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Gibbo78

What type and size of paint brushes for drivers and exterior detailing?

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Hi all,

Finally getting around to build a couple of kits and preparing myself with the right tools..... I was wondering what type of brushes you have found work well for driver painting?  First up is the building of my first RC car (which was a used example with a thunder dragon body) 'The Hornet' and I note that the exterior lights need painting also.  

Any tips or techniques appreciated!

Cheers 

 

 

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Hi Gibbo - small ones!

In all seriousness, depending on the amount of detail you need to paint - ie. driver's facial features etc. - then you do need some very fine-tipped and soft bristle brushes.

If you look online (ebay etc.), or in various model/hobby shops you may have near you, they typically sell a set of 5 or 6 brushes in various tip/width sizes, which will usually be enough to get you started - although I would suggest you don't buy the absolute bargain-basement versions, since you do want to make sure you have not only soft bristle for a more smooth and consistent finish, but that they don't shed the bristles too readily either.

You may also find you need to purchase an additional brush or two with a really fine point tip which might not be included in those sets - and consider that one of the set ought to have a flatter profile along with those with a traditional round/tapered grouping of the bristles.

 

As for paint itself, most detailing is done with acrylic paints - either those small Tamiya pots or similar model-shop brands - and being water based you can thin those, and it is also easy to wash your brushes afterwards.

for info. I use regular rattle-can paint for the bodywork - either from a car accessory store if you want to colour match with a 1:1 colour/vehicle, or the Tamiya TS range of cans - which although small, do have a nice fine spray consistency which helps with bodies that have any fine moulded details.

note. Obviously these suggestions for spray paint is when painting externally on hard bodies, if you have a clear lexan shell you're painting from the inside, then you need specific PS paints which are more flexible for polycarbonate bodies.

Hope that helps to get you started!

 

 

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@Gibbo78 Some pretty good brushes for driver painting from Tamiya are:

  • 87156 HG Brush Small. Good for detail painting in general, including drivers.
  • 87153 HG Brush Ultra Fine. Perfect for very small details such as eyes.

For a quick rundown on some techniques used, check one of my earlier cockpit builds (and more cockpits on the subsequent builds):

Hornet Beetle - Cockpit Painting

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This will pretty much cover all your needs. I used mine for over a decade and am still using them now.

2ISEECr.jpg

For super fine details, use Fineliner pens, markers rather than brush.

I usually paint the eyes white, the. The face color, then the helmet liner. Basically work outwards rather than trying to paint the tiny eyeballs in. Finish up with pens or markers.

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Um.. I'm late to the party, but I use the basic Tamiya brushes.. the cheap ones.  :ph34r: 

#87067 comes with 3 different brushes.  I primarily use the fine tip, and med tip on occasion.

And my brush paint is also super basic..:ph34r: Testors enamel, the cheapest ones sold at art store and such.. 

IMG_2023-3-30-181907.jpg.f763075687e642d90c5038ed0c178015.jpg

IMG_2023-1-1-110111.thumb.jpg.09aa00aca703b48cf1420ab8b30e3038.jpg

IMG_2023-3-21-172416.jpg.04b78a075850442b5cd2eeb8537c0b41.jpg

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5 hours ago, alvinlwh said:

This will pretty much cover all your needs. I used mine for over a decade and am still using them now.

2ISEECr.jpg

For super fine details, use Fineliner pens, markers rather than brush.

I usually paint the eyes white, the. The face color, then the helmet liner. Basically work outwards rather than trying to paint the tiny eyeballs in. Finish up with pens or markers.

I had that one… but the smallest one kept giving me an issue. I tried to wet it down so that it can create a fine point, but ended up creating an ugly eyes due to not so fine tip… or maybe that is a user error…

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I think after a 20 something years I am the one who's late to the party :lol:

This is awesome, who knew that when not driving the WW, he's looking after his plants.

4 hours ago, Willy iine said:

Um.. I'm late to the party, but I use the basic Tamiya brushes.. the cheap ones.  :ph34r: 

#87067 comes with 3 different brushes.  I primarily use the fine tip, and med tip on occasion.

And my brush paint is also super basic..:ph34r: Testors enamel, the cheapest ones sold at art store and such.. 

 

IMG_2023-1-1-110111.thumb.jpg.09aa00aca703b48cf1420ab8b30e3038.jpg

 

 

 

 

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50 minutes ago, Sogogi said:

I had that one… but the smallest one kept giving me an issue. I tried to wet it down so that it can create a fine point, but ended up creating an ugly eyes due to not so fine tip… or maybe that is a user error…

Boiling hot water to reshape it before storing away. I do that to my brushes every now and then.

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16 minutes ago, alvinlwh said:

Boiling hot water to reshape it before storing away. I do that to my brushes every now and then.

Ooh.. that is a good tip. I will try in the future!

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14 minutes ago, Sogogi said:

Ooh.. that is a good tip. I will try in the future!

Just to clarify, I said boiling hot water, NOT to boil the brushes brushes in water! 😉

  • Haha 1

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