Aerosol finishing advice

[TheLaird]

Hello there,

I'm finishing off painting the wings of the Winchester this weekend and need some sagely advice. I'm using aerosols but I can't seem to find any information on finishing with them, so I'm a bit muddled as to whether or not T-cutting will work in the same manner as other paints or do I go for the can of laquer to bring out the shine. Any help would be much appreciated thanks in advance.

Dan.

[rayofleamington]

T-Cut should work as long as you've got enough paint on.
I've had major problems using laquer in the past (over metallic paint - this was recommended on the paint can). Laquer 'should' be ok over a solid base colour, however I'd avoid it is possible if you can get away with flattening and polishing.
Bear in mind though that I'm no paint expert and have never progressed beyond spray cans!!

[TheLaird]

No thats great thanks

I didn't particularly want to use the laquers as I'm looking forward to polishing him up ( and also didn't want to add another tricky layer for flys and bits of fluff to get caught up in )

[chickenjohn]

Provided your primer was completely flat, I would put several coats of celly (let it dry 10 mins between each) and then leave it to dry for quite a time before wet sanding it. (some say a few months). Wet sand with 1200 (or higher if you can get it) wet and dry paper, be careful with the edges), then polish out the scratches with G3, then finally t-cut.

Make sure your workshop is very warm- 20-25C is ideal for spraying cellulose, any colder and you will have problems. and spray on a dry day.

BTW, if you overlap your strokes and keep the wet edge going slow enough to flow the paint but not so slow that you get runs, then you might get a good enough finish without wet sanding. This takes practise.

[TheLaird]

Thanks for the advice, I'm watching the weather reports like a hawk praying for a good weekend

[MoggyTech]

Thanks for the advice, I'm watching the weather reports like a hawk praying for a good weekend

If your spraying outside forget it at this time of year, wait till spring. You need 20 to 25c and humidity under 60% to get a decent finish with celly paint.

[XDB]

I have used a couple of aerosol cans with a different type of nozzle recently. The nozzle has a slit across it and the spray fan is wide similar to a real spray gun. The results are excellent, the only slight draw back is they don't seem to last as long. I have got fed up of buying hammerite and the similar in aerosols, too expensive. I have bought an air brush and small cans of primer, hammerite etc., good results and economic.

[steve4063]

try to avoid lacquer
the trouble is with celly the paint will fade even under lacquer
and you won't be able to get at it to re-plenish it when it does fade.

as everyone has said put plenty of layers on and then wet sand and buff up to a high shine.
and then once a month poilsh it and it should last well and keep shiniy

one thing tho is don't use a silicon based polish incase you need to touch the paint up anywhere as it won't stick

the best person to ask for advice is jonathon @jlh very knowledgeable on paint and every aspect really to do with moggies

[MoggyTech]

These new fancy fan spray cans are superb for small area work. The latest ones from ESM come with two nozzles, fine spray, higher flow spray, and nozzles are adjustable for fan pattern, vertical or horizontal. Not cheap at £11 a pop though. I did get an 'invisible' repair done though on a rear wing scratch

[dunketh]

New aerosols you say?

I must investigate! In the past all the ones I've used have spluttered and squirted all over the place, hence their unflattering nickname*.

(*sounds like aerosol but is a different word )

[chickenjohn]

Yes, the ones from ESM are really good. Can get a reasonable finish out of the gun with right prep and temperature.