A General Painting Question

[Jodo Kast 2749]

Mods - this relates to both helmets and armor so I wasn't sure where to post it.

I have read posts from people who painted their own helmets and armor using enamel paints and a foam brush. I made my first attempt last night and the results were terrible. The silver base I applied over the primer was streaky as hell and even after the second coat it was still terrible.

Am I missing something here? Is there a technique for hand painting with enamels that doesn't produce these streaks?

Thanks in advance.

 

[webchief]

I'm not sure if you are commenting on something I did in the past or not but I spray painted on the primer and silver coats. Then once that was dry I used a sponge brush to paint on the Floquil and Testors greens, reds, etc...

 

[hansoloway]

I'm convinced that a brush will always leave you streaky and uneven. I tried it before on my mystery helmet and ended up going back to my spray paints and an air brush. They have never let me down.

 

[bh7603]

well, you could use either sray or airliss sprayers, those work the best, but you can also use a rag to apply the paint, and that use the same rag later to apply the ink to be used in weathering your paint job, if that is what ur going for. Just besure to water teh ink down before applying it, so it gets into all those cracks, and to let you wipe off the access.


when in doubt, use spray paint!!!!

 

[Lynn TXP 0369]

Not to speak for Mickie, but I think he brush paints all his fantastic looking buckets as does Journyman protector, you may want to contact them.
So it can be done.

For one tip, brush the paint on and let it dry, then lightly sand it down with very fine grit sand paper to get rid of the brush strokes, repeat the process as many times as needed until you get the desiderd coverage you want. I have done that in the past on projects and it works really great.

HTH,
Lynn

 

[Baddblood]

I'm almost 100% that micke used a silver pen and marker for the scratches on his MSH.

 

[Lynn TXP 0369]

Also a big thing about brushing paint I forgot, don't cheap out when buying brushes. Buy the expensive red sable brushes, they produce a very nice finish. Cheaper the brushes the worse the finish. I have been a painter for 30 years, trust me on this one.

Lynn

 

[webchief]

Again, I've never had a streaking problem. I use the foam brush for the large areas for the base coats and then use a fine sable brush for the details.