Painting over Tamiya colored plastic

[Deleted]

We all know how much fun it is to paint over Monogram's colored plastic, but does anyone have any experience painting over Tamiya's colored plastic, specifically their yellow? I bought the Duracel Lola Indy Car kit and am wanting to build Nigel Mansell's white and black KMart car, but the body is molded in yellow.

Is their plastic as prone to bleed through as Monograms? Will automotive primer block it?

[herk56]

I would prime first, for sure. I think it's the paint more than the plastic that promotes the bleed-thru. If you really don't want to prime, you might get away with painting over the plastic with a quality enamel paint, several light mist coats first, letting them dry well between coats. Actually, a few coats of a good flat white would probably work as well as any primer. Good luck!

Brian

Brian

[racerbrown]

a coat of silver works pretty well as a sealer. ;D
duane

[indycals]

It's not the plastic, it's the paint.

Here's a blurb I wrote for my website about Tamiya paints:

A word about Tamiya Paints. I exclusively use Tamiya TS Spray paints on my cars. While I realize that many people have different brands that they use, it is simply impossible to try and familiarize myself with all the brands out there. Tamiya delivers excellent color and good coverage (in most cases), when used properly. The key with Tamiya paints is that they are very translucent. To ensure color fidelity, they should be used over white Tamiya Primer (it's never a good idea to mix different brands when overcoating one paint over another). This is especially important with Fluorescent red paint! Painting a color over anything other than white frequently results in discoloration - this effect is usually unwanted, but can also produce a desired effect if done properly (ie, you want the color to be altered).

There are some exceptions. Metallic Tamiya paints cover very well. Case in point, TS30 Silver Leaf will cover any color.

Another issue with Tamiya paints is that if you have red plastic that needs to be painted white, using white primer followed by TS26 frequently results in a pink-ish hue no matter how good the primer coverage is. My way around this is to paint the red plastic with TS30 silver first, then white primer, then the white final coats.

[clm1545]

That is good information, Michael. The problem that many of us face right now is that I can't find the white primer. If someone has a good source, please share it.
Take Care
Craig

[kurzheck]

Michael is right TS30 will cover anything; it's makes a great barrier coat. Tamiya primer apppears to have vanished again. The next best thing in my opinion is Plastikote Sandable Primer T-235 Gray or T-237 White. I have no idea where to get it in the US but I get it at Carquest Auto Parts in Canada.
Trevor

[Deleted]

I'll look into giving the TS30 silver a shot the next time I'm at my local hobby shop.

Personally, I'd like to know exactly what is going on. I'm gobsmacked that multiple layers of primers and paints can't stop the plastic dye from leeching into the top coats of paint.

[illeagle10]

Brian,

Michael touched on this in WIP of his Ferrari 321T and 312T-2.

mb2501.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=70&action=display&thread=1690

I use many types of paints. I believe that the unwritten rule is that whatever primer you use, you should be using the same type of paint you're going to use on the model. Tamiya with Tamiya, Testors with Testors, Alclad with Alclad, etc.... The 93 Mansell Lola that I built had the same color yellow plastic.

mb2501.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=cart&action=display&thread=1769

I used Testors Header flat white as a primer. Using Testors gloss for the black and white areas of the car. Hopefully this gives you a better direction with your problem. Just keep trying and I'm sure you'll find a way.

Jim

[Deleted]

A gentleman on another modeling board suggested "Design Master's Super Surface Sealer". After doing a little research, it is a lacquer-based sealer. Maybe that's a little less reactive than what I have been using. If I can find a can, I'll give it a try.

[flashman]

The "Build Better Model Cars" magazine recently put out by Kalmbach (Scale Auto and FSM magazines) has a great article titled "Perfect Primer", and it recommends Zinsser B-I-N Shellac-Based Primer Sealer as a general plastic sealer and to block colored plastic from bleeding thru paint coats, and it is available at many hardware and DIY stores in spray cans. (Note that magazine says "Display until February 15, 2011" so your local hobby shop may still have it available if you haven't picked it up yet.)

Because I have the Duracell Lola kit and the Indycals sheet for the Scott Brayton Amway car (Michael's build-up of this car on his Indycals site looked too beautiful to resist!), I picked up a can of this B-I-N Sealer at Menards. But since I have gotten diverted by another model, I have not tried it yet, so can't say how well it would work on the yellow plastic of the Duracell kit.

Cameron

[Deleted]

Please be aware that the B-I-N has a nozzle for it's intended purpose, which is blocking stains in house hold repair,in other words lots of paint comes out. I have used it and just switched the nozzle with one from a model type spray can. It does work well at blocking/ bleed thru and so does Pledge with Future shine, That acrylic coating for floors .If you don't have an airbrush you can brush it on,or using an AB you can spray it. I've usually thinned with denatured alcohol. Future will also provide a barrier for clearing over decals that then following with lacquer or enamel clear.HTH

[flashman]

I did read that Future can be used as a plastic sealer before paint coats. I used to use Future all the time to prep flat-painted aircraft models for decaling, and it is super easy to use (straight from the bottle, no thinning necessary even for airbrush use). Overspraying it with Micro Flat using an airbrush always worked fine, but how does it hold up with using lacquers (including Tamiya) or other types of paint over the Future?

Cameron

[Deleted]

"but how does it hold up with using lacquers (including Tamiya) or other types of paint over the Future? "

That's a good question. My experience of shooting clear over Future is limited to what I've used,which is PPG 468 clear thinned with PPG DTL 105 thinner .I Futured(?) over decals to protect them,then cleared over that with the lacquer clear.

[Deleted]

Future is fairly non-reactive both as a top coat and as an undercoat. However, I don't think a layer of acrylic is strong enough to prevent the plastic dye from interacting with the paint. I've tried Krylon and Modge Podge sprays (both are acrylic), and neither effectively sealed the plastic. They might have lessened the discoloration, but neither prevented it altogether.

Edited to add:
Touch wood, but I may have cracked the case! I picked up some Design Master Super Surface Sealer and Mr Surfacer 1200 spray primer along with Tamiya TS-30. I sprayed the cockpit with the silver, then the surface sealer, then the Mr Surfacer, followed by flat white. For some of the other parts, I omitted the TS-30, mainly because I forgot it.

So far, it's looking good! All the parts that have a few coats of the flat white aren't showing any signs of yellowing. Maybe the 3 layers of lacquer based paints have formed enough of a barrier against the yellow plastic. Hopefully, the finish coats of gloss white will go on just as nicely.

As an aside, if anyone here hasn't experienced using Mr Surfacer primer, please treat yourself to some of this product! This is the first time I've ever used it, and although it's pricy, it's well worth it. I've never seen primer go on this smooth. Unbelievable!