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Revell/Germany 1/144th scale 747-8F UPS


Bradley25mm

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Gentlemen,

 I rarely build anything that is shiny.   I’m starting a Boeing 747–8F.  Can anyone recommend a good white paint that I can use. I’ll be shooting it through my airbrush. Any replies are much appreciated .

 

Christopher

Edited by Bradley25mm
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The best advice I can give you is to use a white primer.  Almost any gloss white airbrushed in light coats will give you a good finish if you're careful about dust.

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Tamiya Fine Surface Primer, White. Use from the spray can or decant for airbrush use. When it's fully cured, polish it to a smooth, satin finish. Apply decals, then a final semi-gloss or gloss coat.

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I totally agree with the Tamiya Fine White primer as a good starter for any light color paint overcoat.

Another need is to then "polish" that primer coat a bit. It usually has a very "baby powder smooth" finish when correctly applied, but I recommend using either a very fine (1000grit or higher) sand paper, or very coarse paper towel (if no fine sand paper is at hand), in order to have a nearly glass smooth surface to apply your gloss paint to.

In my experience, as nice as the TFWP is, it's a "dull white", and not a bright white color, which is what you need for an airliner. If you normally use enamels or lacquers, I recommend Model Master Gloss White, thinned with lacquer thinner, and misted on in a few fine coats. It's a much brighter white, which I believe you'll see as soon as you apply it over the primer white finish. Decals can be applied directly over the gloss white, and then you can then apply the clear gloss of your choice to seal them and add a bit more shine.

Others who use acrylics can recommend a good acrylic gloss white to use, but the point I'm trying to drive home is that as nice as the Tamiya Fine White primer is, it is not as bright a white as a gloss white paint, especially for airliner liveries. Hope this helps!

 

GIL :smiley16:

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Gentlemen, 

        One last question. How long should I let the Gloss White paint cure before I handle the parts? Temp in my house is  69°  Humidity level is 59%.

 Thanks again 

 Christopher 

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I can only speak for using enamels and lacquers (not acrylics)......

As mentioned above, personally, I cut almost all of my gloss enamels with lacquer thinner. This makes it a little bit harder to use than with enamel thinners because it tends to be "hotter" and cure faster. That, in turn, can open you up to a better chance of rough paint areas or "orange peel" if you don't apply it in a more careful manner.

However, the up side is that it does dry faster, and in my experience "harder". I've found that 24-48hrs is usually enough time for it to be handled (gently) and masked over if needed.

BUT....I would NOT handle it bare handed or for long periods of time (1+hrs) for at least 4-5 DAYS. The paint will be dry, but not fully CURED. This means that the heat from your hands over an extended length of time could start to "uncure" the paint that is not FULLY cured yet in the areas where you're continually holding the model..

I cannot give you hard data on how temps and humidity affect the drying times. But, the more moderate and "normal" the conditions (nothing too cold or too hot) would seem to offer the optimal results. The times I quoted above are based on my personal experiences, and I do paint in my garage (in FLA), where 3/4s of the year it's well above 80 degrees and the humidity can get muggy during the summer.

One more thing not mentioned so far....I use a CO2 tank for airbrushing. If you're using a compressor, be sure you have a very good moisture trap to avoid any moisture or water coming through with your paint. This is especially true in high humidity areas.

Hope this helps a bit!

GIL :smiley16:

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I wouldn't sweat it too much....it's only a model! If it comes out less than perfect, scratch your head to figure out what might have gone wrong and build another one. Experience is the greatest teacher, even after getting the best advice you can. Turn your attention to having fun with this instead of worrying about a less than perfect paint job.

 

GIL :smiley16:

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What Gil said. I've used the Wal-Mart 96cent spray can of flat white on my white models like the Saturn V and Space Shuttle. I then clear coat it with gloss, then apply decals, Afterward I add another gloss coat or three and polish it with 8000 grit sanding pads.

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                  Gil, thanks for the pep talk.I appreciate and respect your feedback. It’s all about having fun.  Mark, I’m taking a similar route, to yours. Enamel paint from Lowe’s. It’s safe for plastic. White for the main body, pewter gray for the wings and elevators, and coffee bean for their signature “UPS Brown”. I’ve already primed everything with Tamiya Fine White Primer. I’ll decant them, and shoot them thru my airbrush. Not sure if I’m going to use the clear gloss from the spray can, “decanted”or the Pledge Revive It Floor gloss. 

                    The engines are done. All that’s left is to put the cowling around each one of them. As for the leading edge of each fan blade, I used silver decals that were cut into small strips. Solvaset was used to help snug them down. 

                   I’m pretty fortunate that UPS WorldPort is just 15 minutes from my house. I can watch them day and night from my front porch. They pass right in front of my house on “Final” coming out of the south. It’s a sight to see. Flaps fully extended, and the landing gear down. The 747’s are low and slow coming in. At night, it’s even more impressive. As far as the eye can see to the south, a line of landing lights in almost a perfect line. Starting around 11pm, a UPS plane will land every minute. Over a hundred every night. Good times indeed.

Regards

Christopher

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 Thanks again Mark.   I wanted to pass this along to the group if anyone was interested in it. Experimenting with Novus polishing kit. 1. Painted with the above paint. 2. Waited around 36 hours to handle. 3. Began polishing with # 2 Fine Scratch Remover while wearing nitrile gloves.  Apply with a soft cotton cloth. When applying # 2, apply using a back and forth motion,  not circular.  As with any buffing process, it will generate heat.  As Gil stated above, the heat can reactivate the paint if you’re not careful.  I’ll let the wings sit for a day or two before I paint the leading edge silver.

Regards

Christopher.

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                                Thanks Mark. Still experimenting with it.  One thing that I have found out , is that if you press to hard, WITHOUT wearing gloves, you will leave a light fingerprint that cannot be wiped off. . Once it sat for a while, I re polished the area and it went away. Gloves only, from now one. The clever design team at Revell/Germany designed all the parts with some tight tolerances. Because of this, neither the wings or elevators will need any putty, once attached to the fuselage. I've cleaned the paint off each wing root, and will mask off each attachment point on the fuselage. The landing gear, and bays, have been painted with flat white verses gloss that I painted the engine nacelles with. After looking at several photos on the internet, close up shots almost look like its painted a very light gray. 

                                To figure out the paint scheme on the fuselage, I made a color copy of the yellow stripe. After some re-adjustments with tape, I was able to nail down where the white and brown will meet. The elevators were painted with Metalizer Lacquer from Testors. Non-buffing aluminum, buffing titanium, and Gray pewter from Krylon. The engine construction was pretty straight forward. The only issue that I ran into, was attaching the vortex generators to the outside of the engine nacelle. The fit was not great. I used a round file to adjust the inside profile of each one. They now lay flat with no gaps.

 

Regards

Christopher

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  • 2 weeks later...

       Gentlemen,

                            Finished late last night. All that's left to do now is build the base. Since it would have been a lot of work to drop the flaps, and leading edge slats, I'm going to pose it cruising down a taxiway. This build was actually a very good learning experience for me, as far as finishes. While attending the Nationals last week, I had the chance to sit down with a car modeler. He gave me A LOT of info on finishes, and how to make them pop. What he has done in the past, and what has worked best for him. He was a tremendous help, and he answered every question I had. I used the above spray paints to complete the project. I decanted them, and thinned them with Testors airbrush thinner.

                   The humidity here in Kentucky has been brutal.  I do all my airbrushing in my garage. I've got a large dehumidifier which I now turn on about two hours before I paint. I set it at 45%. After I painted everything, I would let it sit for about 48 hours in the house. I used #2 Novus polish only to polish out everything. Used a 100% cotton cloth to put it own (sparingly) Except for decaling, I worn nitrile gloves every time I handled the model. I spent around 10 hours polishing everything. It was a lot of work. I did not clear coat anything after the decals were applied. Didn't really see a need to.  The only thing that I dirtied up was the landing gear. The actual landing gear is pretty dirty. I used the clear windows for everything. On the actual aircraft, the cargo compartment is a bright white. Although you cant see it, I added seat belts, seat cushions, and decals on the instrument panel. Cant wait to start the base.

 

Regards

Christopher

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Thank you Bill. Yes Mark, he gave me some great advice. Things worked out a lot better than I thought. All that's  left to do is recess the light fixtures down the center line. 

Regards

Christopher

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  • 4 months later...

Wow! How did I miss the awesome finish (pun intended) to this project!?

That's a lovely build that's presented in a superb manner. I admire your dedication to the polishing....10hrs is a LOT of elbow grease to apply, but the result certainly shows!

Congrats on a super looking build and thanks for letting us ride along!

 

Gil :smiley16:

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