Which paint to go on first, for light two-tones?

[OldEastRR]

I'm airbrushing a PFE 40' ice reefer, and the paint scheme is the one with light brown roof and ends, then the PFE orange sides. Since both of them seem the same color density, will it matter which is the overall coat and which one is sprayed on over after masking off the first color?

[peteski]

I would still do the orange first (over white, or light gray primer).

[nkalanaga]

I agree.  Brown over orange, at the worst, looks a little rusty.  Orange over brown often looks, at best, dirty, and at worst brown itself.

[robert3985]

I've done almost a hundred PFE reefers from Kadee kits (remember those?) which were molded in black or brown plastic.  No primer, and I used Scalecoat II, spraying the orange as a first coat, then doing the ends and roof.

It's a lot easier to mask the sides than mask the roof, which makes for a better paint line between the roof and sides if the sides are masked and the roof/ends are sprayed.

Scalecoat II covers really well, and I never perceived any intimation of seeing the orange overspray on the roof and ends through the brown, plus it's got a nice, shiny surface which allows and encourages excellent decal application of the fairly complex decals that go on PFE reefers.

[nickelplate759]

If you happen to be painting an Intermountain reefer kit, you can paint the ends and roof brown as separate pieces before assembly - no masking required!

Otherwise, I do the orange first, mask, and then brown.

[pnolan48]

I look at masking patterns first, but then I look at the coverage of specific paints: not all paints cover equally, and some light colors cover better than some dark colors. Some light blues seem to have miraculously cover qualities (i.e., opacity).

[LV LOU]

I look at masking patterns first, but then I look at the coverage of specific paints: not all paints cover equally, and some light colors cover better than some dark colors. Some light blues seem to have miraculously cover qualities (i.e., opacity).

+1..Some projects just have to get light colors over dark because masking the other way is impossible,but light should always go first.Orange,white,yellow,and some reds don't cover well at all,always shoot them first if at all possible.If you have to shoot a light color on top,hit it with a little light gray primer first..