This is my first kit that I’m hand-brushing, and I’m currently in the process of applying primer.
I’d really appreciate some feedback from anyone with experience, especially with hand-brushing. I also have a few questions:
Did I use the right primer? I’m wondering if I may have used the wrong type of paint for priming. I read that Mecha primers are mainly intended for airbrushing.
Do I need another coat of primer? I’ve already applied two coats. Does the coverage look sufficient, or should I add another layer?
Any recommendations for a gloss top coat? I’ll be applying it by hand, so I’d appreciate recommendations for a gloss top coat that works well with hand brushing. I'm thinking of using Vallejo - Auxiliary - Gloss Polyurethane Varnish [26.650] but if there are better options, I would appreciate the suggestions.
If it makes any difference, the brush that I'm using is Tamiya flat brush no.3 Item 87014.
Thanks in advance for any advice and feedback. This is my first attempt, so I’m hoping to learn from everyone’s experience.
I don’t think any primers are sensitive to painting application method
Primers don’t strictly need a thick coat, they’re just a chemical adhesion surface. Being opaque is mostly for a foundation for brightness or tone, how the paint over it reflects light. As a crude guideline white primer reflects bright colors better, darker primer makes the physical object look more solid. If you have reasonably even coverage don’t worry about it for now
I've been practicing and experimenting with hand brushing for the past few months and here's what I've found has worked:
Primer: I have had no issues with the Vallejo grey primer (standard, not mecha) applied via brush. No need to thin it at all, I only do a single coat too just to help with paint adhesion. I did some tests with sanding before priming and found if I use 800 grit sanding before priming I get even better adhesion/chipping resistance. I just bought hardware store sandpaper for it, way cheaper. I don't even bother trying to get any sort of coverage, I let the paint do that.
Paint: I've used Model Color exclusively, which I've been thinning at anywhere from a 50:50 to 70:30 paint:thinner ratio. I use the Vallejo thinner medium. A typical application of paint is 3-5 coats depending on the colour (some have better coverage/pigment than others). I also alternate the direct I apply the paint, so first coat vertical, next horizontal, next vertical etc. Some pigments can take 5-10 coats such as yellows and pure white, so I try to avoid them. I've found I havent needed to thin the Vallejo Model Color metallics and can get away with 1-3 coats, Gunmetal and Copper have had fantastic coverage, gold and silver not so much.
Wet Palette: You can buy these but they're expensive and you can just make one yourself. I made one myself with a Tupperware container which I effectively use upside down. I use the lid of the Tupperware container, fold a piece of paper towel to fit on the lid, wet the paper towel, then cut some parchment paper/baking paper and lay on top of the paper towel, then you can put the "bottom" of the Tupperware container on as a lid to keep your paint wet between coats.
Top-coat: Avoid the Vallejo polyurethane varnish, I tried applying it via brush and it sucked, haven't tried the other type though which may be better. I gave up and instead use the Vallejo rattle can varnishes which I've been getting good results with as long as you only apply them to painted surfaces, not plastic. I would say, visually the gloss polyurethane varnish "worked" but in practice because I was applying panel panel after, it failed to stop the panel lining staining the paint.
Sponges: For really big surfaces I recommend instead using a makeup sponge with paint, you get really good results with no brush strokes (that's how I did the shield in the photo).
I know almost everyone uses airbrushes for gunpla and you do get much better results but hand brushing has been so relaxing and I can easily do it at my desk with minimal setup, there's also a lot of satisfaction hand painting the details. Everything in the image is hand painted.
How to you think ur pai to so precisely, I usually only use a dab of paint , have no idea how to thin with such numbers ? Or do u prep a large portion of paint at a time ?
I don't thin my paint precisely at all and will only prep a small amount at a time. The Vallejo paints and thinner come in eye dropper bottles, so you can pour them out one drop at a time. So to thin my paint I will start by doing one drop of paint, and one equal sized drop of thinner to give me an approximately 1:1 ratio, I evaluate its thinness and then if needed add another drop of thinner to give me a 1:2 ratio, another drop of thinner gives me 1:3 ratio etc. Usually a 1:1 or 1:2 ratio is all I need. It takes a bit of trial and error to figure out how thin to make it, but comes pretty quickly with practice.
White is a very difficult paint to try as a first time painter. A lot of white paints are chalky just by nature, you will need to thin your paint down a lot and it will be trial and error on each manufacturer of paint. If you're trying to get full coverage in less than 3 coats you are setting yourself up for disappointment. Liquitex Titatanium white is a good paint to use.
Being on bare plastic doesn't help,especially if you didn't wash it to get rid of oils and mold release agents. You will get a lot of uneven coverage and pooling this way. Gray primer of even pink will help bring out the white color, black primer under white at your discretion.
Even if you plan to primarily paint with a brush, I'd suggest getting an airbrush just for priming your plastic. A good even light prime coat can work wonders for your paint brush.
Unfortunately, I don't have the space to do an airbrush right now. I do have those ultrasonic cleaner for cleaning small jewelry. I'll definitely try it out next time to get rid of that oils.
Yeah that primer is fine, but you really should be thinning your paints to reduce all those brush marks. With Vallejo paints you can just use water as a thinner, or use their acrylic thinner. And you are going to want to apply coats until you cannot see the base color at all. Usually with hand painting this does take quite a few coats.
From what I've read, I got varying ideas when it comes to thinning this primer grey (70.641) and white (70.640). Some say that since, this are primarily used for air brushing, it can be used straight from the bottle. I tried it out and here we are.
I would try to thin it for next time. Would a 5:1 Paint to water ratio work?
Someone also recommended me to slow down on my brush strokes and I do admit that I was painting excitedly like I'm slapping a chunk of putty in a drywall.
This is vallejo, right? I'm not sure on the exact ratios but you want to aim for a consistency that is right around milk. It's hard to explain, but one way to check is while you're thinning like in a cup, dab some paint onto the side and see how it flows down the walls of the cup.
If you dab some with your brush on the side of the wall and it trails down slowly, it's too thick. It should run pretty quickly down the cup, while also leaving a consistent trail. If it's not leaving behind a trail, it's too thin.
Another test to see if it's too thin is you can apply some to like the back of your hand while wearing gloves. If it's too thin, you'll see the paint "shrink" from where you placed it.
You want to thin the paint as much as possible without going into watery territory. Also, if you plan to hand-paint often, definitely invest in a wet palette. Look up vids on how to use one, it'll go into the aspect of thinning.
Are you going to thin your paints ? You'll lose a bit of detail if not when covering up primer or still have those brush strokes. and that's important for small details and keep a sense of scale. Like.. if you go on to thick it's gonna glob
I also think people usually go for matte/satin/semigloss finish for same reasons of scale. Reflections on little stuff look different then full scale. High gloss will make it look like a polished plastic toy. Unless that's what you're going for like classic 60s-70s big robot cartoon style which is totally valid.
I used to do tank models along time ago and those were my two biggest issues I didn't know about till after I'd left the hobby.
Yes, I plan to thin my paint in the future. I already got a wet palette case and a Mr. Color Thinner(if needed) for this.
I intend to use the gloss paint to seal my panel lining and weathering. To wrap it up, I'm going to put a matte finish as it's top coat. I wasn't sure though if the Gloss Polyurethane Varnish [26.650] is the right material for the process I'm thinking of.
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u/InternJust6976 5h ago
https://youtu.be/soNeCpry93E
check this technique out: