I first must say that I use enamel paints for the most part, and this is definitely the case when it comes to painting something that will have a glossy finish. I generally spray Model Master paints, and these I thin with lacquer thinner that I buy at Canadian Tire. The accepted wisdom when it comes to thinning paint is that it should be about 50/50 paint to thinner, or about the consistency of milk. When I’m working on a glossy paint job, I thin the paint even more (don’t ask the precise ratio as I usually eye ball it). My belief, right or wrong, is that the excess lacquer thinner will “melt” the paint causing it to run and thus smooth itself out. The danger here is that you could get a very nasty run in the paint if you use improper airbrushing techniques.

The Steps to Follow:

Priming

First things first; the model needs to primed. You can use either a dedicated primer like Tamiya Super Fine Primer or a flat shade of a similar colour. The idea here is to give your paint something to bite on to and to prevent the colour of the kit plastic showing through. When using metallic paints, it is recommended that you prime with silver as this will make your top colour deeper and more metallic.

Painting

When applying the paint, thin even coats are used to build up a consistent layer of colour. Do not try to paint you model completely in one session. It will take several layers, and thus several painting sessions, to cover the model completely. I generally work in the evening because that’s the way life is in the Santarossa household. Once done, I put the model aside for at least 24 hours, preferably under a dust cover.

When the next paint session rolls around, I begin by giving the model a light sanding with a very find grit cloth, somewhere around 3200 grit. This will help smooth out any orange peel and remove any lint or dust that may have gotten into the paint. I then once again spray a light, consistent layer of paint on the model. This series of steps (spray, dry, sand, re-spray) is repeated over and over until the desired opacity of paint is achieved. This may take upwards of 5 or more layers of paint depending of the colour, the mixing ratio of the paint, the base colour of the plastic, and how much sanding was done in between coats.

Once the colour depth that I’m after has been achieved I let the model cure for several days. This is to ensure that the paint is not to soft to handle. Also there will be some shrinkage as the paint dries. You will not see this on a model painted one colour, but try to spray a different colour or clear coat over paint that is not fully cured and you will see cracks develop in this top layer. Because I leave for several days at time to go to work, giving my models enough drying time is usually not a problem.

From this point on in the process, I wear a cotton glove or an old soft sock on the hand that will be holding the model. This will keep any finger prints out of the paint. Now that the paint is fully cured the model again gets sanded down. Be careful! As this is the final layer paint you do not want to sand too hard. Using a back-and-forth motion, lightly sand the model in stages with fine sand paper, letting the paper do the work. Do not sand in a circular motion. Very little pressure needs to be exerted here. Again all you want to do is level an orange peel and remove any dust or lint. Be especially careful around any edges or sharp details. The paint coverage here is very thin and can be removed with just a few swipes of the sanding cloth.

Polishing

The next steps is to polish out the paint. There are several polishes available from different sources, but I like Novus Plastic Polish. This is a three part process using each of the three bottles of polish in reverse numerical order, 3-2-1. I also have found from many years of polishing that the best cloth to use is a Kiwi Shoe Polish cloth. These are very soft, can be picked up from the local grocery store, and to a fantastic job (just ask anyone who has had to polish a pair of parade boots).

Not a lot of polish is needed, just a dab. Using circular motion, polish your paint in same manner you would wax a car. You should start to notice a change right away as the paint starts to look glossier. When you have completely polished your model with the first bottle, move on to the next and repeat the process with the remaining bottles in order.

The last thing to do is clean out any polishing compound that had found it’s way into any panel lines. If this compound is left alone, it will harden and become impossible to remove. For this task I use warm soapy water and a soft tooth brush. You need not worry about scratching your paint as by now it should be pretty tough. If you do happen to put a scratch or two into the finish, simply polish them out again.

So there you have it, glossy paint jobs made easy. As I said, this is not the only method out there, and magazines like Scale Auto and car modelling websites will show other techniques you can use. Now, let’s see some more shiny models out the to club.