Need help with color on resin solid cast windows

[Lemosteam]

I have painted a resin car up, but I am not sure how to paint the glass areas. Fortunately the car is on a hoist in the speed shop so I probably only need to do the front glass.



I think white would be too stark, silver too metallic, light grey ?? Gloss medium over light grey? Gloss black?

Any ideas?

[peteski]

I used light gray ink on some and black on other pewter models with solid windows.







I made the gray ink by mixing black with white inks.

The garage with the lift in the WU thread looks sweet!

[Lemosteam]

I used light gray ink on some and black on other pewter models with solid windows.







I made the gray ink by mixing black with white inks.

The garage with the lift in the WU thread looks sweet!

How much for the dragline excavator????? Seriously.

Thanks Pete, very helpful.  How did you get the gloss on th minivan using inks?

[peteski]

Thanks John. That dragline excavator was built for a friend.  It could use weathering but I'm not skilled in that.

That latex-based india ink dries glossy if applied to a glossy surface.  I actually didn't buy that ink - it was used as ink in plotter pens when I worked at Computervision Corp.   The were tossing some out so I grabbed a bottle.  At this point it is close to 40 years old.  I hope it is still good as I have not used it for probably about 15 years!  That ink also has some solids settle on the bottom of the bottle which need to be shaken really hard to disperse them back into the liquid.  Maybe that stuff gives it the glossy finish.  I don't even know if that ink is still being made.

[mark.hinds]

Wouldn't the ink sold for technical fountain pens produce the same effect?  In my experience, it typically dries shiny (which required an additional coat of flat to eliminate, when used for markings on small scale models). 

Note canopy and nose cones done with black ink: 


MH

[mark.hinds]

BTW, the technical fountain pen ink can be purchased in a wide range of colors, and not only black.  Some of the colors will allow the underlying paint tint to show through, however, so experiment would be necessary if you want a specific shade.  Applying multiple coats of ink helps with this. 

MH

[peteski]

I'll have to try that ink next time. I just used what I had on-hand.

[thomasjmdavis]

The #2 pencil method. I learned this on railwire, best method I've found.
https://www.therailwire.net/forum/index.php?topic=45941.0 scroll down to reply #9 and posts thereafter.

[mark.hinds]

One warning though, is that some of the markings made with red ink have faded over the years, I think because of exposure to indirect sunlight.  Black and green seem to not have this problem.  For example, I have gaming miniatures where the red ink markings have persisted in like-new condition (stored in a light-tight container when not being used), and others where the red ink markings have almost completely disappeared (stored on a corner of my workbench for 10 years, which is right next to a large window). 

EDIT:  Maybe this varies by brand of ink?  Ask the manufacturer?  You would think that color-fastness of the red colors would be a desirable characteristic, even when the ink is used for its normal (non-model-making) purposes. 

MH

[Lemosteam]

The #2 pencil method. I learned this on railwire, best method I've found.
https://www.therailwire.net/forum/index.php?topic=45941.0 scroll down to reply #9 and posts thereafter.

Thanks for this- I can see how that would work!

@peteski, I think that Mark is referring to the same India inks that I use for my mortar trick thread, unless he is referring to a specific brand.