How should I paint a plastic model toy?
The toy most likely has been covered in a silicone layer to make it shiny, or it is made from a ‘slippery’ type of plastic such as polycarbonate. Try giving the existing surface a light scrub with a fine sandpaper to rough up the surface first. Then a light coating of a white undercoating spray (Tamiya make a good one, you should be able to get this from most hobby stores) to provide a good surface to paint on. You should be ok with acrylic paint if you do this, and the white surface will make your color scheme more vibrant.
First off you need a primer. Most paints will not stick to plastic as it is too smooth. A good primer will help with the spreading evenly part. Secondly, for a more professional look I would use an oil based paint. It takes longer to dry, but the end result looks much better in my opinion. If you want full instructions I would do a search on it. There are tons of sites dedicated to model painting. (Metals, wood, or plastic!) On a side note, I would use a primer based on the colors you want. If you have a decepticon you might want to use black for a primer, autobot white primer. (It will affect the color shades.
Hi, I also experienced the same problem the first time I tried painting my plastic model aircraft. The thing is, if you want to paint a large surface of plastic, it is extremely difficult to paint with a brush. The coating won’t be even and you will see small little hardened beads of dried paint and the coating is easily scratched off. You have to use an airbrush or a spraycan of acrylic paint to paint your model toy. Brushes are usually used for touching up small parts of a plastic model. But now since you already painted your model, don’t bother wasting time scratching off the paint. Try using a drop of Tamiya thinner to rub into the paint, or any plastic friendly thinner, to smoothen out the surface, the paint will be smooth after that and the coating won’t be scratched off easily.
Hi, The very first, most important thing you should do to any plastic model before trying to use any paint on it is wash it. Use a dish washing detergent and a soft brush and give it a darned good scrubbing. Plastic models have all kinds of oils on them from the manufacturing and handling processes, and you need to get all of it off first. Then choice the right paint. Plastic…, I’d almost always use a solvent based paint. Floquil if you can find it, it’s flat, fast drying, and brushes on well. It’s owned by Testors, now, but can still be found on line and in stores. Look for the solvent based version, not the Poly Colours. Unless of course you prefer non-solvent based paints…, then use the Poly Colours.
