The body and the plastic details - getting the paint right

[JimBear 294]

When painting with PS paints, how do you get for example the front of the Golf Kamei to blend into the rest of the shell? Spray an extra layer of PS-55 flat clear all over when everything is in place? Just leave it, since you're anyways going to drive it into the curb on the first outing?

Are there colour charts in any of the Tamiya catalogues? Trying to figure out how light blue or light green would look like ...

[alvinlwh 5280]

1 hour ago, JimBear said:

Just leave it, since you're anyways going to drive it into the curb on the first outing?

That's what I do.

1 hour ago, JimBear said:

Are there colour charts in any of the Tamiya catalogues? Trying to figure out how light blue or light green would look like ...

You mean this?

https://www.wonderlandmodels.com/downloads/tamiya/

[JimBear 294]

3 hours ago, alvinlwh said:

That's what I do.

You mean this?

https://www.wonderlandmodels.com/downloads/tamiya/

Yes, thanks for the chart. I'll report back when I've gotten that far (hopefully not into the curb, though).

[bjr250 22]

There are some on the Japanese Tamiya website.

Paint brochure

LP/X-XF (acrylic and enamel)/TS comparison

Acrylic paint/enamel paint (X/XF) - lacquer paint (LP) colour matching 

LP/TS matching

LP/AS matching

Unfortunately there is no comparison table for the PS paints (that I have found) on the Tamiya site.

 

In the past, for lexan bodied cars with hard plastic parts, I have used the PS spray on the hard plastic (after primer) followed by a clear coat of appropriate gloss with some success.

[JimBear 294]

Thanks, @bjr250 - there ss a lot of good information in there.

I guess I have to experiment a bit trying to balance out the various materials.

[JimBear 294]

Just a thought - would it be possible to do the plastic pieces with a primer and then fudge with PS paint on top?

[alvinlwh 5280]

1 hour ago, JimBear said:

Just a thought - would it be possible to do the plastic pieces with a primer and then fudge with PS paint on top?

Tamiya themselves say not to use PS on "normal" plastic but many had reported no problems.

According to a professional painter that I know, PS paint is some kind of etching plastic paint and will melt themselves into plastic. They are more or less this kind of primer but colored.

The risk is they may melt away normal plastic, but again, many had done that and reported no problems. It may be a problem if used on real models with very fine details like panel lines or rivets.

Now the real problem is PS paint is not gloss, so some kind of finishing clear coat is required to make them shine. Perhaps not a problem for you, depending on what you want to achieve.

If you do not want to take any risks and use the proper paint, use some paint convertor app/website and it can suggest closet alternative paints.

[JimBear 294]

Great stuff, @alvinlwh - then I am ready to experiment (when I get around to that on the project list).