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LSP_Kevin

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Posts posted by LSP_Kevin

  1. I know this is not what was asked, but I have never understood the point behind the whole "decanting from spray can" thing.

     

    I did it a couple of times, and found the result to be pretty much identical to Alclad for 10X the hassle. Just my experience, YMMV.

     

    Bryan, it's not just about the silver or NMF colours; Tamiya's Camel Yellow makes an excellent RLM04, for example, and their Pure White is also indispensable if you build airliners. But at the end of the day, the contents of these Tamiya spray cans are among the best quality paints I've ever used - they're tough, opaque, spray beautifully and dry quickly. And if you want to use them on a small area, or don't like the slight orange-peel texture they can sometimes have when used straight out of the can, then decanting them for airbrushing is the way to go.

     

    Kev

  2. Well, my first attempt at foiling has come to a merciful end. It looks like a disaster quite frankly, and has taken me 3 weeks to do! I've learned a few things along the way, and haven't yet been completely put off having another go. I'll definitely be choosing my next subject more wisely though, as the MiG-15 has all kinds of features I had trouble dealing with, most especially the wing strakes. I also had a lot of trouble with the foil lifting at trailing edges - especially during handling. And when you're foiling a model, you have to handle the heck out of it! (I broke and re-glued the dorsal antenna countless times before giving up on it.) So, I've learned that it's best to wrap foil around trailing edges whenever you can, rather than do separate tops and bottoms.

     

    Anyway, the batteries in my camera died, and devoid of spares at the moment, I had to resort to my iPhone for some very unflattering shots:

     

    file-3.jpg

     

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    file-6.jpg

     

    In the second-last shot you can see where some of the foil has torn away from the trailing edge at the rear of the inner wing strake. My glue application technique did improve during the process, so that's something at least. I'm just going to slap the decals on, give it an oil wash and install all the fiddly bits and then call it done. I'll put some better shots in RFI at that point.

     

    Thanks everyone for their help, advice and input on this whole foiling caper.

     

    Kev

  3. My questions on this tip would be, how long before the paint goes off in the jar, as in dry, un-useable? If you left a jar of MM open for 30 minutes it would start to go off wouldn't it?

    Also what would you thin it with, Tamiya have a lacquer thinner?

     

    Once decanted, Tamiya's rattle can lacquers behave like any other paint, but they will thicken over time. I decant them into standard Gunze or Tamiya glass paint jars, so I label them and put them away with my other paints. I've thinned them with moderate success using Mr Color Thinner, and I'm sure Tamiya's own product would be at least as effective.

     

    Kev

  4. How about setting the glass jar in a bowl of very cold water before decanting the warm paint into it?

     

    Stephen, the paint doesn't come out warm; quite the opposite in fact. If you've ever used a propellant can to power an airbrush, you'll know that the surface temperature of the can drops rapidly once the propellant begins to be released. The same thing happens with paint rattle cans. The purpose of warming the can first is to delay this effect, as it significantly retards flow. By the time the paint makes it into the jar, it's actually very cold indeed, and temperature is not a factor in its volatility. In fact, you'll notice the straw get very cold as soon as you start decanting (assuming you're holding on to it, which you should be).

     

    Kev

  5. Ron, first of all, as a precaution, do the decanting outside if you can!

     

    I sit the rattle can in a container of warm-to-hot water for 5 minutes before the decanting procedure. This increases the quality of the flow noticeably, and is even more worth doing if you're spraying a model directly from the can.

     

    What I do is get a suitably-sized drinking straw and attach it to the nozzle of the spray can. There's a variety available here that neatly fits over the nozzle on Tamiya spray cans. Be sure to use the ones with the concertina elbow. You can tape it on if need be.

     

    I then just sit an empty paint jar (I recycle all the glass ones) on some newspaper on a table outside, sit the straw in the opening of the jar, and press the go button. The jar can fill up quickly so you'll need to keep an eagle eye on things and go lightly with the trigger finger. Be aware too that the propellant gas makes the mixture quite volatile, and hitting the bottom of the paint jar too hard can have explosive results, literally.

     

    Once you've got the jar full enough, leave it for as long as you can to de-gas (at least 30 minutes). If you're uncertain, give the paint a gentle stir with a toothpick; if it goes volcanic on you, it ain't done yet.

     

    Good luck, and let me know if you have any other questions.

     

    Kev

  6. Thanks for your input Brian. I'm definitely cleaning the foil (with either white spirit or metho) prior to applying the glue. Fingerprints are an issue for me though, as I have oily (as opposed to sweaty) hands. I've taken to wearing latex gloves when handling the model to apply the foil, rather than when applying the glue. I don't think that's a big issue though; I think main problem is just the sheer shininess of the foil causing the glue to bead up. I will confess to using super cheap, super thin kitchen foil, and am having issues with wrinkling and tearing as well. I think I just need to experiment a bit more to find out what works for me. Prolly need to try a few different foils too.

     

    I've got the thing about half covered now (taken me over a week just to get that far!), but I'll post some photos of the result when I get it all done.

     

    Kev

  7. I just wanted to revisit this topic briefly with some more questions, as I'm really struggling to get on top of this foiling stuff. I've improved the situation somewhat with regard to the glue streaks. Firstly, I thin the adhesive slightly by applying it with a wet brush. I then trowel it back and forth multiple times with the spreader, each time smoothing it out just that little bit more. Lastly, I turn my overhead lamp off, as I suspect this was a factor in causing the glue to dry too quickly in lumps.

     

    So, while all those things have helped, the glue application is still not perfect, and the main issue seems to be that I'm applying the glue to the shiny side of the foil in order to use the dull side on the model. Being so shiny and smooth, the glue just keeps beading up. Brian, how do you deal with this?

     

    Kev

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