Been painting my brass steamer and I love the way good ol’ Scalecoat 1 goes on with an airbrush. Since you are supposed to bake this paint dry I use a cheapy toaster oven I bought at Wal-mart to do the job. Works great and I can bake up to 450 degrees. Of course I don’t turn it up that high (for obvious reasons), but around 125 for a few hours dries nicely. I check the temp with an oven thermometer to make sure the temp is accurate as I don’t trust the markings on the knob.
Chris
I’ve never heard of this. Does “toasting” it seal the paint so to speak. Does using this method allow you to not use a sealer, say a dullcote.
Kyle,
Scaalecoat 1 is a solvent based model paint that is used mostly for metal and wood. It dries to a high gloss shine and the directions say to bake it at around 150 degrees. Scalecoat 2 is for plastic, etc., and is more like traditional model paint you’re probably used to.
http://www.weavermodels.com/page7.html
Chris
I always bake the finish (even the primer coat) on brass at 160-175 degrees for two to three hours.
As for what it does to the paint ? - absolutely nothing … it just cures the finish faster so you can get right back to further masking and painting a lot quicker.
Baking the finish does not make the finish harder or smoother or glossier, those properties are purely based on the chemical make-up of the paint itself. All baking does is accelerate the chemical reaction or evaporative properties of the paint itself. Same reason automotive body shops will heat a freshly painted car - so it doesn’t have to sit as long before they can move it out.
Mark.