Painting Grocery List?

[bcane98]

Once I get out of this hole in the wall they call Iraq... I wanna try my hand at painting some new bodies for my Savage's... I need a little assistance with the "Grocery List" though...

What is a good paint for MT's?
-- Is it premix or do I have to thini it?
What is the best type of masking tape?
Anything other materials I may have missed?

I will be using an airbrush ($20 EBay special)... I am new to it, but I have to start somewhere right... :D Once I get the hang of it I will upgrade of course...

I am currently reading the sticky at the top of this Forum... but any other suggestions would be great? I'm pretty much gonna start with straight lines and curves... I have read some tips on painting, so once I get comfortable I will move on to blending and what not...

Thanks for any help you can offer :)

[PyroMike]

What is a good paint for MT's?
-- Is it premix or do I have to thini it?
Any paint made for lexan, the paint that I would recomed for a begainer is faskolor paint. It works good, and it can be sprayed right from the bottle. Faskolor is also the same thing as Createx (get the airbrush colors). You can find Createx at almost any craft store. Faskolor, and Createx doesn't need to be thined, so you can spray stright from the bottle (or pour into a cup).
It's also water based (can use water to clean it up)

What is the best type of masking tape?
3M painters tape (the blue stuff will work fine), or Bob-D's liquid mask.

Anything other materials I may have missed?
I don't know what you have to start with.
To start you will need, airbrush, air compresser, paint, respirator, moister trap, hobby knife (#11 blade works fine), a well vented room or place to spray, masking tape, and water (or even windex) to thin the paint more (doesn't need to be) and to clean the paint out of your brush. I think thats all you need, but I could be missing somthing.

[bcane98]

I got an airbrush (EBay special)...
I got a hobby knife, but will probably need to get a better set...
I got a compressor...
I need moisture trap... best place to get one? I am overseas, so I have to order most thing online...
Well... respirator might be a bit much for me, but will the Dr's looking mask work?
I do not have a room to spare with 5 kids.. so it will be done in my garage... gotta remember to move the van though (LMAO)...

[PyroMike]

Well for an on-line store you could go to tower hobbies as they take paypal, credit card, or bill me later. You can also have your order shiped to where ever you want. Yes the Dr's looking mask will work (great for every now and then, and cheap to). when you spray in your garage remember to leave it open (about half way will do, but if it windy, or cold about a quarter opean, but when nice out have it opened all the way {best way also}). Remeber to take your time, and to use very very light coats each time (should be more like a foging and it will take 3 or more coats (or layers) to get the color you are looking for.

[bcane98]

Thanks for the info PyroMike... One more for ya... I am used to using the Testors cans to paint. Is painting with the cans similar to using an airbrush? I have the type with a jar at the bottom...

Once I get used to it and get a better I think I am gonna get a gravity feed... My buddy paints 1:1 cars for fun and prefers the gravity feed over the type with the can/jar...

[PyroMike]

It’s pretty much the same thing as painting with the cans, but you will have better control over the paint, and you will get better performance out of your brush. Also the paint will flow better out the brush. The gravity feed brush will give you a smother paint flow out of the brush for even more control (also great for fine details), over the bottom feed.

[Pig]

BCane, to add a bit more to Mike's excellent advice...

An airbrush is really something that you get what you pay for. Some of the cheaper brushes are great for doing minor non-detail oriented work. But, if you're looking at doing something requiring detail, an el-cheapo brush will likely give you more frustration than you're ready for. That being said, you can get some excellent deals on ebay. What type of brush are you looking at getting? Not all brushes are the same, and some have specific quirks some folks around here can help you overcome.

On to paints, the real consideration you have to contend with is the family and ventilation. They go hand in hand when painting in a garage or someplace in the house. Before, I had adequate ventilation, but the stink from using lacquers drove my wife nuts. So, I stuck with the water based paints from Parma. They don't spray as smoothly as lacquers, but they don't spray bad considering. If you're used to spraying Testors enamels, lacquers spray like Testors. Pama will give you a bit more trouble, but there's enough tricks and techniques to use to make things easier.

To put in a shameless plug in the name of painting, check out www.cfxpaintworks.com. You'll have to become a member, but membership is free and the amount of knowledge on there will astound you. Not only that, but they're running a project where they're taking a relatively new painter and are giving him full instruction on how to paint in a step by step method. The pros are taking him by the hand the whole way through to painting a body. You can easily follow along and learn everything from practice techniques to actual paint tricks used by the pros!

Even though you're in the dirty sandbox over there, I appreciate your service and sacrifice. Thank you for my freedom!