need help

[gbetteley]

I am new to modeling and am hoping someone can help me.

Is there something I am doing wrong when applying the paint job? This is my procedure

1: I apply a primer coat

2: 2-3 mist coats applied 20 min apart wait 2 hrs then wet sand using 1200 sand grit.

3: 1 wet coat wait 24hrs.

4: 1 more wet coat wait another 24hr.

5: 2 mist coats of clear coat 20 min apart

6: 1 wet coat clear coat wait 24hr.

7: 1 more wet coat of clear coat wait 3-4 days before handling.

The reason I am asking is because no matter how nice the paint job looks when assembling I always get smudges or fingerprints on the surface that I can not get off.

Is there a trick to this?

Here are the materials I am using

airbrush,tamiya extra fine surface primer, Tamiya spray paint, Tamiya or alclad clear coat.

 

[stona]

This may seem a bit obvious but was is it that you are painting?

I can't see anything wrong with the painting schedule,in fact it is more elaborate that mine. It does seem that you are assembling whatever you are building after painting.

I'm sure we will get to the bottom of this.

Cheers

Steve

 

[dubster72]

As Steve said, it might be helpful to know what it is that you're building. Also, have you tried latex gloves? I wear them all the time both during the build & painting stages as hands have so much dirt, oil & grease that we can't see but will leave a residue that can react badly with paint.

Personally, I think your painting stages are perhaps a little over-zealous unless it's am automotive model that needs real depth in the paintwork. You could easily lose a mist & wet coat.

Cheers

Patrick

 

[gbetteley]

Model cars right now it is a 1/12 scale Lola. And you are correct I am assemblying after painting. Usually during the assembly process is when I get the fingerprints or smudges. When I say fingerprints I mean the oily residue that settles while handling. I even tried using rubber gloves but that still left marks.

 

[stona]

I've never built a car in my life but working on the principle that a model is a model may I ask what glues you are using. From your final finishing steps I can see that you are after a high gloss finish.

Cheers

Steve

 

[AVB99]

Gbetteley. I am faurly new too. I am building a 1/12 Model T Ford. I have stripped my painting, including the Klear five times now. The guys on here have been very helpful. I wear gloves too and I always get strange marks. I work in super clean conditions. The guys here recommend I use the same paint manufacture as the primer which I did not do. Am just applying my second coat of gloss. This is my first ever gloss coat and it's a huge learning curve. DO post your findings here as I, too, am anxious to learn as will others.

Aidan

 

[gbetteley]

You do bring up a good point I mainly use Tamiya extra thin cement sometimes the zap ca for difficult items to hold together and elmers glue for the windows. The Tamiya extra thin cement does require squeezing joints together and that is where it seems the fingerprints develop. The bodies I assemble have multiple peices to the body is there another glue perhaps?

 

[tecdes]

I am new to modeling and am hoping someone can help me.Is there something I am doing wrong when applying the paint job? This is my procedure

1: I apply a primer coat

2: 2-3 mist coats applied 20 min apart wait 2 hrs then wet sand using 1200 sand grit.

3: 1 wet coat wait 24hrs.

4: 1 more wet coat wait another 24hr.

5: 2 mist coats of clear coat 20 min apart

6: 1 wet coat clear coat wait 24hr.

7: 1 more wet coat of clear coat wait 3-4 days before handling.

Hi GB. I would have added before 1 a used 1500 grit wet & dry (prior to priming) making sure you rinse before dry or make sure you get rid of the fog on the surface before painting.

Not used the paint you are using. But primer coats are on average the paint which takes the longest to dry. I would not attempt with Vallejo, which I use & is quite quick drying, to touch until ay least 24 hours after the final priming coat. I actually use a mist coat then a final full coat. Also I would use a 1500 worn paper to wet & dry the primer again getting rid of the fog by using water.

Cannot say this will help the problem you have but I think he above is better.

Interesting are these marigolds you use ?!? In the shop recently noted, as a present for my dear wife, they come in purple as well as marigold with large daisies attached to the cuffs.

Laurie

 

[Ian M]

When buying latex gloves, make sure that you get the unpowered ones, I buy mine from work and although the inside are lightly powdered the outsides are totally powder free.

If you really are having problems with glue smudges, I would imagine that the glues will do a fubar on the paint, and not just smudges. This suggests to me that the finger prints and smudges are being caused buy the pressing on the not totally hardened paint. Two solutions could be either leave things longer to give them more time to harden. Or you could try soft cotton gloves, just watch out for the glue!!! And the fluff.

Ian M

 

[stona]

It's not just the glue escaping from a join that will cause marks in the paintwork. The vapour alone may soften your finish enough for it to take a fingerprint or other mark.

I think that this is probably the root of your problem.

I don't really feel qualified to comment on the construction techniques used in automobile modelling but I'm surprised that the parts are painted before assembly. It's not something I'd attempt on an aircraft model

Hopefully a 'car' modeller will comment and maybe cast a little more light for us.

Cheers

Steve

 

[tecdes]

To pass on a bit of info I got when buying disposable latex gloves.

You can buy the B & Q type one size floppy & thin & expensive.

But I went to our local medical supply shop. They do walking sticks, scalpels, special this & special that etc. But they also do latex & plastic gloves. First question asked are you allergic to latex as a good percentage are. Next if you are or not sure they had as an alternative plastic gloves. The gloves are examination quality ie they are robust do not rupture easily yet they are still thin enough to feel with. Next and as important they do small medium & large, most important to get the right size otherwise they are a pain to sloppy or stopping circulation. As Ian has pointed out a problem, these do not come in powdered form. Most important they are reasonably priced from memory about a 100 pairs for £5.

Laurie

 

[Richy C]

Although I`m no expert I do like making race cars but that seems a lot of clear wet coats your using, like Laurie when at the clear coat stage I begin with a couple of miscoats and when fully dry hit it with a wet coat I then use zero course , medium and finally a fine polish ,

Do you decant the tamiya sprays ? from my own experience I find the ts cans go on far to thick with no control , my guessing is with that many clear coats it has not cured fully although the top coat may seem cured , as for glue I use loctite super glue the one with the brush and for fine bits I use the same but with a toothpick .

For the future if you plan to make any more cars or try the Hiroboy website their Zero paint and clear coats are top notch and the nearest colours you can get to the real thing ,

I`ve just got into building 1/12 scale tamiya race cars myself and they are not something that can be rushed , the Lola looks a great car don`t be shy posting a few photo`s of your build

Cheers

Richy

 

[Gomer Pyle]

I'm into car building myself and have had your exact problem as well. I've used 3 different clear coats: Firstly, a cheapo spray-can from the DIY-shop (most likely enamel), but being disappointed with the heavy "yellowing" and not being willing to use the more toxic Lacquers, I opted for some acrylic clears (Tamiya and Gunze). Now here is where the snake enters paradise, I never managed to get the these two clears to cure to a truly hard surface (Gunze was the softest one of these) but both were very prone to taking fingerprints. I found, like you probably have, that it occurred typically while merging body to chassis or while polishing, process's that usually take slightly more force than normal handling.

This turned out to be because the moisture and the heat from my fingers would soften the clear coat even further than it already was, enough to leave permanent fingerprints. Wearing Nitrile gloves reduced the fingerprints but not all the way. So now, when I handle clear-coated car-bodies and panels, I wear thin cotton gloves (the once we used for break-dance/electric-boggy in the 80's) on the inside and nitrile gloves on the outside. After this the fingerprints are barely noticeable and hence quite easy to just polish away before adding BMF and merging with the chassis.

I also tested with other aclylics; vallejo and a Johnson-Future equivalent (Parket-Plus, picked up in Sweden as there are no Johnson Floor wax's available in Denmark).

Both these cured to a hard surface that didn't receive fingerprints. Only the Vallejo had a milky sheen to it even after polishing and No! I never use tap-water for thinning clears, only distilled water. The Johnson floor-wax must have been of a wrong formula, as it produced a lot of very fine small cracks when applied to the typical base-coats that I use (Vallejo and Tamiya) and it also didn't look "Show-room" shiny after polishing, although less milky than the Vallejo.

Ultimately I continued using the Tamiya (I still have a significant stash and couple of WIP's that I don't want to strip).

I will be testing out other clears when I get the chance to reestablish my workbench. I've heard good things about a product called "Hycote", maybe you could beat me to it in terms of testing it out.

/Daniel

 

[tecdes]

Daniel I use Vallejo & think that the milkyness you see is the acrylic resin in the thinners. I wonder if you are thinning to much.

Best thing is to email Vallejo they have a great customer service replies within 2 hours or less. Plus they are informative rather than a thin holding answer.

I always worry when a mixture of manufacturers are being used. Prime undercoat top coat & glaze. There seems to be such a mixture at times. Drying through different manufacturers coats. To really cure paint it takes longer than 24 hours. It is drying for a long time & if a coat of another manufacturer is applied there is a great chance of not achieving a full cure. While it will fully cure through the same manufactures paint. I just stick to one manufacturer for all coats (including ditching Kleer) & have not had any problems except human frailty in the art i.e. me.

Laurie

 

[gbetteley]

Thanks for all of your help!! This forum is awesome you guys helped out alot. I beleive I rushed the assembly process by not allowing two staged to dry completely. First the primer coat that I did I only let cure roughly 3-4 hrs. It was dry to the touch.(Tamiya extra thin primer). Also the clear coat I only let dry around 12-14 hr.(Alclad kleer). I was under the impression the alclad dries quickly with what I read online. Other than this the model is coming along nicely will post some pics when done. The marks are on the surface underneath the fuel tanks so not noticible unless you turn the model upside down. However I know they are there and that bothers me. Any sugestions on the proper drying time for Alclad kleer? I used this because I had alot of decals and the Alclad kleer is decal friendly.