Spray cans offer an economical method for modellers who wish to start repainting their zoids. These days, local hardware shops often stock a huge range of colours and types, so those who wish to express their individuality through their zoids, you now have the option of painting your Deathsaurer bright pink or candy yellow J. On a more serious note, spray cans can be used to great effect and are extremely time saving compared to other painting methods (hand painting or air brushing etc). This is actually how I started off, painting my Gundam Mark 2 Titans Ver via the use of Anchor spray cans.
Take note however, spray painting has its pros and cons and the correct technique must be implemented in order to achieve the right affect. Chief among the pros are that when done correctly, spray cans are an easy, fast solution to getting wide coverage over a large painting surface and is especially useful for those models that have large areas to paint over. Certain colours like chrome paints, come out much shinier, even with the advent of Alclad paints and the rest.
The cons however are numerous. Splatter, streaks and uneven paint are common issues with painting via spray cans. Other issues include loss of details due to the thickness of the paint. Orange peel affect can be caused due to the can being too far from the surface when sprayed. The paint then dries up due to exposure to the air and causes a bumpy, dusty effect on the surface.
The most worrying problem about spray paints are that the commercial laquer paints available are fairly caustic; this can sometimes eat into the plastic model causing it to melt! So one must be prepared to take care when using the sprays.
So how do you do it properly? Here are the steps below:-
Prepare the surface properly.
1) Make sure your models are cleaned well and free of dust and particles.
2) Cut up the parts from the sprues, sand and clean off any sprue marks
3) Wash the parts with dish washing detergent. Use a soft brush to get into the small crevices
4) Wash the parts under the tap and dry it well.
5) Keep in a clean covered container once they are dried
Prepare the parts for spraying
1) Typically, I like to spray each part individually
2) Find some long sticks(I normally use satay sticks) and some blue tack
3) Stick the unexposed section of the part onto the stick
4) Get a placeholder ready, (example; Styrofoam box) where you can shove the sticks into and keep the parts seperate
Prepare the spray can
1) Prepare a container of warm water (not boiling water!) and place the can in for approximately 2-3 minutes
2) Shake the can well, at least 2 minutes
3) Turn the can upside down and spray out some of the initial paint
4) Clean up the nozzle if there is any build up
5) After some time, the can will get cold again, repeat the process so that the paint particles are properly mixed with the thinning solution
Spraying tips
1) Hold the can no further than 1 feet away. Typically, I try to keep within 6-10 inches from the part
2) Spray in one direct only.
3) Start from an empty space at the edge of the plastic part and spray evenly in one direction
4) Let go of the nozzle, return to the original position and start once more
5) Turn the stick so that the unpainted parts face you and spray again
6) Cover the unpainted areas as evenly as you can
7) If there are small sections that remain unpainted, wait until the rest of the paint is dry before spraying again
8) Don’t spray too much into one area, this is a common mistake. It will cause streaks and runs, ruining your paintjob
9) Place the stick into the placeholder and take another piece out, be careful not to touch the exposed paint
Curing Time -this may take 1 hour to 6 hours before the paint is completely dry. I normally try to wait half a day to make sure its dried properly before trying to handle the part. If you touch it too soon, you will leave a fingerprint mark, a big no no in scale modelling
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