what type of paint is the best for painting metal? i got W.S. cemetary and iam dying to put it together, but iam gonna do it right like everything i do. any help woukd be great .[8D][8D][8D][8D]
Use the cheap craft paints (acrylics) found at every craft store and Walmart across the country. Apple Barrel, Delta Creancoat, ect., it really doesn’t matter which brand you use. Clean any flash off the castings with a file. You don’t have to use a primer on metal castings unless you’re using a light color like white, yellow or red. Acrylics dry fast, so if you paint the parts assembly-line style, you can get 30-40 of them done in an hour or two while watching TV.
In my younger days, I was an avid wargamer. Almost everything in that hobby is (was) made of lead or pewter, and I must have painted 20,000 figures and vehicles over the course of eight years. I still prefer metal over plastic for my model RR figures and details, so still paint stuff like this all the time. If you need any other advice, just ask!
Don’t forget to primer it before. I use floquil primer,a nd it works great. But smells to high heaven. LOL Also look into Valihio Paints. These are acrilic and brush very very well. They are from europe and you can find them in model magizines. Check under armor models. I will find the correct spelling of the paint. Bill
Floquil used to make, and very well may still make, a primer or base coat (avail. in a rattle can) called ‘‘Foundation’ which I believe was used as a primer for painting metal figures, and -this is real fuzzy- under their somewhat translucent wood stains like ‘oak’, ‘walnut’, etc’. I always use a very light spray of primer on almost everything, but especially metal pieces. It gives a bite to the surface to be topcoated. Always use primer and top coat from the same manufacturer, although I’ve had good results using an acrylic (water based) over an enamel or vice- versa, esp. if I’m weathering, shading, or detailing one color or colors over another larger field of color. Washes made up of India ink and alcohol may enhance what you are trying to do. Different clear topcoats are helpful to minimize the separations between colors or to blend in weathering effects, esp. if dry pastels or ashes (one of the most frequently used weathering mediums I use) are used. My does-it-all, all time favorite clear is Testor’s ‘Dull Coat’ in a rattle can. Dave Frary has an excellent book that covers these subjects and lots more in great detail - “222 Tips for building model railroad structures” originally published by Blue Ribbon Models in 1989. He also authored another very good book “How to Build Realistic Model Railroad Scenery” available from Kalmbach currently.
Look at this site
http://www.brifayle.ca/
for a technique for painting figures. Brian is a friend, but I’m just working on my first set of figures using this technique.
Thanx for all the help i love getting different ideas so i can try all them out and see what works best for me.
P.S. I woke up today with $@%!% SNOW on the ground whats up with that?