It’s easy to touch up acrylic paint if it ever fades or smears. You can use water to clean up acrylic paint if you ever spill it. If it dries before you have time to clean it up, use dish soap and water to scrub it off. Purchase acrylic modelling paint at a standard arts and crafts store.
The amount of thinner that you need to soften the texture depends entirely on the type of finish that you’re trying to achieve. Using a small amount of thinner will result in a thicker coat, while creating a mixture of 1-part enamel and 1-part thinner will create a nearly-translucent color.
Synthetic sable or fox hair brushes are excellent choices for painting plastic models. You can use high-end natural hair brushes if you prefer, but these brushes tend to be extremely expensive. You also won’t notice much of a benefit unless you’re a veteran model painter.
Use a white, spray primer if you need to prime a surface. Hold the can 10–12 in (25–30 cm) away from the model and spray in quick, even strokes until you’ve covered the entire model. Wait 24 hours for the primer to settle.
Mixing the paint ensures that your colors come out evenly. If you don’t mix a red paint for example, some of the red may be darker or lighter than the color is supposed to be.
Many plastic models are coated in a resin or chemical agents to help the model keep its shape while it was manufactured. These resins and agents are no longer necessary, and brushing them off gives your model a better finish in the end. You can submerge your model in isopropyl alcohol before rinsing and cleaning it if you prefer.
For larger surfaces, use a flat brush. The tip of the brush must be smaller than the surface that you’re painting. For models smaller than 1 foot (30 cm), a 1–2 in (2. 5–5. 1 cm) brush is appropriate. The size of the brush is largely a matter of personal preference, though. If your base coat is a lighter color, feel free to paint the entire model. The other paints will easily cover the surfaces you’ve painted. If the base coat is a darker color, like a black or blue, try to avoid painting other surfaces of the model. It will take multiple coats to cover a darker base coat. To figure out what your base coat’s color is, determine what color will cover the highest percentage of your model’s surface. This is the color of your base coat. Some models have instructions for which colors you should use, but you can always pick your colors out yourself. There are no right or wrong choices when it comes to picking colors. It’s totally up to you!
This will also prevent smearing, since you’ll be spreading the paint out before it has an opportunity to start drying. If you have to go in and add paint to spaces that you’ve missed, you’ll have to wait for the coat to dry entirely before you can add more color.
If you’re trying to blend colors, feel free to continue painting while your paint is wet.
For example, if you’re painting a model police officer, your base layer is probably the blue uniform. The next biggest section of color will be the skin tone, followed by the silver buckle and buttons and the black details on the uniform.
For some people, it’s easier to keep their hand steady if they brace it on a table or small stack of books. Maintaining a steady hand is the best way to ensure that you don’t miss a stroke. Don’t be too hard on yourself. It can take a lot of practice to develop the skills required to paint small details. The more you practice though, the better you’ll get at it. For smaller miniatures, use a 0, 00, or 000 round brush. These brushes are smaller than 1⁄32 in (0. 079 cm). For larger models, details may be painted with a 1 or 2 brush, which are only slightly larger than 1⁄32 in (0. 079 cm).
Test your mixed paint on a blank sheet of paper to see how it looks. If you don’t like the texture, add paint or thinner to change the opacity as desired. Use droppers to mix small amounts if you’re painting a smaller model. You usually don’t need more than a drop or two to adequately thin out paint for a texture.
If you’re trying to add shadows, use a cotton swab instead of a toothpick. This usually produces a shadowy effect without adding too much paint.
Never push your bristles directly into the bottom of the cup. This can damage your brushes by fraying the bristles. After you’ve dried your brushes, you can rub petroleum jelly on the bristles to preserve them. If you don’t clean your brushes, you’re going to waste a lot of money replacing them.
You can use standard spray paint to paint your plastic models. Just read a can carefully to ensure that it isn’t designed specifically for wood, metal, or surfaces other than plastic. Most models that are larger than 6 inches (15 cm) use a combination of spray paint and brush painting to complete them.
You don’t need a respirator or dust mask if you’re working outside. Spray paint really only works if you need to apply large sections of color or add your base coat. Brush painting is the most common model-painting method, although spray paint is a great way to cover larger models with monochromatic paint jobs. Common examples include model planes, boats, cars, or ships—all of which are typically 1-2 colors. Wear rubber gloves if you want to keep your fingers clean. Spray paint has a tendency to splatter from the nozzle.
Paint details after you’ve assembled your item. Feel free to add base coats before painting, though. In fact, painting your base coat before assembly ensures that you don’t leave any gaps in between the pieces.
For example, if you’re painting a model car, use painter’s tape to cover both sides of the windshield. This will keep it clear while you’re spray painting the body.
Dry paint particles can harden inside of the nozzle. This causes the paint to splatter. Testing it first ensures that your coat remains even and beautiful when you apply it.
As you’re applying the paint, adjust your distance from the model based on whether or not you’re happy with the coverage of your spray paint.
Work your way around the model to paint it from every side. You can use multiple colors to produce textured effects, like camouflage, dust, or dirty paint. Continue spraying until the model’s color matches the hue and texture that you’re going for.
Paint the other side of your model using the same number of sprays to maintain uniformity in the coat and the color.
Use water to thin out acrylic paints and enamel thinner to dilute enamel paint. You can adjust the pressure settings on an airbrush. For most models, you’ll need a lot of control, so use a lower psi. A setting of 2-6 psi is usually appropriate.
