The Process
Here’s the basic process of hand painting, as far as I can tell:
- Mix some paint and thinner. Make sure the mix is thorough, and also make sure you shake up the paint in the bottle before dispensing. No one really knows the exact optimal proportions of paint to thinner, but the general consensus is that the mixture should have the consistency of milk. I found this advice to be good, but you have to be careful. If the paint mix looks milky but the paint isn’t clinging to the piece, it may be too diluted, in which case a few more drops of paint should even it out.
- Figure out which brush to use, if you have more than one. A wide and flat brush is excellent for painting a big, flat piece, while a small painted brush is necessary for creating tiny details
- Get some paint on your brush. If you’re working on something small, that requires precision and finesse, then shake some of the paint off. This will give you more control over just how much paint you use.
- When it comes time to put brush to plastic, apply only a little, to a test area, to make sure the paint is of the right consistency. If not, adjust the mix.
- Once the mix is good, gently apply a thin coat around the entire area. Other guides will tell you to be quick, but you don’t want to rush either. When just starting out, just make sure you use smooth, deliberate strokes, and keep going. Once the piece is covered with an even first coat, leave it alone to dry. Don’t worry if it doesn’t look perfect yet; you’ll be coming back later for more.
- Clean up your brushes. I use a mixture of half water and half rubbing alcohol that I put in a plastic cup. I swish the brush around, clean the tip with a paper towel, and rub the brush on my palm to make sure there’s no more paint coming off of it.
- You’ll want to wait about 45 minutes to an hour for the paint to dry before adding another coat. You’ll notice that the piece will eventually go from painted but patchy, to painted but dull, and eventually to painted and bright.
Detailing
Once the piece is fully painted, you may want to add some panel lines or other similar details. Initially I thought I could do this with a Gundam Marker. I was wrong. DO NOT TRY THIS UNLESS YOU WANT TO RUIN A GOOD MARKER. As far as I can tell, it scratches some of the paint off and gums up the marker itself. Maybe it’s possible, but I wouldn’t risk it.
Instead, I recommend using some black paint and a small, stiff brush. It isn’t easy, but it is possible. You’ll want to add a very small amount of paint to just the very tip of the brush - if there’s too much paint on the brush, it will spill over the panel lining groove and onto the rest of the piece.
You will then very carefully apply the tip to the groove, and gently move it along. When you’re applying the correct amount of pressure, it shouldn’t feel that much different than using a panel lining marker.
More Tips and Observations
Every so often, you will need to remix your paint and add more thinner (or paint!). If at any point it feels like you’re not getting the results and consistency you’re expecting, tend to that paint!
Acrylic paint is fairly easy to clean up with water. If you make a mess, you should be able to remove it easily.
Maybe I used it improperly, but I found rubbing alcohol to be an awful paint thinner. It caused the paint to separate, and after it (quickly) dried, left it looking crusty and clumpy, almost like curdled milk. Water, on the other hand, worked fine when used in the right proportions.
On a related note, when the paint is mixed and applied properly, it should go on nice and clean, and the paint shouldn’t drip off the piece. When it dries, it should look even and smooth, without splotches or clumps or bumps.
I would suggest not using your paint brushes to mix paint. This can lead to them getting frayed and out of shape, and you don’t want that. Use a toothpick, a cuticle stick, or a real paint mixing stick.
Some people suggest using sandpaper on each plastic part in order to give it a rough surface, one that the paint will cling to easier. I did this with a few pieces, but ultimately found that it wasn’t needed.
Like when painting a wall, you can use tape to mask certain sections that you don’t want to be painted. Unlike a wall, masking is not that easy when you are working with small, oddly shaped pieces. My technique was to apply small pieces of tape in multiple layers until everything was covered. Also, if you accidentally get paint on a section that you wanted to leave completely unpainted, you can usually scratch it off without causing damage.
Patience really is the name of the game here. You need to leave enough time for each coat of paint to dry, and you’re going to be doing multiple coats, as well as touch up work and detailing. You’re not getting this all done in a single sitting, and unless you are walking around with a timer in your pocket, you probably won’t even get it all done in one day. Take your time with this activity, as your own work has more of a bearing on the quality of the finished product than it does with a standard, pre-colored kit.