Thread: Newby painter and new to site with questions

Hi all. My name is Scott and I have been doing custom painting on remote control helicopter fiberglass canopies for about 4-5 years now. I am relatively new to the airbrushing thing though. I have a duel action Iwata gravity feed gun. My question is this, I have seen many instructional videos on how to paint different things and see guys laying down paint and (for example shadowing and such) and then taping right over this and the paint does not lift off when the tape is removed. I have been using HOK 2oz ready to spray black and white for different parts of my paint, the black mostly for 3D effects and shadowing. But if I lay down my 3m blue trim tape to tape something off it will always peel some of the paint off?? Am I using the wrong type of paint or is there a step that I am not seeing in the how to videos? Maybe this "intercoat" clear or something? I have basically been doing all that I can do without taping over sections I have done and then having to lay down a layer of clear before continuing on but this takes a full day for the clear to cure enough to work with. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

HI
Welcome to howtoairbrush.com hope you find it helpful..

What are they made out of?

What kind of surface prep are you doing?

Hi. thank you for your reply. The canopies are fiberglass with a gelcoat. I have been using rustoleum spray paints for all of my painting and the airbrush to do "3D" effects and shadowing. I sand down the gel coat then prime and then paint. So I dont know if it is just the incompatibility of the two different paints or what. But, as I said, I will paint the main scheme then lay down a coat of clear, let dry, and then do the shadowing on the clear coat. But if I lay down tape over what I have shadowed, inevitably some of it lifts off.

rustoleum never really dries I personally won't use it on anything

whenever you mix different types of paint you are asking for trouble.....

there has to be some kind of tech sheet for that HOK model paint....

here you go

Instructions for Painting
1. Spray med wet coats. 2. Even coats. 3. Allow 15-20 minutes of dry time between coats. Start by applying a good automotive sandable lacquer primer like our BG740 spray can or BGP 1 oz airbrush
primer. The primer is a protective coating for the plastic as well as a undercoat for lacquer paint. Spray first coat light to med wet, then follow with 2 or 3 more met wet coats. After the primer is dry sand if needed, to remove imperfections. Make sure not to sand through to the plastic, if you do re coat with primer. When you are satisfied with the primer coat, select one of our base coats. Spray 2 to 3 coats of base until primer is covered. If saning is needed use our sanding cloths. At this point I use our 2400 or 3200 grit cloths to sand out lint, trash, etc. if needed. Remember that if you are applying Kandy on top of the base, you will see lint, trash, etc. that was in base coat. If the base color is what you want a your final color, you can spray 3 to 4 coats, let dry and polish. If applying Kandy spray until you achieve the shade you want, most of the time this will be 3 to 4 coats. Remember the more coats of kandy that are sprayed, the darker the colors will get. If you get lint, trash, etc, in the Kandy coats, let dry and light wet sand out. I use 3600 or 4000 to do this and re coat with kandy. If sanded to much you will have a light spot, and will need to re coat. After color is achieved, we recommend using our (SG) sg10001 clear you will need 3 to 4 coats or more if wanted, let dry and polish. This will protect the paint and provide a glossy surface. Never sand on Kandy or Pearl paints for final finish, always apply clear coats.
We sell the HOK color chip book, ( I know it is expensive ), but it will
help you get the color you want. The book shows each kandy color over 12 different fine metallic base colors. It also has all the (PBC) Designer Pearls over a white base, (KBC) Kandy Basecoats over different bases, (SG) Graphic Solids over a white base, (NE) Neons over a white base. etc. All of our colors, bases, etc dry to a semi gloss except the kandys, but all will need to be clear coated for the gloss you want.

Kameleon Kolors (KF)
Thin paint 100% ( 1 part paint to 1 part lacquer thinner. Use over black BC2501 for best results, apply med wet coats, 75 % pattern overlay. In most case 2 coats are enough for the paints effects. No direct sanding of kameleon paint is allowed without recoating. Scratches on pearl is permanent. Allow15 minutes of dry time between coats. Then apply 3 to 4 coats of our SG10001 clear, let dry and polish.

Marblizer Paints (MB)
Do not thin as theses are ready to use without thinning. Apply over our BC2501 Black base or PBC4301 black pearl base for best results. Apply on 1 area at a time, trying to cover the complete car is hard to do because this paint drys very quick. Example the side of the car first the top, etc. You can do it this way because there is no set pattern. Spray med wet coat and apply saran wrap, bubble wrap, tin foil, sponge, etc. You only have a minute to apply wrap to model as it will dry fast. Wait a minute and remove wrap. I wrinkle up the saran wrap before applying it to the wet marblizer sprayed on model for a better looking pattern. If you don't get the look wanted spray another coat this will loosen up the coat below and wrap again to get the look you want. Don't apply to many coats as it will stack on top of each other and you will have to much marblizer on you model. Let dry for 20 minutes before applying Kandy's. Then clear coat let dry and polish. We also have neutral marblizers (MB01) that you can add flakes or pearl powders to and make your special paint effects.

Dry Pearl Powders and Flakes.
All dry pearls are lead free automotive grade pearl. Add to any of our kandy's or clear for special effects. Our pearl and flake are small and will spray through your airbrush. They can be put in water or solvent based paint. These can be used in base coats, colors coats or clear coats, or all 3 for different effects. Pearls and flakes will no hide the base color beneath it. Over a dark base they exhibit, intense pearlesent color matching their reflection color. See HOK color chip book for more details. Only a small amount is need, we recommend spraying a sample to see how much pearl you have mixed will look over the base you want. I spray Dr Pepper cans for my samples and then toss out. If used in clear coat, use in first coat followed by 3 to 4 coats of plain clear.