How to paint white on blue plastic???

[GarbageMan]

Hi Everyone! I've been lurking around as a guest for a bit, and have been really (REALLY) blown away by what you guys pull off in your kit builds. I myself am slowly getting back into it (n00b) after a looong break thanks to career/family/etc, and one of the kits I'd like to finish properly is a Bandai Valkyrie VF-1J. Unfortunately, this bloody thing is molded in dark blue and my question is, how do you get white enamel/acrylic onto the parts that need it, without hiding all the detail?? It's been driving me nuts! Oh yeah, I don't have an air brush (yet)... do I need one to get this done?

Thanks!

[David Hingtgen]

In short, yes. No color is more affected by spraying with regards to "opacity" than white.

And you'll need to prime with dedicated primer first. Primer is inherently more opaque than paint and will cover underlying colors with few coats---it's much easier to paint white over light grey primer, than over dark blue.

[Vifam7]

Hi Everyone! I've been lurking around as a guest for a bit, and have been really (REALLY) blown away by what you guys pull off in your kit builds. I myself am slowly getting back into it (n00b) after a looong break thanks to career/family/etc, and one of the kits I'd like to finish properly is a Bandai Valkyrie VF-1J. Unfortunately, this bloody thing is molded in dark blue and my question is, how do you get white enamel/acrylic onto the parts that need it, without hiding all the detail?? It's been driving me nuts! Oh yeah, I don't have an air brush (yet)... do I need one to get this done?

Thanks!

As written by David above, you need to spray on primer paint. Tamiya's spraycan light gray primer should do. After that, you can spray or brush on the white paint. Nevertheless, with white, you'll likely have to paint several layers. For me, it's usually 3 or 4 layers.

[Penguin]

Oh yeah, I don't have an air brush (yet)... do I need one to get this done?

Thanks!

Just to toss in my 2 cents, no, you don't need an airbrush to do this. I use spray paints and hand brushing exclusively, and I've never had problems with getting a good, opaque white coat as long as you use a good primer first. I use the Tamiya spray primer Vifam mentions, although I tend to use the white instead of the grey when painting white.

[David Hingtgen]

I'll third the Tamiya fine primer spray--it's worth the extra cost.

[captain america]

Hi Everyone! I've been lurking around as a guest for a bit, and have been really (REALLY) blown away by what you guys pull off in your kit builds. I myself am slowly getting back into it (n00b) after a looong break thanks to career/family/etc, and one of the kits I'd like to finish properly is a Bandai Valkyrie VF-1J. Unfortunately, this bloody thing is molded in dark blue and my question is, how do you get white enamel/acrylic onto the parts that need it, without hiding all the detail?? It's been driving me nuts! Oh yeah, I don't have an air brush (yet)... do I need one to get this done?

Thanks!

Hi GarbageMan. Actually, you don't really need primer on plastic kits if you're already using hobby paints. A coat of medium/light grey paint as an undercoat for the white will be sufficient, and since paint is finer than primer, you won't have to worry about drowning out details.

[GarbageMan]

Thanks for the replies everyone! It's great to see such a community of helpful souls!

Captain America, I'm guessing it's a mat grey, or does it matter?

Hi GarbageMan. Actually, you don't really need primer on plastic kits if you're already using hobby paints. A coat of medium/light grey paint as an undercoat for the white will be sufficient, and since paint is finer than primer, you won't have to worry about drowning out details.

Hi Vifam7!

I was wondering, with 3 or 4 layers, won't you lose some of the surface paneling detail?

As written by David above, you need to spray on primer paint. Tamiya's spraycan light gray primer should do. After that, you can spray or brush on the white paint. Nevertheless, with white, you'll likely have to paint several layers. For me, it's usually 3 or 4 layers.

[captain america]

Matt paints tend to be rougher (and can compromise very fine detail) so gloss/semi-gloss is optimal.