by mattb » Sat Apr 11, 2015 10:51 am
P1010004.JPGI have sprayed about every kind of finish there is since the days of Dupont Duluxe enamel. You old guys remember that stuff. I've had lots of experiments with spray cans and the Krylon stuff is pretty good for canned paint. The best and easiest results I have is with Tamiya spray lacquer. It is a little pricey, but a can will do 2-3 cars. There is no cleanup to speak of, just put the cap back on when you are done. The paint is really finely atomized and that makes it spray so evenly that it is easy to get a smooth as glass finish. I also use their clear for decalled cars. For ease of use, this stuff is hard to beat. I did get a couple cans of Testors lacquer and it also sprays nicely. I got a bigger can of clear from Hobbylinc and it gave me the same issues as on the silver porsche early in this thread. I had a nice Tamiya metallic green and when I put this brand of clear over it, the paint moved around and lost all the slickness it had. Had to do it all over. I now stick only to Tamiya or Testors and while I mix them, I don't use any other brand. I do use primer when necessary, but only if there is flaws in the plastic. If I am painting over raw plastic, I put the color right on the plastic. The less finish put on anything the better it works out.
I always do the same routine for prepping. If it is a painted car, it soaks in a Mean Green or The Purple cleaner (super clean?). That will strip about any finish I've run across and the time or two it didn't the old finish was so hard and dry as to not cause problems. One note about lacquer you never want to paint over an old finish. the hotter lacquer thinner most always soaks into the old finish and then you get the wrinkling and lifting we have all seen before.
After the stripper bath, I wash with hot water and a tooth brush, no soap. I dry with paper towels, no rags or cotton towels. Then it gets a bath in rubbing alcohol. 5-10 minutes does it. Paper Towel dry, then a hair dryer. I have a couple coat hangers I use to hold the body. Hot glue is good idea. I have always used tape under the body. Of course, I try to not touch the outer body at all and wash my hands with the alcohol before I put it back in it's bottle. I use these chemicals over and over.
The real trick is to paint 2-3 coats depending on coverage. Lightly, lightly, lightly. Just enough for the full surface to be wet with no dry spots.
This process has worked good for me. No problems with paint being slick, no substrate or oil problems and virtually no clean up. I have cans of Tamiya that are 15 years old and still spray fine.
The cars pictured are all painted using this process. Nothing fancy, just better then the original plastic would look.