"Help!" for: Painting

[Drewhinkle09]

Hi there... question:

I have a small problem with my helmet. I've primered, wet sanded at 220, fixed some stuff with bondo and primered again, but now after a second wet sand at 400, I'm seeing little bits of paper from the corners (low def helm) that have worn through from the sanding. They don't take the primer very well anymore, and overall stick out from the smooth bondo finish. Is there anything I can do to get rid of them (short of digging them out and bondoing every single one) before I put down final color?

I can post pics if need be.

Another trick is to use liquid super glue to treat the paper. In one of Cereal Kill3r's videos, he filed down all of the sharp paper corners when trying to smooth a section to reduce the amount of bondo needed. In the process this makes the paper come through like you're experiencing. Saturating it with super glue is a good way to harden the paper again so its workable. SargentTinker's tip is good too, but super glue might be a little easier as a first try. If it doesn't work out you could always try the resin next. Hope it helps, good luck with your build! Also almost forgot, make sure your reinforcement is thicker in areas where the paper is coming through, that way there's less chance of breaking through.

Cheers,
Drew

 

[SergantTinkers]

Agreed. Try the super glue first. The resin is just stronger.

 

[hobbitdude13]

Hey I'm sure I'm going to annoy the vets here but can someone link me to a helpful blackwash tutorial? Much obliged.

 

[RTWHOCKEY]

Hey I'm sure I'm going to annoy the vets here but can someone link me to a helpful blackwash tutorial? Much obliged.

This is adams painting tutorial. I've always used it and it works great.

 

[hobbitdude13]

This is adams painting tutorial. I've always used it and it works great.

There we go. thanks RTW!

 

[Jason 078]

A quote from MY BLOG

35) Stand it up as if you were wearing it (mannequin, hanging from a painting string, leaning on a door, etc.). Make sure each piece is situated as if it were on your body.

36) Take your spray bottle. For every one cup (8 ounces) of window washing fluid in it, add three drops of black acrylic paint, two drops of brown acrylic paint, and one drop of tan (or your choice) acrylic paint. Shake well.

37) Spray the armor down making sure everything gets a nice even coat of the spray. After that, let it dry. You will see some of the acrylic “grit” left behind after it dries. Repeat as much as you want until you get the look you are hoping for.

38) Spray twice as much on the boots and lower shins as you did on the rest of your armor. Let each set dry before spraying the next. This will give you the appearance of walking through more gunk than you actually got on the rest of your armor.

39) Using a damp cloth, wipe your armor down lightly. This will remove the dried alcohol from the window washing fluid, but will leave the acrylic weathering.

 

[Halex]

A quote from MY BLOG

35) Stand it up as if you were wearing it (mannequin, hanging from a painting string, leaning on a door, etc.). Make sure each piece is situated as if it were on your body.

36) Take your spray bottle. For every one cup (8 ounces) of window washing fluid in it, add three drops of black acrylic paint, two drops of brown acrylic paint, and one drop of tan (or your choice) acrylic paint. Shake well.

37) Spray the armor down making sure everything gets a nice even coat of the spray. After that, let it dry. You will see some of the acrylic “grit” left behind after it dries. Repeat as much as you want until you get the look you are hoping for.

38) Spray twice as much on the boots and lower shins as you did on the rest of your armor. Let each set dry before spraying the next. This will give you the appearance of walking through more gunk than you actually got on the rest of your armor.

39) Using a damp cloth, wipe your armor down lightly. This will remove the dried alcohol from the window washing fluid, but will leave the acrylic weathering.

Having used your excellent painting tutorial on my handplates, I was left with one question. At what point should I stop getting paper breaking through the paint layers? I had it up until the double layer of base color but was thinking I might have been sanding too hard.

I also wasn't able to do much of a blackwash since it didn't show up well, but with some dry brushing of silver on the edge, it gave the paint a used look without the appearance of having sustained multiple serious wounds while in the armor. Might try some tan/black/brown to at least make it seem like there's some dirt in the valleys... will have to see.

Thanks again for the awesome step-by-step explanation.

 

[MacTrigger]

Hey there so these are the colours I used

From left to right: Beige/Grey primer, Black acrylic paint, chrome acrylic paint and last but not least: some kind of dark grey/olive green color called "manila dark"

and this is my teststrip

I tried the toothpaste weathering but probably the top layer wasn't dry enough and I still need some practice with it.

The colour is quite "ok" I think I'll check what it looks like in sunlight tomorrow.
There were just so many different green/grey tones (7-10) with little differences that I took this one but they're 4€ a can with 400ml so it's quite cheap.

My question is now should I seal the armor with anything before spraying on the primer ? I fear that any of those spray's may dissolve the foam or the glue if there are spots without enough primer as it was with an older project seen here:

Those are Deadmau5 helmets I made for me and my gf for halloween last year, you can clearly see how the acryl paint dissolved some of the styrofoam at the ears because of thinner layers of primer.

Also I'd like to know if you spray something like clearcoat or varnish as finish on your armor.

 

[n00bz]

Hey I'm not sure where this belongs but I'm posting it here I've been thinking about putting dents in my armor and am wondering if there is any tips or tricks to it?

 

[Earthbound]

Hi, I am making a costume for the first time. I am using EVA foam, I sprayed with plastidip and then waited 5 hours. I then primed, now it is 48 hours later and the primer is still sticky, any tips? I am so frustrated at this point, please PM me or reply!

 

[spartansonny]

how many coats of plastidip did you do? if not enough that could be the issue. Temperature could be an issue also, how warm/cold is it where you are (in your area of work)? There are multiple factors that could go into this issue of yours

 

[Earthbound]

I did 4 coats of plastidip, I primed with my garage door open,
It was about +5 celcius when I did it. It dried in about
+20 celcius

 

[PyroStorm13]

im at the painting stage of my first helmet and i used tape to get the paint job right and when i peeled it off it really fouled up the paint job. Is there a tape that wont do that to the paint or a way to tweak the tape so it wont do that. I used blue masking tape and i let the paint sit over night b4 i even put the tape on it. please help.

thanks,
jim

 

[Ghost Bear 027]

I am not sure exactly what you mean when you say scratch, but if you mean you want the "metal" to show through the white then i can help you with that.
Step 1: Take some mustard from the kitchan, or toothpaste from bathroom.
Step 2: With whatever kind of paste you chose ( i am gonna referter to mustarrd throught this awsner) bring your armor inside, over the kitchen sink.
Step 3: You should have already painted your armor the "metal" color, but not your armor color
Step 4: Take your Mustard, and open the cap.
Step 5: Start put lines of mustard onto your armor of where you want the silver to show through the color of your armor (usually around edges, and high points)
Step 6: Paint your armor however you want to after you put on the mustard (leave the mustard on until you are done painting!)
Step 7: after everything is dry, take a cloth, or paper towl or whatever, and start to wipe off the mustard. it will take a few passes because the mustard will squirt out and other stuff...
Step 8: Make sure you have gotten all the mustard off, and then where the Mustard just was, the silver paint will be showing through!
Step 9 (Not needed): Mix black, grey, and white water based paint (like the apple barrel brand) together in a bowl, add some water, and then take a brush, and just slather it on thickly and quickly. then, quickly wipe it all off with a paper towl, it should leave dark streaks and shadowing..
Step 10: Seal your armor with clear coat!

Hope this helped!

This is brilliant! I would have spent far too long with an airbrush or dry brush method... Thanks CJ!

 

[Ghost Bear 027]

im at the painting stage of my first helmet and i used tape to get the paint job right and when i peeled it off it really fouled up the paint job. Is there a tape that wont do that to the paint or a way to tweak the tape so it wont do that. I used blue masking tape and i let the paint sit over night b4 i even put the tape on it. please help.

thanks,
jim

I've had issues with this before with some stuff and the most obvious causes were:
1) I didn't wash off all the release agent prior to painting. There's no easy or fun way around this mistake, and it's a hard learned lesson unfortunately as you watch paint bubble and slide away...
2) Did you use a coat of primer before painting? This stuff is worth the $3 to show you where you may have issues (including #1 above) with finish.
3) Did you leave the painters tape on too long? Maybe the green froggy stuff is better, but if it's small and you can get away with it, try post it notes or applying the blue tape to something first, then peeling it off and putting it on the piece to be painted to wear off some of the adhesive.

Hope this helps mate. Rule #1 is a beast, and I've ruined a good piece to learn that requirement...

 

[Rancid Musk]

Regarding rule #1 from pervious post. I have 2 shoulder pieces. Clear coat both with U-POL. One looked great. The other bubbled and cracked the paint. I don't know what happened and i don't want to repeat my mistake. I just don't know what I did wrong. I sprayed both of them at the same time with the same can.
I am gun shy to clear coat again with U-POL.

Any thought?

 

[Ghost Bear 027]

Regarding rule #1 from pervious post. I have 2 shoulder pieces. Clear coat both with U-POL. One looked great. The other bubbled and cracked the paint. I don't know what happened and i don't want to repeat my mistake. I just don't know what I did wrong. I sprayed both of them at the same time with the same can.
I am gun shy to clear coat again with U-POL.

Any thought?

Maybe the mixture needed a good shake after you sprayed the first piece, or the other way around... Maybe the U-Pol was different batches made in different environmental conditions? Can be a nuisance for sure. I ruined a good smoothcast 320 pull because the primer i had on it was just floating on top of the ease release, and it got ALL gummed up and ugly when i put my first coat of paint over that and gave it a quick sand.

I'd say environmental probably though if I had to guess. It's important to maybe wait that day when the humidity drops or the temperatures rise correctly, and while that pushes the timeline back, it's better than starting over.

 

[MasterOfTheChiefs]

Hi all,
This is my first time actually sharing advice instead of giving praise, so please tell me if I'm doing this wrong.
So my actual advice: To create a battle-worn look.
First, do a base coat of silver and let it dry.
Second, apply some small splotches of vaseline spread randomly around the armor or helmet, and then (spray) paint your desired color and let dry.
Last, use a tissue or napkin to wipe of the vaseline, and you have your effect.
And if you want to add an extra effect, you can use an old, stiff paintbrush to lightly brush some black over the edges and newly created battle damage.

 

[FreedNightHawk]

A piece of advice from the automotive painting industry. Before you put your tape on, run it against your shirt or pant leg, to kill some of the stick on the tape. This is a trick several different professional painters have shown me over the years, and it makes a huge difference when you go to peel the tape.

 

[Scum]

Anyone know a good way to achieve a shiny, gold plated effect? I don't want a dull gold, but a reflective gold finish. All the paints I've seen are expensive and can't be bought locally. I would prefer not having to use an airbrush.