This will be easy.

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F

frog

Member
At least that's what I thought when I started painting my F7 A and B unit in black and yellow ACL.

Using my old Testors external mix airbrush, more like a mini spray gun, I painted both units black. No problem. Then I masked off the section for the bottom which takes yellow and applied a brisk light coat. Letting it dry, I applied another. Ditto 6 times using Scalecoat reefer yellow. Still not near enough coverage. Paint is really thin, almost like straight thinner.

So I have a bottle of Testors yellow. I figure I will brush it on since it is a rather narrow strip. After 3 coats with a brush it looks great. Now all I have to do is use my yellow strip decals for the top band which is much slimmer.

So I pull off my tape and it is run city! The Scalecoat was so thin even though I made a single light pass at a time it still seeped under my Tamiya tape! That will make you feel rather nasty after all that.

So, how to strip all the paint and start from square one.

I have paint thinner but I fear it would damage the Athearn plastic but by now I am mad. I think many methods were discovered by men who were mad, so on this I lucked out. It worked. I got a stiff brush, kinda like a big toothbrush and went at it. Within 20 minutes or so all paint was off. I rinsed the shell with water to remove what thinner I could and let dry.

What is the trick to spraying yellow? Was the paint just too thin?

I am going to just use a brush for my yellow this time. It won't look as smooth but at least it will stay where it belongs.

My next project--if I live long enough to finish this one is to paint a couple of locos of the Bay Line. These are green with a broad band down the sides--in yellow of course.

Should I try another brand of paint maybe? I have used Scalecoat before in other colors with good results, or is it just the color yellow? In my limited experience I have found yellow one of the toughest colors to work with.
 
Always best to apply the lightest color first, especially yellow as it isn't very opaque. Assume you've primed the model first? If so, make sure its really dry - if you can smell the paint up close, then its still drying. Apply the area in yellow first, no real need to mask, just do the area. Again let it dry thoroughly. Then mask the yellow and paint the rest black.

Good luck!
 


Primed it? Well no. I know what primer is and all and its purpose but I did not know you had to prime plastic models. Makes sense though. Anyway, I didn't. I don't think I've ever noticed any primer at the hobby shops but of course I wasn't looking for it.

Next time I will apply the yellow first. Simply didn't occur to me earlier. One would just naturally paint the larger area with whatever is needed and then hit the trim.
 
As mentioned, paint the light colors first. Also, priming is good. Use a white or very light grey primer under the yellow. Use GOOD masking tape, like 3M green or blue Fine Line tape from an auto paint supply place. make sure the edge of the tape is well sealed. I use my fingernail, or a round wooden stick to "burnish" the edge of the tape. Spray the first coat VERY lightly, and allow to dry almost completely before you spray the next coat, again very lightly. Let it tack well also. That allows the paint to "seal" the tape.

Any paint job is only as good as the preparation that goes into it.

Rotor
 
The 3M Fine Line tapes come in varying widths, down to 1/16 inch (or less?) which makes it perfect for masking stripes and such on your model. Paint the yellow, run a strip of tape, burnish it, and spray the black VERY LIGHTLY.

Rotor
 
Good advice. Thank you.

I picked up some Testors white primer today, stripped one engine earlier and have applied the primer. Fingers crossed this time.
 
Another couple of tips,

No1 is warm the masking up a little as you apply it, so it conforms better to any unevenness in the surface,

No 2 is after you have masked off, give the job another coat of the background colour (in this case yellow) to seal the mask edge, so that if there is any bleed you won't see it.

Good luck, show us the results!
 
Thanks for the tips.

I am interested to see how well the yellow coverage is on the primer. I'll try the Scalecoat again it seems quite thin but I'll keep on with the light coats until I get coverage.

The two units I paid I think $10 for both, shells were undecorated and pretty dinged up so they aren't going to look first class I think, but good ones to tackle and learn.
 
One last tip when spraying on an area with masking tape. Hold the brush at a flat 90 degree angle to the tape. Don't angle the brush toward the tape edge in an attempt to get paint right up to the edge of the tape. The straight on approach will work just fine with light coats as already mentioned by the others. No matter how good the tape or how careful you apply it the slightest surface imperfection can cause a run under the edge of the tape.
 


stickboy said:
Another couple of tips,

No1 is warm the masking up a little as you apply it, so it conforms better to any unevenness in the surface,

No 2 is after you have masked off, give the job another coat of the background colour (in this case yellow) to seal the mask edge, so that if there is any bleed you won't see it.
Good luck, show us the results!
Click to expand...

That is a very good tip, and one I forgot to mention!

Again, VERY LIGHT COATS, almost, but not quite, to the point of "dry spray".

NH Mike also had a good tip I forgot to mention, spray at 90 dgrees to , or if possible, even away from the tape!

After 40 plus years of painting, some things you just do without thinking about it.

Rotor
 
I'll hit it with the first coat of yellow today sometime. So just give it a light quick dusting at first to "seal" the tape edges, then after that dries give it a more heavy coat, or just keep on with the very light coats until enough is on?

The only areas I masked off were the plates below the doors which will get a brush coat of grey or silver when all else is done. I just didn't want to lose too much detail in these with all the paint coats.

Other than a boxcar I did years back, this is the only job I have done except buildings and such.

As to masking with a airbrush I have done ship models, hull waterlines. In that you use darker paints, mostly red and black which I would put a full coat on in one or two passes at about 25 psi. It turned out good but I was using darker paints mixed on the heavy side. That's probably the only reason I got away with it.
 
Just put on a coat of yellow. Although I sprayed very lightly the coverage was excellent. What a difference the primer makes. Looks like I'll just need one more coat of yellow after this one dries good.
 
Well at last I have completed my A and B units, not too good to crow about but I have learned a lot of do's and don'ts, also I have become a "pro" at stripping and starting over.

The primer worked like a charm, very sharp lines, tough working with yellow when your masking tape is of the same color. Wish my vision was that of 20 years ago, but they don't look too bad.

I was wondering about the actual locations of the front grab irons either side of the lights. I have made a template in order to drill based on estimates of locations from units I have seen on different sites, my temp is using the "plate" in front as a set point, secure it, drill one side, flip it over and drill the other. If all goes well they should be a mirrow image of eachother.

Afterward I'll put in the number boards with dry transfer numbers, then hit it all with 2 coats of gloss for the decals. I don't think the ACL used the side grabirons for acess to the hood/windshield area, and the grabs above the windows seem to be omitted as well.

Turned out to be anything but easy but you guys have been a huge help--especially with the primer. The yellow goes on like a dream.
 
This may sound a little strange, but there are really 2 colors where a light color primer makes a HUGE difference. The first is, as you have seen, yellow. The second color is red!

Even though red is a "dark" color, it acts as a lighter color does and needs the lighter primer for good coverage.

You can check this by spraying a black surface with just red. Then prime another black surface with the light color primer, and then spray the red. The coats on just the black surface will appear darker, and will have to be thicker, than the coats on the primed surface.
 
I forgot about orange. Its not a color you would see around here often, although we saw it a lot in Mobile.

The one and only experience I've ever had painting orange extensively was an Alco Brass, C-628 in ICG colors. No matter what I did, The brass would "bleed" through the white and actually turn the white a faded orange. I was just starting to paint under the tutelage of Roy Keely in Mobile, and no matter what we tried the brass was leeching chemicals that actually discolored the white. We tried priming, shield coats, white first, orange first, shield coat between the white and orange etc, to no avail.

So we weathered the loco slightly, and my customer, (my first), was satisfied, and none of the other 6 brass locos in the same scheme, orange and white, I did for him experienced that problem. I also never had the problem since.
 
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