I wanted to start making some kitbashes and customs but the two I have tried have resulted in a sticky mess (the paint didn't dry).

What are the best paints to use for painting Customs? I tried using Testors both Acrylic and non acrylic and it didn't dry right. Could it be because I was using a brush? Are the Spray Applicators better?

 

Check out Ops thread....almost everything you need to know. I use Krylon and acrylic paint markers mostly. Make sure you apply a lite coat...dry..lite coat..repeat!!

 

I'd say it was probably the result of putting on too much paint. I always do a couple of light coats, waiting about 1-2 hours inbetween. depending on the color, it can take anywhere between 1 and 5 coats to be satisfied with a color. the biggest thing to remember when repainting is patience.

 

Sounds like you handled them too soon. When I airbrush in gloss coats or throw clear coat over a color, I leave the parts pinned to the styrofoam cores for over a week. Tamaiya glosses I do the same thing. If I touch it before the week, they will usually at a minimum mold to my fingerprints. Forget trying to polish the clear, your sure to ruin it. So yeah, wait a long time. Best way to know, paint a scrap piece the exact same way, handle that if you are not sure its completely dry or not.

 

you can't use too thin of a coat of paint. the more thinner coats you use are going to turn out way better than fewer thicker coats.

 

Good paints I've used: Testors Model Masters, Tamiya paint, Krylon Fusion, and Games Workshop.

Techniques used: Spray painting (good in an open area and when you're spraying lots of parts if you want them in the color you're using. Otherwise, you would have a huge fucking waste of paint, focusing on one object.).

Regular brushing. (BE CAREFUL WITH THIS ONE! Most frustrating without proper coordination.)

Dry brush. (Might be good, but it drives the painter insane.)

Priming: Choose your undercoat before you paint.

 

When I've had testors paint that just will not dry even after being left alone for a week, I've had luck with using hair spray as a quick drying agent. Although sometimes it still doesn't dry the paint. good luck on your kitbashing the first repaint I did screwed up because I didn't wash the parts before spraying them. it does take some time and screw ups, but you can end up with some very nice custom peices too.

 

I know one thing is for sure, stay away from enamel if you dont understand it. It's a nasty mess, leaves next to no room for error correction in most situations, can take days to set , and flat out doesnt dry on some surfaces.