Help with acrylic paint

[captainbob]

I scratchbuild mostly with bass wood and I usually paint my boats.  The admiral has trouble with strong odors so I use craft store acrylics.  I do use Krylon primer, which I spray outdoors, on the raw wood to help me see any flaws that may need filler.  Then I sand and paint with a brush.  I always seem to have a hard time getting a nice smooth finish.   I need help.

 

Here are some questions I have.  How do you prepare the wood?  What brand of paint do you use?  Do you thin the paint and how much?  What brushes do you use?  There are probably other questions that I don’t even know to ask, so any information will be helpful.

 

Bob

[riverboat]

Hi Bob, as for the wood prep, after sanding and you're satisfied with the over all look you might try a wood sealer, sand lightly after drying, then put on your primer coat , if any discrepancies  show then you can correct them . Then you can paint.  I don't use a sealer all the time, some do, depends on the wood also. As far as the paint goes, craft store acrylics are fine ,I've used Ceramcoat , and have had good results. I 'm trying out Jo Sonja

artist matte acrylics now on the advice of EDt, I really  like them, they brush beautifully and lay real flat. You have to thin them accordingly 

like any other acrylic paint. As far as the brushes go, I like using nylon with the acrylics especially for large surfaces. I have some sables that I use for smaller and detail work. Just don't have your paint too thick, it's always better to do a couple coats rather than one heavy one,

you don't want to hide any detail. when you're satisfied with the paint job, then put a couple coats of matte varnish on , and maybe a light sanding between coats. I'm sure others here will chime in and give you some alternate advice. If I can be of any more help , just PM me O.K. ?

Frank

[JerseyCity Frankie]

I use acrylic "artist" paint on basswood and I never prime the wood with anything and it appears to be going well in terms of longevity. I don't see any inclination to flake or blister on any of my models. I believe the nature of acrylic paint, that it is a plastic emulsion, won't let it soak into the wood since it dries so fast. It dries as fast as the water that is in it dries and once that film is formed, its not going anywhere. As to how well it clings to the surface it is dried on, that will depend on the surface and you would think that a non porous surface wouldn't give this kind of paint much to cling to. But when I was younger I built plastic model aircraft and I used the same sort of acrylic paint to paint them and then, as now, I did not use a primmer. Some of those twenty year old aircraft models are still in a box in my mom's attic ( hot in summer, cold in winter- a bad environment for any paint) and the paint looks exactly the same as I remember it. A determined person could probably scrape off some of that paint but it would take some effort and this is acrylic on a smooth plastic surface. Its my opinion that acrylic paint is the wonder of the age and hard to beat at anything it does. Painting it on metal would most likely require a primer to keep it from flaking off easy but it would still stick initially. It wouldn't hurt to test whatever paint you have on some scrap and then torture test it by abrading it with sandpaper or heat it over a flame and see how it behaves. I think you will be surprised.

[von stetina]

Hi Bob,

 

There are some things that you can do to help your acrylics flow out smoothly. One, already mentioned is to lay on thin coats and build up your color.

Constancy of the paint can be a problem. Thinning with water reduces the adhesion after a point. There is a true reducer available from Createx. This paint brand makes a line of custom automotive paints of the highest caliber along with it's other lines, you may find it there. I've used it with other brands fine. There is also a flow promoter available from most manufacturers. Also a retarder may help give the paint more time to flow out also. A phone call to a manufacturers tech line can be very valuable too.

 

And of course, an airbrush will give you the perfect finish. But even by brush, you can do pretty well.

 

Von Stetina

[captainbob]

Thank you all.  It is probably true that I am not thinning the paint enough.  Have any of you used Future Flore Finish as a thinner?  It is a thin clear acrylic.  Also I had not heard of a retarder to slow down the drying.  I’ll have to see if I can find some.  The humidity here in Arizona is pretty low and things dry fast.  So looks like it’s the same as everything else, Practice, Practice, Practice.  Thanks again.

 

Bob