Tamiya/Testors Paint Issues

[Deleted]

I am trying to paint my Ford LN8000 ass a Ryder rental truck from the 1970s, so I need a "hurt your eyes" yellow for the cab & box. I tried Testors yellow, and it covered terribly. I tried Tamiya yellow, and after about ten coats it still has a green tint to it from the plastic beneeth it. Now I don't own an airbrush, so I'm stuck with rattle cans. What can I do? Does Duplicolor have the "hurt your eyes" yellow similar to the Ryder trucks of the 1970s? Should I strip the Tamiya & Testors off first? How do I get it off? Do I need to use a primer?

Thanks for your help. I'm quite frustrated here!

[towguy76]

jimb said:

I am trying to paint my Ford LN8000 ass a Ryder rental truck from the 1970s, so I need a "hurt your eyes" yellow for the cab & box. I tried Testors yellow, and it covered terribly. I tried Tamiya yellow, and after about ten coats it still has a green tint to it from the plastic beneeth it. Now I don't own an airbrush, so I'm stuck with rattle cans. What can I do? Does Duplicolor have the "hurt your eyes" yellow similar to the Ryder trucks of the 1970s? Should I strip the Tamiya & Testors off first? How do I get it off? Do I need to use a primer? What ever yellow you use, start with a base of white primer, most autoparts stores have it. My Ryder CBP build up i used Krylon Bright Idea Yellow interior-exterior spray paint i got at Walmart. May not be the exact yellow you are looking for but the important thing is the flat white primer as a base. That will make the yellow brighter and none of the gray plastic will show thru. Plus the yellow paint will lay better over the primer verses straight plastic.

Thanks for your help. I'm quite frustrated here!

[rwaldram]

In the past when i've needed to get an exact match for a colour used by automotive (or truck) companies i've gone direct to the source, in a lot of cases the manafturer/operator will be happy to tell you what the colour code is and in smoe cases may have "touch-up" paints that you are able to have/buy.

Failing that, here in australia there are a lot of retail/wholesale businesses that sell to both panelbeaters and public, the have the colour codes for every model car/truck and the paint can be mixed on site.

[Deleted]

Towguy76,

I think the board ate your response.

Rwaldram,

I had thought of that to get the correct color, but should I get the Tamiya & Testors paint off the model first, or can I just paint over it? Maybe I should just start over!

[rwaldram]

If you apply layer upon layer then you'll start to lose the details such as bolt/rivit's and to a more serious degree, door lines etc. It is probably better to remove the paint first (mr muscle or similar). Once done, make sure the plastic is clean and start over again, to prevent the green showing through the paint make sure you give the model a coat of white primer first.
I reccomend white due to the top colour you're using, if you're using a darker colour then you would use grey primer instead.

I'm sure most of the members here would agree, a coat of primer, even a light one, is almost essential with any build, especially if you've used multi-media (metal products(brass/white or PE)/plastic/resin) or even just the good old putty as all of these will effect how the paint adheres to the project and ultimately, effect the finished product.

[towguy76]

What ever yellow you use, start with a base of white primer, most autoparts stores have it. My Ryder CBP build up i used Krylon Bright Idea Yellow interior-exterior spray paint i got at Walmart. May not be the exact yellow you are looking for but the important thing is the flat white primer as a base. That will make the yellow brighter and none of the gray plastic will show thru. Plus the yellow paint will lay better over the primer verses straight plastic.

[Deleted]

I'll give it a try & post some pics when I get them.

Thanks,

[spotlight]

Always, always, use a primer of some kind even if the kit is cast in white plastic. I use flat white (not primer) from a large rattle can sold at any place that sells paint and it doesn't have to be expensive paint. I have even used the large rattle cans to paint a kit before I bought an air brush and they came out good. I always top coat with clear gloss from the large cans, again bought from wherever paint is sold. Hopefully some day you can get an air brush and compressor as there is so little waste using the brush. Have patience and layer the paint on in light coats until you get the color you want. The paint will get darker as you lay on each coat. Good luck to you.

[tabletoptrucker]

I have always been in the school of if paints going to touch it, prime it..

But... But I dont agree with always using White primer. if you want to see how primer color can effect your top color, try taking a strip of plastic, get some rattle cans of White, Lt Gray, Gray, Brown and Black primers, shoot a test spot of each, allow the primers to completely dry, then shoot your Yellow over the primers, You'll see how different the same Yellow will be over the different primers.

using a darker primer will bring out a darker tint of your top color.

You might try looking for Caterpiller Yellow in the rattle can and try the white or lgt gray primer for the Ryder Yellow.

I did the same Ryder truck back when it was orginally released by AMT all those years ago.

[longhaul]

jimb
All of the above suggestions and ideas are good ones, the one about if paint is going to touch,prime it is a rule of thumb with me. I have done the thing with the different primers and also agree, it depends what color primer you use. If you put black under yellow you are going to get a slightly dark yellow and if you put flat white under yellow you get a brighter yellow.
What nobody mentioned is to put your primer coats
on very thin and do a light sanding between coats. I prefer 3 light coats of primer (what ever color I am using) and a lite sanding after all 3. Althrough I usually dont use any kind of sandpaper on my projects during painting. I use a #0000 super fine steel wool on the bare plastic and between coats as With the steel wool you have no chance of sanding of emblems or other molded items. Also I think the steel wool leaves a lot smoother surface than sandpaper.

Jeff ;D

[tabletoptrucker]

Your Very right about light sanding.. the smooter the surface to start with the better your over all finish is going to be

[Deleted]

Those are good ideas, too. The problem I'm having right now is getting the old stuff off. CSC worked pretty well on the hood, but for some reason it wouldn't strip the underside. I think that was the Testors, but there was Testors on the exterior, and that came off just fine. I tried Heavy Duty Easy-Off on the van box (all Tamiya, no Testors), and that didn't even scratch it. I guess I'll have to get a bucket and a lot of CSC to try and strip the van. An easier alternative might be to rebuild the van from the other LN8000 Short Hauler I have.

Haven't tried to strip the cab yet. I need to strip the exterior, but I want to leave the interior alone. Going to try & tape off the windows & use Easy-Off, but I have my doubts.

[longhaul]

jimb
you stated that you used about 10 coats of Tamiya yellow after you used Testors yellow, so that gives you a pretty
darn thick buildup of paint to remove. One dunk in the Castrol Super Clean ( althrough I think its just Super Clean now ) is not going to remove that much paint. You need to put the parts in a bowl or what ever and let it just soak for about a week, checking on it everyday and cleaning off the loose paint and than puting it pack in the CSC bath. Dont worry I have never had CSC hurt the plastic no matter how long I have soaked it.
Another option is if you havent covered up all your molded in details is to go ahead sand the paint down with a lite grit sandpaper till you get it smooth and than seal the parts with
a lite coat of Future Floor Care. Put on a couple three very lite coats of a light white or flat white primer. Since you are using rattle cans, I would ( personal preface ) use Krylon Flat White for
my primer and than pick out your yellow you want using a color from the Krylon family. I use Krylon because it is fast drying and gasses out quick, you can recoat the flat white in 20 minutes or so and put your final color on in about 48 hours. One rule I try to live by is DONT MIX PAINT BRANDS it cant always be done but I try. Also when I have a dark color plastic and am going to paint it to a lite color I always seal it with a coat of Future Floor Care it keeps the bleed thru to almost nil.
Hope this helps you with your project and remember
There is no frustration in model truck building LOL

Jeff :- ;D ;D ;D

[Deleted]

Funny thing is, on the van box there's only like two or three light coats of Tamiya. The CSC really took care of the hood with all of those other coats of paint. Got to get some more of that stuff. Works really well. CSC & a bucket.

You're right, there really isn't any frustration in model truck building (I save that for the dance floor), just challenges.