Testing colour choices before spraying?

[Ronnyhotdog]

How do you guys test colours before you decide on a scheme. Buying all kinds of colours just to see what looks good is expensive. Even if you had a large spray library, testing it on a body shell is a one time deal. Are there any on line templates that can swap colours on a body shell to try before you buy?

[Supercoolnothing]

I use old Cola bottles cut in half lengthwise they make a pretty good analogue for a lexan shell. 

[topforcein]

you can always use plastic spoons a pack will cost around 1 to 2 quid or use of off cuts from the shell

[Juggular]

1]  I look up a lot of photos of cars painted with the colors before I buy any spray.  It's still a guess work because photos can never be accurate.  But seeing a lot of photos taken under various lighting helps.  I ordered two orange colors the other day. PS-07 Orange and PS-62 Pure orange.  Somebody from a German rockcrawler site had uploaded a comparison photo.  Photos like this can help you choose.  It doesn't look it, but a reviewer on Amazon wrote that PS-07 on the left is "creamy orange."  That helps too.  

2]  I end up buying 2 final contenders that are closest to what I want.  Then I test them out for the final round.  For my other project, Bigwig, I cut out excess parts of the Lexan (soda bottle would work too), and sprayed 2 different colors.  "PS-30 Brilliant Blue," didn't seem brilliant, but rather dingy to me. 

I chose "PS-35 Violet Blue," which seemed too dark on the color chart, but looked strangely "fresh" in real life.    

[Ronnyhotdog]

Do you all use Tamiya sprays or have you found a cheaper alternative and does a 100ml can really do a whole body shell with at least two coats?

[Juggular]

Depends on how you spray.  But I found that 100ml is enough for 2 coats.  Plus a couple squirts elsewhere.  

There isn't enough for fumbling around, though.  Bigwig has 2 small wheel-well parts that goes under the body.  In error, I painted on the film side.  I had to peel those off, and paint again on the inside.  100ml wasn't enough for that.  Especially since the white spray was mostly spent after 2 coats on the inside of the body (as an undercoat beneath the violet blue).  If I hadn't messed up, yes, 2 coats plus a bit more for small extra parts.  

No idea on other brands...

 

[Shodog]

I save trimmings from wheel wells and use my trusty old wild willy body for plastic tries.  In this test I sprayed Tamiya gold then clear red and on the lexan I sprayed clar red then Tamiya gold. 

 

[drewbush]

I also save old trimmings and will do test sprays with different colors i have. I will also do a second spray out but with a dark color behind it, to change the shading. Then I label them, so I new what combo it was. Kind of over kill, but I have a stack of color samples now to match up. 

[Ronnyhotdog]

So, spraying a dark colour on the surface coat is a thing? Is that necessary?

[Juggular]

24 minutes ago, Ronnyhotdog said:

So, spraying a dark colour on the surface coat is a thing? Is that necessary?

Not necessary.  But people do that for a few different reasons.  Some want deeper yellow than lemon yellow -- then spray black under the yellow.  I sometimes spray white after the body color, to make it bright.  Some people spray black for the third time after white, so the interior won't be seen through the windows.  Showdog did it to make it goldish red color.  You can use pearlescent for shiny effect as Alex suggested.  Some spray clear red, then metallic blue under.  The result is a purple metallic finish that looks reddish at some angle, bluish at another angle.  

For mere mortals like myself, though, 2 coats of one color is enough.  What you do next won't change much--unless the color is a bright color like pink, yellow, etc.  

[Shodog]

Your backing color has a lot to do with the final color especially with metallics and translucent paints. 

You can see the test sprays I did in my previous post. Here I usedclear red but backed it with gun metal which gives the red a deeper look

[kwkenuf]

^ Wow...  that color is sweet!  Thank you for teaching me something!

[Ronnyhotdog]

^^ Yeah, that is quite the difference. I may try that with the red shell on my CW-01 as it wsn't the colour I was expecting when I bought it. A deep red like a wine or burgundy is very nice.

[TurnipJF]

Not sure if this is what you mean, but to try different colour options on a model before spraying I sometimes take a photo of it, convert it into a basic line drawing and then colour it in different ways, either by hand or in a drawing program. Once I have a colour layout I like, I then go about trying to identify the paint(s) required to do it in reality.