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Author Topic: complete and utter model boat virgin.....random questions need help!!  (Read 1901 times)

DiverBoy

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I've just bought myself a model from Billing Boats Beginner range.  It's called Dana and is a model of a Danish fishing vessel from around the turn of last century. It has a styrene hull and I have jumped in and started painting but I'm pretty appalled by the result and want to start looking for advice on how to do things prior to going further.  Billing has some hints and tips on their site  but I don't find them overly helpful. Can anyone direct me to a website, book or whatever which will give me a good overview of how to start. What my initial questions would be are:

Are airbrushes essential for getting a good finish or is it possible to get one with brushes?
Do I sand a styrene hull prior to painting?
Do I paint on coats and sand between applications?
etc etc etc.




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boatmadman

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You are at the right website for all your questions. There is a wealth of experience for all aspects of the hobby, and you will get a range of answers to choose from on any question.

Stavros is the resident paint expert here - expect an answer from him before too long.

Welcome to mayhem!

Ian
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if at first you dont succeed.....have a beer.....

Stavros

  • Guest

Right then Airbrushes are NOT essential for a good finish neither is a spray gun
As fro styrene hulls,wash down well with fairy liquid or similar to get rid of all the residue that is on the hull from moulding.Obviously if you have some panel wipe(available in most automotive paint factors) wash it down in that it does a far superior job.
Right then as far as rubbing down the hull what I do is simple 400wet/dry to the whole hull,spray on primer grey,give a very light mist coat (translucent)of satin or matt black,rub down with either 6 or 800 grit till all the black has gone,dry off,degrease with panel wipe,spray below water line with red oxide,mask up the topsides using ELECTRICAL 13mm tape then apply masking tape over this.The reason for using electrical tape is quite simple it is 100% guaranteed that paint will not bleed underneath it.Mask off the hull using BROWN wrapping paper,DO NOT use newspaper as the print will come off and ruing your good work,quick denib with 800 wet/dry   dry degrease with panel wipe and apply 4 to 5 coats allowing 10mins MAX between coats.If you get a run STOP and wait at least 24hrs to rub down and start again!!!!!!
I allways use Halfords Acrylic paints straight off the shelf they are superb and are hardwearing.Do not try mixing paints as this will lead to a major disaster keep to the same make and type of paints from start to finish.Some of the members here use Plasticoat paints with excellent results,hey I do as well.But the major drawback with this type of paint is that one CAN NOT use halfords paint on top of them they will react.Any other questions just ask,if you are embarrassed etc just pm me I don't bite,others will probably disagree.
One word of advise others will give you advise and say well it work for me heck yes it might but the advise I have just given you is from 25+yrs of spraying


Stavros
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DiverBoy

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Re: complete and utter model boat virgin.....random questions need help!!
« Reply #3 on: September 03, 2008, 11:59:00 pm »

Thanks stavros,
I'm in the process of employing all this advice in between working my day job!  I'll let you know how it all goes!
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