Painting Newbie hull prep and painting AreoGloss and Acrylic

[kmart]

Hello All.

So Background.   I am currently building Model Expo - USS Constitution.

I have the basic hull all planked.  Used wood filler where needed and have her   sanded down with 300 grit.

And am planning/ prepping phase to paint the hull.

 

 

 

 

I am a complete novice with painting.   Past models I just brushed on a primer  then a coat of color.  But most of them had very limited painted areas on them.. 

The Constitution I want to do better / proper.  and not look amateurish.  

 

As its the Constitution...  color wise its easy.

Bottom will be copper foil tap from waterline down.

Top sided will be solid flat black with the white Gun port Strip.

 

I plan to brush on.   Will most likely be Acrylic Paint.

I had bought the Model Expo paint kit when I first bought the model.  Well its been a few years (5+) since i bought them..Went to open them and they are all dried up. not usable.

 

At hobby store  was asking painting advise and the knowledgeable owner suggested to use  2 coats of Areo Gloss fillercoat Dope.  Sand between coats,

(The stuff you used on model rockets as a kid...I would not have even thought of using that...but he strongly recommended it..)

Then acrylic paint on top.. He recommended Tamiya

 

 

 

1) is this a good approach.  I would not of thought of Areo dope to prep the hull

       I didn't even think they made this anymore.

2) Is this compatible with Acrylics?

       The hobby store owner said it was  but looking for second confirmation

3) Would I need a primer coat between the Areo and the Acrylic

4) Is Tamiya a good acrylic for this application

5) For below the waterline...  can copper foil tape go right on the Areo dope.?

      I'm assuming it will adhear well

And then when its done painted.. does acrylics require a clear top coat of some sort to protect it?

 

 

Other related questions

 And how does everyone handle the hull details... 

There are things like steps on the tumble-home and a thin, narrow molded plank that goes on the side of the hull,or the chainplates channels

Do you paint the base hull and then glue these parts on the paint.

or do you glue all the detail parts on first then paint over them first pass.

My thought  is ... wood to wood will adhere better.. especially for small parts will little surface area to glue to.

Will it these parts adhear to the painted surface as well?

I am thinking I mask off the areas where parts will be glued on later... to keep the wood to wood contact.  then hit those with paint they are glued on.

 

I know.. lots of questions... 

Any and all advice requested

 

And yes,  I'll definitely try any techniques on scrape wood before committing to the hull and causing a major disaster.

 

PS  I do have a stock of old Floquil paints.  I know those are great paints.   Unfortunately I have only 1 bottle of Black.   Cant risk its not enough to do the whole hull. Grrr  if only i had 2 bottles.

K

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Blue Pilot]

I have never use the Aero gloss so I cant comment on that.  I have painted a couple hulls.  I either used a grey primer or in other cases I just used wipe on poly before painting.  I assume the aero gloss would be similar to the wipe on poly.  I would suggest if you use a primer just make sure it is compatible.  If you use acrylic paint use a acrylic primer.  I had very good success with the wipe on poly.  I did not use another primer in addition to the wipe on poly just apply, let dry and lightly sand then repeat.  I have not personally used Tamia paint but I have heard they are good.  I would be care full of a final top coat over the paint it may give your hull a glossy shine that would not look realistic in my opinion.  Your hull looks great.  Hope this helps.  You could also try some test samples on scrap wood better safe then sorry after so much time went into that hull. 

[wefalck]

I don't know what 'AeroGloss' is. A cellulose- and solvent-based sanding filler would normally do the job. Depending on the type of wood, one or maximum two coats will be required. Rub down in between with fine steel wool (but take care to remove all steel swarf!) and after the last coat. Acrylics don't like 'oily' (i.e. hydrophobic) surfaces, but are ok on almost everything else.

 

I don't have any experience with Tamiya acrylics, but tend to use German (Schmincke) or Spanish (Vallejo) products coming out of houses that also supply artists. Personally, I don't like to apply acrylics with a brush. Perhaps I am too slow and not dexterous enough with a brush.

 

Never glue anything on paint. Your joint will only be as good as the paint sticks to the surface.

 

For the coppering it depends on how you apply the metal strips. Most cements would probably better key into the bare wood and some cements may be incompatible with the sanding filler used. This needs to be tried out, particularly for self-adhesive copper strips.

[Dr PR]

I have used Aero Gloss sanding sealer - it is basically a clear lacquer with a suspended filler. I think I read somewhere that the filler is talcum powder, but that was a long time ago! It does an excellent job of filling wood grain. Apply a coat, let it soak in and dry. I wait over night. Then sand with a very fine grit sandpaper. Apply another coat and repeat until the wood surface is glossy. I normally rub down the last coat with #0000 steel wool. Be sure to brush/wipe off any steel wool fragments as Wefalck says. The result is a very smooth and grainless surface.

 

The instructions on the bottle say to wait at least 72 hours after the last coat before applying paint over it. I let it dry several weeks while I was applying smaller details to the hull.

 

I second what Wefalck said about never gluing anything to paint. Attach all of the wood parts to the surfaces to be painted before applying the sanding sealer and paint. This will give you much stronger glue joints, and when you apply the sanding sealer it will fill any cracks between parts and give you a much nicer painted finish.

 

One word of CAUTION: I would not use lacquers on any plastic parts. The solvents may craze the surface, causing it to blister and wrinkle! When in doubt, test it first on a scrap piece of the plastic.

 

If you are planning to leave the wood unpainted you should try applying the sanding sealer to a test piece and see what the resulting grain looks like. The sanding sealer makes the wood a bit lighter. You can also create your own sealer by using clear lacquer and adding fine wood dust from sanding. This will have the same color as the wood. Or just paint the wood with clear lacquer, sand it, repaint, etc. like you would with sanding sealer. This will also leave you with a nice smooth finish after several coats, with the natural wood color and grain.

 

I used acrylics over the sanding sealer. Unfortunately, I used "craft store" paints and they were very bad. Most experienced modelers recommend using artists acrylics. However, the acrylic paint did go on in a very smooth coat, even though I brushed it on. But it took weeks for the acrylic paints to harden enough that it didn't scratch off easily when handling - even with my fingernails - or be suitable for masking over with painter's tape. After a couple of months I still am not comfortable with masking over the acrylic for fear that the paint will lift off with the tape!

 

So the Aero Gloss sanding sealer is compatible with acrylics - even cheap acrylics.

 

But I would much rather have used lacquer paints on the model!

Edited December 10, 2019 by Dr PR

[kmart]

Thanks everyone for the great feedback.

So i am now leaning towards using rhe areo glow.   Will do some test runs on scrap.   Will test with the acylic i have. But also look to see if i can find a laquer paint to compare.  Waiting a week or to to harden i can do.   Waiting months is a bit much.   

[Tigersteve]

Tamiya worked well for me. It’s fairly thin but you can thin it down with a bit of water and apply several thin coats until you have a nice finish. Sand between coats. 

[stuglo]

Just reopened a Floquil pot after more than 15 YEARS. A little thinner and its perfect. Infinitely better than ORDINARY acrylics. Manufacture stopped about 5 years ago but a quick  look on the net shows still available at reasonable price. Get it while you can.

[Bob Cleek]

I recently discovered that Humbrol enamel model paints are readily available on line. (Amazon has them.) Hornby Hobbies in the UK produces the line. They have a US factory/warehouse in Washington state and a US website. They are making the entire line. I haven't bought any as yet, but with Floquil now gone, Humbrol is the next best thing. 

https://www.humbrol.com/us-en/shop/paints/enamel-paints.html

 

Why some enterprising people don't resurrect the Floquil line, I'll never know. 

[Blue Pilot]

I have also used Model master and had good luck.

[Canute]

The corporate suits at Testors/Rustoleum feel that solvent paints are passe. I liked the early Floquil, which was lacquer based. Great on any model except the plastic parts (unless you used Floquil Barrier).  Good luck with your use of solvent based paint.

 

I bit the bullet and switched to acrylics. My airbrushing technique needs some work, but I can brush paint without putting on a chemical mask. I still mask up airbrushing, due to the particulates.