First Paint Job

[bookie]

It looks like I'll be painting my first slot car and need some tips :oops:
For now this is a low budget attempt so I'll be using spray cans
Type of paint: enamel or lacquer
Would it be best to use a primer that matches the finish example white prime and white finish coat or doesn't it matter
Spay clear or future
what grit(s) sand paper and at what stages is it recommend to sand
how long between final color coat and clear

Sorry for all the questions, but it's been a loooooong time since I've done this. :o
Thanks

[HomeRacingWorld]

You will get a lot of answers I am sure.

I use gray primer and enamel based. I am "low budget" too and mostly use Krylon rattle cans.

I like Future.

1000 grit for me. I prime, sand and then prime again. Then a base coat, sand and a final.

I wait 24 hours before decals/clear.

Remember, I am NOT making award winning looking cars.

[FootScoot]

I like Tamiya paints in spray cans as they are lacquer and dry quickly. I prefer the white primer of the same brand, as any paint they make will look good over white primer. It's whatever works best for you and you are comfortable with it. :)

[Ember]

Acrylic. Always acrylic for paints for me these days. Everything else is just too slow.

Tamiya rattle cans are great if you can get them. If you can't then it's hard to go past an investment in a cheap airbrush and compressor. Then you can use whatever paints your little heart desires.

I still use Tamiya primer under everything. Grey for me unless I'm painting white or yellow. I like the Tamiya primer because it's robust and sands well. Often the paints I use for colour coating will not be sanded, so the primed base must be as close to perfect as I can get.

My first foray into airbrushing was done according to the ShotgunDave Painting 101 thread, with cheap water based acrylics. Since then I've graduated to using other waterbased or mild solvent based acrylics (Taimya, Vallejo, House of Kolor) and acrylic lacquers (Mr Color/Metallic, GaiaNotes, Alclad).

I'm still using Tamiya TS13 clear to top coat. It gives a brilliant gloss and is a really strong, resilient finish. I've had proxy cars come back from a 10 month world trip with very little wear to the paint finish. I have 2 part urethane to try, but I've not had the time to for the learning curve.

[KD11]

Timing is everything, I'm sanding and priming one more time before I make my first attempt using a airbrush. I am going to try the acrylic paints. While the paint dries it's time to work on the bumpers and maybe change the front half of the chassis the way the articles in the scratch build section explain modifying a H & R chassis. As I run Carrera Digital 132, I put in a digital module, tested the car and found it runs great. I have the 26K motor which is more than I really need.

[woodman]

2 part automotive urethane was about like spraying lacquer to me ,I love it.....I used it on the biggest project I ever airbrushed built back in 2007...........On the other hand water based paint is a real challenge after using lacquer for ever...