_GOTOBOTTOM
AFV Painting & Weathering
Answers to questions about the right paint scheme or tips for the right effect.
scratching schurzen - fail
phil2015
Visit this Community
Illinois, United States
Joined: July 27, 2015
KitMaker: 502 posts
Armorama: 325 posts
Posted: Monday, March 16, 2020 - 11:27 AM UTC

So I had a plan....

I'm working on a Das Werk early Panther A. Looking at pictures of winter whitewashed panthers, it seems like there are a lot with a visible scratch on the skirts. I thought... I can do that.

I use Tamiya for the paint and sealer, and Heavy Chipping Fluid in place of hairspray. I mixed up a red oxide from Red Brown and Red and covered the skirts with that. Waited overnight. Sealed them with two coats of Tamiya clear (X-22). Waited overnight. Put on two coats of heavy chipping fluid then a coat of dark yellow and an overspray of olive green. I thought I'd do two levels of scratches, one on this coat, and then another when I went to do the white overspray. But trying to do the scratch here failed.

I used a cocktail stick, wetted the surface with water, then tried scratching the surface with the cocktail stick. It kinda worked ok mostly, but in several places it took the paint right off to the plastic.

It gave me an opportunity to try some other things. I used a sculpting tool (metal with a dull point) to try some scratches and it worked beautifully, so I'll use it next time.

After applying some vallejo acrylic to where the bare plastic was showing and realizing that was going to look too different, I started sanding the skirts down to start over. One notices that a coarse sanding stick gets some absolutely terrific scratching before applying it with enough force to take the paint off.

Anyone else have similar experiences and willing to share some tips on doing this?
GazzaS
#424
Visit this Community
Queensland, Australia
Joined: April 23, 2015
KitMaker: 4,648 posts
Armorama: 2,248 posts
Posted: Monday, March 16, 2020 - 05:38 PM UTC
The only thing I might add would be to sand your schurzen first to help the paint adhere better. And wear rubber gloves when handling. Skin oils can undermine your paint.
Biggles2
Visit this Community
Quebec, Canada
Joined: January 01, 2004
KitMaker: 7,600 posts
Armorama: 6,110 posts
Posted: Thursday, March 26, 2020 - 06:15 AM UTC
I've used a toothpick and even the end of a piece of stretched sprue, dip in gray paint (to simulate bare metal) and drag along the surface in the direction of the scrape or scratch. As usual, a bit of experimentation is needed to develop a technique. Another technique is to use a small piece of sponge, grip in tweezers or forceps, dip in paint and squeeze it out until almost dry then gently daub where you want a worn or scratched surface. When the paint on the sponge is almost all used you can drag it for very fine scratches and scuffs. Again, experiment.
cabasner
Visit this Community
Nevada, United States
Joined: February 12, 2012
KitMaker: 1,083 posts
Armorama: 1,014 posts
Posted: Monday, April 06, 2020 - 03:05 PM UTC

Quoted Text


So I had a plan....

I'm working on a Das Werk early Panther A. Looking at pictures of winter whitewashed panthers, it seems like there are a lot with a visible scratch on the skirts. I thought... I can do that.

I use Tamiya for the paint and sealer, and Heavy Chipping Fluid in place of hairspray. I mixed up a red oxide from Red Brown and Red and covered the skirts with that. Waited overnight. Sealed them with two coats of Tamiya clear (X-22). Waited overnight. Put on two coats of heavy chipping fluid then a coat of dark yellow and an overspray of olive green. I thought I'd do two levels of scratches, one on this coat, and then another when I went to do the white overspray. But trying to do the scratch here failed.

I used a cocktail stick, wetted the surface with water, then tried scratching the surface with the cocktail stick. It kinda worked ok mostly, but in several places it took the paint right off to the plastic.

It gave me an opportunity to try some other things. I used a sculpting tool (metal with a dull point) to try some scratches and it worked beautifully, so I'll use it next time.

After applying some vallejo acrylic to where the bare plastic was showing and realizing that was going to look too different, I started sanding the skirts down to start over. One notices that a coarse sanding stick gets some absolutely terrific scratching before applying it with enough force to take the paint off.

Anyone else have similar experiences and willing to share some tips on doing this?



How did you thin your (assumed) Tamiya paint yellow top coat? If your thinning too much, you may not be getting good enough 'grip' on the hairspray layer. Also, I'm thinking you may have overdone the chipping fluid layers, either to thick of a layer of fluid, or perhaps you can repeat everything, just use the light chipping fluid instead of the heavy duty version. Michael Rinaldi notes these as possible contributors to 'sheet' removal of paint when trying to chip.
barkingdigger
Staff MemberAssociate Editor
ARMORAMA
#013
Visit this Community
England - East Anglia, United Kingdom
Joined: June 20, 2008
KitMaker: 3,981 posts
Armorama: 3,403 posts
Posted: Monday, April 06, 2020 - 11:22 PM UTC
I always clean and prime raw plastic - my go-to primer at the moment is Halfords Grey autobody primer in a rattle can, but similar primers are available in the States. This grips the plastic so the Tamiya paint will adhere. But any time you abrade the paint (even with a cocktail stick) you risk scraping all the way down to the plastic simply because our paint layers are mighty thin!
Namabiiru
Staff MemberAssociate Editor
MODEL SHIPWRIGHTS
#399
Visit this Community
Rhode Island, United States
Joined: March 05, 2014
KitMaker: 2,888 posts
Armorama: 1,920 posts
Posted: Tuesday, April 07, 2020 - 12:53 AM UTC
I also prefer to use acrylic floor polish to seal the base coat. My experience has been that it seals better and is more durable than other clear coats.

phil2015
Visit this Community
Illinois, United States
Joined: July 27, 2015
KitMaker: 502 posts
Armorama: 325 posts
Posted: Tuesday, April 07, 2020 - 01:51 AM UTC
Thanks for the responses everyone. I stripped the paint off and started over. In the new version, I wiped it down with alcohol after stripping it then primed it with mr surfacer and let that sit for 24 hours.

I then used the same method and when I abraded it, the scratches went down to the first coat but not through. The results are pretty nice.

I've decided to replace the molded skirts with sheet styrene for the individual frames (and leave a couple off). I'll use the same method on that and see how it goes.

Regards,
Phil
 _GOTOTOP