My first attempt at respraying 1/18th

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BRN9121
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My first attempt at respraying 1/18th

Post by BRN9121 » Sun Aug 14, 2022 4:36 am

So here goes everything.
Bought this beat up Anson model to work on and see how things go.

Plan is to strip the paint and respray in the color of my 1:1 car.

My car

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The process of dismantling is done, wish me luck guys. Any tips would be useful.
I'm using spray cans for everything, even the factory code paint ( Mercedes 015 designo purple )

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[KRAFTIG]
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Re: My first attempt at respraying 1/18th

Post by [KRAFTIG] » Sun Aug 14, 2022 9:46 am

Good luck! More courage here than I'm willing to attempt :)

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Re: My first attempt at respraying 1/18th

Post by Oldtimer » Mon Aug 15, 2022 4:58 pm

One thing to appreciate and be careful about is that the paint and primer (and clear coat if you intend to use it) don't know that you are using them in 1/18 scale.

They will cure out at their normal thickness, especially out of a rattle can.

What this means is that shut lines at doors, hoods, and trunk lids will be much closer together then you might expect.

Be very careful when you reassemble, to make sure that you don't pop paint off body pieces when you try to put two pieces together.

It will work, trust me, I have dozens of repainted models, but a little bit of patience (learned the hard way) will be your eternal friend.

Good Luck!

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Re: My first attempt at respraying 1/18th

Post by BRN9121 » Tue Aug 16, 2022 4:48 am

Thank You
God bless!

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Re: My first attempt at respraying 1/18th

Post by StratosWRC » Tue Aug 16, 2022 7:47 am

Strip the paint, wash the body with mild soap and water. Roughen the body with 400 grit, wash again, then primer, roughen the primer with 800 grit but make sure it doesnt go through the paint. Again wash, and allow to dry. Apply paint, then clear coat, do 3 coats of each, and follow the instructions closely. Sometimes I even do a 4th coat of clear, it looks nicer but might be too thick with a can.

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BRN9121
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Re: My first attempt at respraying 1/18th

Post by BRN9121 » Thu Sep 01, 2022 6:01 am

OK, update on what happened. It was a learning curve through and through every step of the way.
First up, paint stripped and smoothened

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Primered light coat first then a heavier coat

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Sanded it down and cleaned it up with degreaser. And then started the painting process. Disaster struck within seconds.... I sprayed the first base coat too thick on the roof!

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To rule out any chemical issues, I tested several methods on a sampler and all okay.

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So I decided to carry out some repair work before proceeding with 2nd base coat.

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After 2 coats, it came out somewhat acceptable. I learned my lesson, easy on the 1st coats and next time I'm going 3 coats.

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Now sanding, buffing a and polishing time to get at least some shine into the paint.

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End result, definitely not happy but I've learned a lot. That's why this was a cheap used model I bought on ebay. Once i have mastered it, I will start on my new unopened one.

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Started reassembly... not done yet

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Re: My first attempt at respraying 1/18th

Post by StratosWRC » Thu Sep 01, 2022 9:48 am

what clear did you use?

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Re: My first attempt at respraying 1/18th

Post by Oldtimer » Thu Sep 01, 2022 10:54 am

Looks like you have some grainy texture, especially on the front fenders.

Light coats clearly will address that.

A couple of suggestions, though.

First, make sure you are at least four to six inches away from the model with the spray head, and take long, sweeping strokes with the paint sprayer (whether that is air brush or rattle can).

You are trying to mist the paint onto the surface.

Second, have you considered trying to cure the paint between coats?

Quite candidly, I paint outdoors on my concrete driveway. Clearly I have to wait for days that are absolutely calm.

One of the benefits, however, is that I get the sun to cure the paint layers (I used to bake them in my oven, until my wife objected).

Patience is your friend, and you have made great progress.

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Re: My first attempt at respraying 1/18th

Post by BRN9121 » Mon Sep 05, 2022 2:43 am

StratosWRC wrote:
Thu Sep 01, 2022 9:48 am
what clear did you use?
Image

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Re: My first attempt at respraying 1/18th

Post by BRN9121 » Mon Sep 05, 2022 2:44 am

Thanks gents.

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Re: My first attempt at respraying 1/18th

Post by BRN9121 » Tue Sep 06, 2022 5:15 am

Thank you Lucky.
Airbrush done, now just considering your repainting methods.

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Re: My first attempt at respraying 1/18th

Post by StratosWRC » Tue Sep 06, 2022 1:13 pm

Just wanted to add that if you switch to 2K primer and clear with urethanes and isocyanates, MAKE SURE you are using a respirator with an "organic vapour" cartridge. This stuff is dangerous

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Re: My first attempt at respraying 1/18th

Post by StratosWRC » Wed Sep 07, 2022 9:46 am

Lucky13 wrote:
Tue Sep 06, 2022 8:31 pm
StratosWRC wrote:
Tue Sep 06, 2022 1:13 pm
Just wanted to add that if you switch to 2K primer and clear with urethanes and isocyanates, MAKE SURE you are using a respirator with an "organic vapour" cartridge. This stuff is dangerous
I would second that. It gets in your lungs and crystalizes there and it will never come out for the rest of your life. The cool thing about 2K primer is that it will spray over anything without attacking it and it will seal it. Then it will take any paint over it. Same way you can spray 2K clear over any paint, I don't care if you use your kid's crayons, and it will give better clear coat than anything else on earth.
just wanted to add to this - if you are spraying over a painted surface - let's say an autoart model - make sure you wash it first. I tried clearing over some carbon tampo and I guess the clear reacted with whatever they wax the models with when they release them out of the factory, it was completely ruined

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Re: My first attempt at respraying 1/18th

Post by BRN9121 » Thu Sep 08, 2022 6:23 am

Thanks guys
Safety always first, had my respirator and goggles on all the time.

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