modern computer, so chances are you can find a decent match.
With pretty much any paint job you want to shoot the light colors first. Dark colors cover almost anything. Light colors require a light base.
Hope you get it to work this time.
You're a lot more patient than I am!
...You're a lot more patient than I am!
It was close to getting the big "heave-ho" -
Again!
It was weird though - It was almost (but not quite!) as if the paints were incompatible
Thanks for the comments - They do help! I'm messing with the decal sheet layout again now and will try some different shades - It's not 100% prototypical, but if I can get it close to the dark green that's on the cab I'll be happy!
Cheers,
Ian
The saga continues!......
It's been in the 91% for ~24 hours now, and it's barely done anything..... Noodling around provides lots of suggestions, from Pine Sol, thru oven cleaner to Castrol super cleaner and brake fluid
eek
The Tamiya primer is particularly tough it seems.
Anyone got any "proven methods" for when the 91% doesn't cut it?
Cheers,
Ian
I've used something called Citrus Strip, it's a really orange-smelling solvent that seemed to take off pretty much whatever I used it on, and didn't seem to damage plastic. I haven't tried real pine-sol, but I can say that the orange stuff doesn't do squat (except make the model smell nasty).
I've also tried Goo Gone. Don't use Goo Gone. It eats ABS like acetone eats styrene.
Paint is odd. I was doing a model car a while back, and I tried to spray black over the clear coat to do the windows. I'd tested it the other way around with no issues, but the black paint applied over the clear cracked and shrunk and generally got nasty. I've even had paint craze sprayed over itself.
Never hurts to test on scrap.
Something of a good news update!
I picked up some real Pine Sol ($3.50 versus $2.50 for the 2-for-1 Walmart stuff!). Figuring this wouldn't really do anything, I also grabbed some brake fluid - DOT3 - The nasty stuff.......
I figured if the solvent of choice hasn't worked in ~24 hrs, it's time to try something different. [Although, some say it may take a *week* to work, I'm skeptical....]
So, it was with very low expectations I dunked it into a Pine Sol bath.
It's working!
It particularly seems to like the primer, and after an hour it appears as shown - I know it's gnarly right now, but it's getting there and I guess it should have the same (24 hour) opportunity as the 91% - Once it's clean I'll report back if anyone other than RW&C is still reading this nausea....
Cheers,
Ian
What gets me about the Bachmann 44-tonner is the miserable windows. Compare the prototype in that photo with the model--the real thing is like a greenhouse with big windows and narrow frames. Bachmann made them look like little slit windows, and worse still because the cab walls are so thick.
I know, you've got big enough troubles with a small locomotive already.
Pinesol works good but wear rubber gloves if handling the shell with your hands. It will soften the plastic slightly and will leave fingerprints if you don't wear gloves. I would stay away from the brake fluid though. It is a bit too strong for some plastics. I also recommend painting the light colors first and then the dark, as someone else mentioned. Are you using the same type of paint for both colors? You can use acrylics over enamels or laquers but if you use enamels or laquer over the acrylic, the acrylic can lift.
What gets me about the Bachmann 44-tonner is the miserable windows. Compare the prototype in that photo with the model--the real thing is like a greenhouse with big windows and narrow frames. Bachmann made them look like little slit windows, and worse still because the cab walls are so thick.
Agreed. This is not (fortunately!) a "high end" loco - One reason I've been so free and east messing with it!
I know, you've got big enough troubles with a small locomotive already.
Ain't that the truth!
Pinesol works good but wear rubber gloves if handling the shell with your hands. It will soften the plastic slightly and will leave fingerprints if you don't wear gloves. I would stay away from the brake fluid though. It is a bit too strong for some plastics. I also recommend painting the light colors first and then the dark, as someone else mentioned. Are you using the same type of paint for both colors? You can use acrylics over enamels or laquers but if you use enamels or laquer over the acrylic, the acrylic can lift.
Same paint (Modelmaster acrylics).
For those who noted *way* back the difficulty of getting the hand rails out - I can assure you pinesol will loosen 'em! Although mine were already off it loosened the red mouldings with the uncoupler bars such that they fell off with just a little persuasion. [I noticed they were loose when using the toothbrush - A little help and they're out!] This is good news as it makes masking much easier.
I'm back at square one! - A nice clean bare shell - I'll post pix later.....
Cheers,
Ian
I'm back at square one! - A nice clean bare shell - I'll post pix later.....
The bare shell & again after primer.......
Completely OT, but while searching around for something else, I came across a "test piece" I did *years* back - It's pretty beat up, and the cars need some "run off" areas next time, but it kinda worked IMHO. I used the Woodland Scenics "Scenery Practice" (or whatever it's called) kit + some other stuff.......
Cheers,
Ian
Ian, Can you share a picture of your painting stand? That looks pretty interesting.
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