For those of you who paint your grabs before installing them on your models, how do you typically paint them?
By hand or with an airbrush?
Do you prime them first?
Have you made a jig to hold them?
Thanks!
First of all, if I'm painting the entire model, and if the grabs won't interfere with multi-color masking, I usually install the grabs "raw" then paint the entire model.
If I do have to paint them first here's how I approach it:
I leave the grab irons "full length" and stick them in styrofoam (pink or blue board or florist's green foam, not the beaded stuff).
When I stick them into the foam I use a small piece of styrene or wood as a spacer. This is slightly thicker than the distance I'm leaving between the bracket portion of the grab and side of the car. In other words, if the grab will be ~.035" from the side of the car, I'll use a piece of .030 styrene as a spacer.
Then I usually spray this piece of foam the body color of the car - although a brush also works.
If the paint beads up on the metal (sometimes happens with acrylic paints - especially if there's any oil left over on the wire from the bending and forming jigs) I'll give the grabs a quick, very light overspray with primer. This is not to get full coverage but instead to "bite" into the surface.
Once dry I remove the grabs from the foam, trim the legs if needed, and install them on the model.
