Painting that looks ok afterwards

[BP6666VR]

Gentleman, reading this forum thought painting is a breeze, but after starting i recognize it's the worse paint job i ever did, but the children thinks it looks awesome



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[HumboldtEF]

You can always try again since you're painting the outside. I think the colors are too bright. A different mix of colors could help even if the lines are rough.

You will get better results with a spray can, it wont have the brush strokes. Though I have seen people use acrylic paint on the inside of a body and that will hide the brush strokes.

[BP6666VR]

Originally Posted by HumboldtEF

You can always try again since you're painting the outside. I think the colors are too bright. A different mix of colors could help even if the lines are rough.

You will get better results with a spray can, it wont have the brush strokes. Though I have seen people use acrylic paint on the inside of a body and that will hide the brush strokes.

Good stuff, i just thought it was way to much work to sticky tape everything and spray paint sutch a small interior ... guess next time i will do a better job, ha ha

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[high plains drifter]

Painting certain 3D printed material can yield less than desirable results due to a sometimes uneven/ rough surface. Lightly sanding with a fairly fine grit sandpaper can help smooth things out and create a better/ smoother surface.

Regarding the brush strokes- You can always thin the paint. Like with acrylic, adding a touch of water if it's too thick will get it to flow and dry without such pronounced brush-strokes. Enamel/ lacquer can also be thinned with mineral spirits.

Once the paint is a usable consistency, you can experiment with some small craft brushes as there are so many different types, shapes, bristle materials... all ranging from softer to harder. Not a bad idea to have at least several long thin bristle brushes as well as small chisel shaped brushes. You just have to experiment but brushes these days are pretty cheap to try.

As already advised, it's a good idea to sometimes tone down colors that come straight out of the bottle. They can be pretty bright so adding a touch of black, white... or other neutral color can help bring down the brightness and create a more realistic aesthetic.

Practice, practice, practice. Developing a steady hand and a keen eye will obviously help a lot as well.

[BP6666VR]

Originally Posted by high plains drifter

Painting certain 3D printed material can yield less than desirable results due to a sometimes uneven/ rough surface. Lightly sanding with a fairly fine grit sandpaper can help smooth things out and create a better/ smoother surface.

Regarding the brush strokes- You can always thin the paint. Like with acrylic, adding a touch of water if it's too thick will get it to flow and dry without such pronounced brush-strokes. Enamel/ lacquer can also be thinned with mineral spirits.

Once the paint is a usable consistency, you can experiment with some small craft brushes as there are so many different types, shapes, bristle materials... all ranging from softer to harder. Not a bad idea to have at least several long thin bristle brushes as well as small chisel shaped brushes. You just have to experiment but brushes these days are pretty cheap to try.

As already advised, it's a good idea to sometimes tone down colors that come straight out of the bottle. They can be pretty bright so adding a touch of black, white... or other neutral color can help bring down the brightness and create a more realistic aesthetic.

Practice, practice, practice. Developing a steady hand and a keen eye will obviously help a lot as well.

Love all the help guys, didn't know you can thining acrilic with water, i couldn't even find matt varnish for a top coat ... i am on a small island in Indonesia

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[high plains drifter]

Originally Posted by BP6666VR

Love all the help guys, didn't know you can thining acrilic with water, i couldn't even find matt varnish for a top coat ... i am on a small island in Indonesia

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Doesn't take much to thin it so add only a very small amount so that it doesn't get too watery. But yes, at least all the acrylics that I've ever used, I thinned with a touch of water.

You've got the right idea with adding a matte top coat as well, to reduce the shine. That also adds some realism in many instances. Shame that you can't find any where you're at. There are also matte/ satin/ flat acrylics but not sure if you have access to those.

Just want to say also, that your interior honestly looks okay... especially if that was your first time. Not bad at all.

[BP6666VR]

Originally Posted by high plains drifter

Doesn't take much to thin it so add only a very small amount so that it doesn't get too watery. But yes, at least all the acrylics that I've ever used, I thinned with a touch of water.

You've got the right idea with adding a matte top coat as well, to reduce the shine. That also adds some realism in many instances. Shame that you can't find any where you're at. There are also matte/ satin/ flat acrylics but not sure if you have access to those.

Just want to say also, that your interior honestly looks okay... especially if that was your first time. Not bad at all.

Thanks my friend ... Improvement is always fun to learn

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[Olle P]

I think that interior looks like a good start!

The one thing most needed is some accentuation of the nooks and crannys, like the border between the driver's arms and body.
Normally an experienced painter would use a darker wash (thin transparent paint) for that, but that's not the solution here. The rough surfaces would also be accentuated by a wash, which we don't want. An easier solution is to just draw those lines with a black fine line marker pen.
You should also add such lines between the arms and hands, and between the different parts of upholstery in the seats. Possibly also between the driver's body and seat.

[BP6666VR]

Originally Posted by Olle P

I think that interior looks like a good start!



The one thing most needed is some accentuation of the nooks and crannys, like the border between the driver's arms and body.

Normally an experienced painter would use a darker wash (thin transparent paint) for that, but that's not the solution here. The rough surfaces would also be accentuated by a wash, which we don't want. An easier solution is to just draw those lines with a black fine line marker pen.

You should also add such lines between the arms and hands, and between the different parts of upholstery in the seats. Possibly also between the driver's body and seat.

Now that is a good idea, lines with a black fine line marker pen in the corner or folds of the seat & coverall of the driver

Guess i will repair the painting & black fine pen

Some good info from you guys



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[high plains drifter]

I'm not going to agree nor disagree with the pen suggestion But I am going to suggest that you know before you go this route, that there are some potential drawbacks or negatives using a felt pen depending on what you plan to use ( brand, type, etc).

A couple things to consider- A standard issue Sharpie is NOT a true black color. It has a purplish/ bluish appearance in certain light at certain angles. It may be okay in an inconspicuous area like an interior that is more hidden and harder to see. But for example, on exteriors ( commonly used to replicate panel separations and voids) I personally think that it often doesn't look "right" and more importantly... not realistic. Mainly because it's not a true black.

Also in some applications it can be quite difficult to get the line perfectly straight or uniform and the result is sometimes an extremely obvious attempt using a marker. You can easily see the mistakes from a shaky hand depending on the location and lighting. .And that can seriously hinder the realism.

Another caveat can be the size, width, and softness of the marker tip. If doing very thin lines, most markers will squish out as you push down on the soft felt tip... creating issues with line consistency and overall width. And in some cases like in a scenario where you're wanting to darken a pre-moulded or embossed crease ( think "V" shaped channel) the tip of the marker will ride along the sides of the channel and make the line much wider than intended. With deep creases or channels it can be even worse as you have to press down harder to get the color all the way down into the channel and that generally creates an even wider thicker line due to the paint riding along the sides of the channel.

You can sometimes "fix" an issue like this by using some thinner/ acetone and a cotton swab or bit of cloth to gently wipe the area and reduce the width of the line but it's worth noting that trying to replicate very thin lines in lexan or plastic can be difficult. Also there can be problems using certain thinners and acetone on plastic.

Lastly- the longevity or permanence of many different basic felt tip markers can be limited. If spending a lot of time doing tedious detail work, it can be pretty frustrating to see it fade, wash off, smear, etc over a short period of time.

For all but the thinnest of lines, I have before used enamel as well as acrylic paint pens. Before use, you can slice the tip down in size with a sharp new razor blade. You can turn a rounded blunt tip into a sharp chisel tip with just a couple cuts. I've also used toothpicks dabbed into paint although I don't like this method much due to not being able to achieve long flowing lines ( since the toothpick won't hold much paint) and also when you touch the tip to the surface, it will often times create a kind of "puddle". Hard to work with. I have also used a mechanical pencil ( uses a special specific sharpener) that has a needle sharp point.. and instead of black paint, laid down dark grey graphite. It works very well in some applications but not in every scenario. Also for it to be permanent it needs to be covered with a clear-coat.

[Olle P]

Originally Posted by high plains drifter

I'm not going to agree nor disagree with the pen suggestion But I am going to suggest that you know before you go this route, ...

What you say is generally true (except for the detail below), but as I see it using a pen in this particular situation is a quick, cheap, and relatively easy way to improve the overall look. Small deviations from the perfect line and variations in width will be there but not much of a problem for the overall result compared to leaving it as it is right now.

"Not perfectly black."
Sure, but for the best look I typically wouldn't recommend to use black in the first place. Dark red for the red seats. Blue, green, grey or brown for the white jumpsuit, and so on. Black is simply suggested as a "one size fits all" solution in this particular case, to keep it cheap and simple.

The issues you mention are relevant when a (near) perfect result is demanded, but then you need a lot more experience and have probably an arsenal of other techniques at your disposal. (You don't do pen stripes after applying several layers of shading and highlighting.)

Originally Posted by high plains drifter

You can sometimes "fix" an issue like this by using some thinner/ acetone ...

No! Both will damage/remove the paint and acetone is likely going to damage the plastic as well.
Alcohol ((Iso)Propanol (a.k.a. IPA) or Ethanol) based cleaning is the way to go. Won't damage the applied paint or plastic, just the newly applied pen stripe.

[high plains drifter]

100% agree on the application that OP was talking about, Sharpie or other similar marker would prob work fine. Just wanted to dig a little deeper into some of the negatives of using in other applications.

And yeah... I mentioned to be cautious of using acetone or thinner on plastics. But on lexan to remove scuffs as well as marker lines... no adverse results.

Good info though and again, I just wanted to expand a little on using felt tip markers in similar scenarios.