Car paint for models?

[B777LR]

Has anybody tried the spray paints that are meant for cars on a model? Do they work on styrene? What is the result like, is it a thick crust of paint, or just a very fine layer? It's for some 1/144 airliners.

[Mossie]

Yes, I've used Halfords spray paint (only available in the UK as far as I'm aware).  The primer is coveted by modellers here & the paint is very good.  One of the more useful colours is 'Appliance White' which has a soft gloss & is very useful for airliners.

In general they work very well & you can get a fine layer on if you hold the can far enough away (sometimes called the hairspray technique).  Too close & you'll get a thick layer & runs if you're not careful.

Most automative paints are enamel based, so be wary of using them with acrylics.  Halfords primer is okay with paints, although it didn't like Humbrol Spray Acrylic.  If you really need to mix the two types, test first, or put a coat of Johnsons Klear/Future on.  I'd try them on a scrap bit first, some sprays have high solvent concentrations so might damage the plastic, but you should be okay.  Use them in a ventilated area (solvent again) & make sure there's nothing nearby that you're worried about getting paint on, the spray can go further than you think.

[beowulf]

i do a lot of automotive modelling so have used them ............had mixed results.........personally i hate the primer.....not fine enough for me..........and as for top coat, i find using rattlecans to be a little uncontrollable but i guess thats cos i use an airbrush mostly and am used to being able to regulate air pressure more......but i know guys who dont use any thing else and do brilliant work...but i have lots of silver/greys/blacks for doing little bits like engines, exhausts etc when i cant be arsed to fire up the AB

i once did a 1/12 Honda using nothing but rattlecans from Halfords just to prove to my self i could do it.....key thing is getting the distance right so the paint dosnt go on too heavy

[NARSES2]

I've used Halfords appliance white and some of their silvers and they work fine. Have to admit I'm still struggling to work out the optimum spraying distance - any ideas ?

Chris

[PR19_Kit]

Chris,

I've used Halfords appliance white and some of their silvers and they work fine. Have to admit I'm still struggling to work out the optimum spraying distance - any ideas ?

I've used Halford's stuff for years, being a died-in-the-wool airliner modeller, and I find about a foot works right for me. Too close at you can get terrible runs, even with the excellent grey primer, too far away and it dries before it gets there, making the model look as if it's been grit-sprayed.

[NARSES2]

Cheers Kit. I've been getting a little to close in the past, methinks 

[Steel Penguin]

the one problem ive had with auto sprays, is thay once youve used them they give a very smooth film surface ( especialy the modern metalic finishes) and that means it becomes very difficult ( if not impossible) to use ink washes to add depth and stain effect.  Not a problem for a factory fresh car, but a real problem on a field stained wargames figure.

[Mossie]

The main problem I find is that touch ups are problem.  If you take the masking off to find there are a few bleeds, you can't just take a brush to it.  I've tried spraying some into a container & dipping a brush in it, but the concentrated solvent (no chance for it to evaporate in the air) tends to strip the paint under it.

If you take steps before hand to reduce bleeds before hand, it helps a lot.  Use something like a cotton bud to make sure the edge of the masking is down hard & once the masking is in place, mist another coat of the base colour before you put the new one on.  This blocks up any tiny bleed holes & means you don't have to worry about touch ups.

[Barry Krell]

Another tip to prevent bleeds is to spray a light coat of the colour being masked off.  Any bleed is the colour you need there.  Failing that, clear varnish.

[puddingwrestler]

I've used car spray on model model cars in the past and have yet to have trouble. I tend not to bother with the primer and just go for the touch-up colour sprays. I think the local australian auto-touch-up is called 'Colourbond' or 'Colourfast' or something like that... although COlourbond is a type of coloured corrugated iron, so I might be wrong.