I see strokes and darker, lighter spots, am I doing something wrong?

[notflip]

It's only the first layer, with the right part I tried to use less paint, and push less hard on the pencil.
The pencil is about 0.5cm wide, is there anything I can do to improve this?

 

[boatman]

Yes give it another coat I think

 

[Gary MacKenzie]

Many thin layers, it will slowly build up.
Let it dry between coats or it may lift.

 

[notflip]

Many thin layers, it will slowly build up.
Let it dry between coats or it may lift.

Thanks, how long do you advice to let it dry? I use very few paint and still I get the strokes, it might be my technique.

• Do I have to press hard on the brush?
• Go from top to bottom; then lift up the brush and start at the top again?

 

[Gary MacKenzie]

I am no great painter, I know that sometimes the same paint sits differently on different manufacturers plastic.
I would let it dry overnight , that should be long enough , less than 1 hour is unlikely to be any help.

 

[Spartan]

As Ron explains in his no thrills painting with brushes thread. The first two coats will look bloody crap but it will look better as the coats are applied.
Just remember don’t be tempted to put another coat on until it’s dried.

 

[stillp]

What type/brand of paint is it?
Pete

 

[notflip]

What type/brand of paint is it?
Pete

It's the Revell Aqua paint. I have the brush from the Revell beginners kit, and I don't think it's a good brush at all.
Can you recommend a good all-round brush for larger surfaces? Such as the one's I posted? Thanks Pete!

 

[Gary MacKenzie]

For large areas , if brushpainting them , i use a Daler Rowney Graduate no 16 flat brush. Part of a set i bought from Amazon in a black wallet.
John has a similar brush @ https://www.scalemodelshop.co.uk/product/the-army-painter-br7011-vehicle-scenery-wargamer-brush

 

[stillp]

A flat brush from a local art/craft shop, about 6mm wide, will be good for surfaces that sort of size. Don't worry too much about brushmarks in the first coat though, leave it a couple of hours (or longer) then add another coat.
Pete

 

[Tim Marlow]

Hi Miguel
Don’t worry about trying to cover in one coat. Two or three thin coats will give you a better finish. All you have done here is give it a slightly uneven coat of paint, I get exactly the same appearance if I use brush paint on larger flat areas. Just give it another coat or two until you get a solid appearance. Don’t be tempted to put the paint on too thick or you will obscure detail.
Tim

 

[pavleeto]

Hello,

Sorry for bumping this old thread, I don't have permission to create a new one
I have a problem with my Vallejo model colour paints. I've got 2 different red and 2 different yellow colors. They adhere poorly to the plastic and build up against molding:


I have washed plastic in a soapy water + sprayed a Tamiya primer before painting the model. I have shaken the paint before applying it. I have also thinned it using Vallejo Thinner Medium using various ratios (from no thinner to 1:1).
This doesn't happen with dark colors (like black, grey and brown), only with the bright ones (red, cyan, yellow).
Could you please give me some advice? Is the paint bad/expired?

 

[Gary MacKenzie]

What are the paint numbers from vallejo ?
Yellow is not one of the easiest paints to get right, which tamiya spray did you use for the primer ?

 

[KarlW]

How long are you shaking for and do you use agitators in your paint.
Are you brushing or spraying? Should be no need for thinning if brush painting.

Yellow is notoriusly difficult to get right, lot's of thin layers rather than 1 or 2 thicker layers.
Also on off yellow primer helps, something sand colour.
Also a wide flat brush may help.

 

[Tim Marlow]

Hi Pavlo
you appear to be putting on too much paint in one go (hence the bubbles and pooling). When you dip the brush in the paint take off the excess before making the stroke. This will prevent pooling and air bubbles. The other issue is the pigment. Yellows, Reds and some blues are actually semi transparent so don’t cover well. You will need more layers to get an even coat. Karl’s tip of a sand coloured primer is what I do for yellow as well. I usually use a grey primer but underpaint these sort of colours to get better coverage. If you want to paint solid red, underpaint with Amaranthe red. It covers well. For blue, underpaint with a sky blue, again it covers well. Your thinning ratio seems about right.
Hope this helps
Tim

 

[Jakko]

I would recommend pretty much what the posts above me already said: yellow is difficult to paint, especially by brush, and needs either a light undercoat (preferably white, is my experience) or a sand colour that’s fairly close to the yellow you want. Even then, you’re going to need multiple layers, so paint it on thin.

Generally, though, it will be far easier and neater to spray it. Put on a coat of white primer and then use an airbrush or a spraying can for the yellow. This way it should cover evenly in just one or two coats.

 

[pavleeto]

Thanks for the advice!

I am using a Deep Yellow (70.915) and a Flat Red (70.957) paints. I've used a Tamiya Surface Primer Spray Paint
I didn't use an agitator. I tried to get all air out of the bottle and had been squeezing the bottle for around 5 minutes

Do different colours adhere to the plastic in a different manner? Should I expect different behavior from a black paint and, say, a red one?
I am concerned if the paint could be bad. I have bought a Sky Blue (70.961) and it just refused to confirm to the surface at all. I then bought the same paint but from a different vendor and it was adhering well without the localized build ups.

Did any of you have faced a similar issue?

 

[Archetype]

I tried to get all air out of the bottle and had been squeezing the bottle for around 5 minutes

This might be your issue. You need to vigorously shake the bottle to make sure the solids are emulsified.
When left the paint will separate with the solids sinking to the bottom.

 

[Steve Brodie]

like everyone has said, yellow and to a degree red are really hard to hand paint. Airbrushing they cover a lot better but that's not what you are asking. You need a white coat under the yellow as its a very translucent colour, build it up with thin coats of paint, but don't load the brush, else you will get pooling on the plastic. Tamiya paints are pigs to brush paint, unless you thin them down a bit (Airbrush beautifully though) and their yellow just takes ages to get any density. Vallejos Yellows are the ones I go to for brush painting.

As an example the yellow on the chameleons back is made from about 7 coats!


Hope this helps a bit.

 

[Neil Merryweather]

I feel your pain Pavleeto.
the life vest on my Luftwaffe pilot took about 7 coats of Vallejo Modelair Medium Yellow over a sand coloured base
I had pre-shaded it as well and I just couldn't reduce the contrast with any less.
But it's less noticeable on this sculptural surface than on your dead flat surface, so I guess I got away with it.
good luck
N