Firing up the Airbrush

[Bob Bufkin]

I've gotten decent results using blue painters tape.  I haven't done any airbrushing in years.  Not that I can't do it - I just hate cleaning up afterwards.

[davefoxx]

Lee,

Looking back at the pictures of your F-unit, have you considered using white decal paper for the white areas on the shell?  Then, you could cover the color separations with the red and black areas with a clean edge of a decal.  I once did this on an HO scale locomotive years ago to create the black walkways and avoided an insane amount of masking.  I'm just not that good.  I admit that I didn't have any black decal paper at the time, but was that a problem?  Nope, I shot clear decal film with a layer of black paint.  Voila!  Instant decals in the color of your choice!

DFF

[wm3798]

Good idea on the white decal film... I've got a ton of that floating around somewhere...

I used good ole' blue painter's tape.  I think it did pretty well, overall.  For the white lettering blocks, I printed my decal art onto some avery labels, then trimmed them out as precisely as I could, and used them for masks.  I did a seal coat of white before shooting the red. 

I think I needed to thin the red out some more, and maybe add a few drops of matte medium to the thinner to get less of the "Frosted Cupcake" look...

Next I need to get hold of a laser printer, as my ink jet makes crappy black output on decal film, even the kind advertised for ink jets.  I also want to tackle the radiator grilles... they need to be etched metal.  I couldn't get the original paint out of the cast detail, and they just filled right up with primer and paint, so now they look a little too "impressionistic"...

I finished lettering it last night, though.  So I'll probably swab some silver on the other side grille, shoot her with some dull cote, add the grabs and horns, and put a few thousand miles on her before the next major shop date...

Lee

[davefoxx]

Lee,

Have you considered getting Kato or similar replacement metal grilles for your F-unit, like I did on the Life-Like E8 that you rebuilt for me?  In my case, I used Kato E8/9 grilles that I bought at MBK.  Perhaps those could be cut down for an F-unit OR maybe someone makes grilles specifically for F-units.  To me, it made a huge difference in the appearance of the Life-Like shell.

Just a thought,
DFF

[wm3798]

Absolutely.  Compared to the IM Funits, the Kato looks horrible.  GMM makes an F unit dress up kit for Kato shells...  Next time I have two nickels to rub together, I'll look into it...

Lee

[Bob Bufkin]

O.K. Lee.  Plano make all types of grills for both F and E units.  Chuck has them listed and I know he loves to take you money.

[up1950s]

Another trick to get good color separation is to cut a new, clean edge, rather than relying on the factory edge of the tape.  I have also stuck the tape to a piece of glass before applying to the shell to remove some of the stickiness and minimizing the pulling of paint.  Also, at the risk of paint build-up, spraying another coat of the masked color after masking, seals the tape and may prevent the subsequent paint from bleeding underneath.

Ed, like you, I also procrastinate on subjects that are out of my comfort zone.  That's why there is no weathering, for example, on my layout... yet.  That said, I did finally make a reasonable attempt at scenery on my current layout (a real first for me), so I can overcome these fears.  It just takes time.  Baby steps, perhaps.

Hope this helps,
Dave

Yes , never use the factory edge of masking tape tape .

More light coats than a thick enough to cover coat will decrease the fillet at tapes edge .

Just before actually spraying press down on all tape edges again .

On compound curved surfaces cut the tape very thin , then back fill the field with wider strips being careful that the field tape is properly adhered to that thin border tape to avoid spray seepage .

My hats off to you for showing your early attempt . You are doing others a great service by sharing your progress to being a master spray painter , which no doubt is in the cards Lee .

[wm3798]

With multiple thin coats, though, isn't there a risk of some "orange peel" effect?  I'll try it, because it sounds right, I'm just worried about getting too much texture on the finish...

Lee

[up1950s]

With multiple thin coats, though, isn't there a risk of some "orange peel" effect?  I'll try it, because it sounds right, I'm just worried about getting too much texture on the finish...

Lee

There is but you also want to seal that tape edge . So after the first coat a slightly thicker coat can be applied . I always after painting the color apply a coat of Crystal Cote for decaling so that smooths the finish a whole bunch , Then there's that coat of dullcoat at the end as well . 

[Ryan87]

With multiple thin coats, though, isn't there a risk of some "orange peel" effect?  I'll try it, because it sounds right, I'm just worried about getting too much texture on the finish...

Lee

the "orange peel" is from the paint drying before it hits the model, not from the thickness of the coat...
depending on how light you spray you might get some bumps but what's worse orange peel or dip finish?   ;D 

[tom mann]

And if you thin the paint, it won't dry before it hits the surface so you won't get orange peel.

[Mark5]

Lee,

Way to jump in! ;D You could have picked an easier scheme to start with.

Inspiration to me - I still haven't fired up my airbrush (too f'n busy with work).

Mark

[basementcalling]

Had a similar problem on a white and green color separation line yesterday, but the forum is not letting me post pictures.

Lots of good advice on how to prevent this, but short of stripping and repainting, how do you fix it? Stripping the top of a 100 foot tall building would be tricky at best.

[timgill]

Lots of good advice on how to prevent this, but short of stripping and repainting, how do you fix it?

Well, there's no easy answer, but...strip and repaint. I've botched paint jobs a number of times, but the best fix almost always is to go back to square one and have another go with the knowledge you've gained from the previous try. It's almost always worth the extra effort when you end up more pleased with the final product.

And, to Lee; kudos for jumping in and DOING IT. I have too many projects that have gone un-started because I was too trepidacious about jumping in and getting my feet wet.

[chicken45]

I wonder how much Lee's airbrushing has improved since 2009.