Panel Lines (noob questions)

[vadersrighthand]

OK, first post here so please be gentle. I've performed many searches on this subject watched a ton of yootoob videos, read many articles and tips already, but am struggling with doing my panel lines, its on my first model back after not doing any since i was a teenager. So onto the questions, hopefully these will help some other beginners.

The model i am working on is a Tamiya p51 mustang (Petie 2nd), much as i'd like to say i went for a NMF i didn't, just coated the model in flat aluminium - I'm still learning...

I've painted everything and have applied 2 gloss coats (one prior to decals, which was a Humbrol Rattle Can, the second was a Vallejo Gloss Varnish, using a brush to paint it on) BTW no airbrushes yet.

So far so good, brush finish isn't as nice as i'd hoped but it'll do for my first model back.

So i got myself a set of the Vallejo Washes and will be using those for my panel lines.

My issues start now, I'm only working on the underside of the tail plane as that area is sort of hidden from view most of the time...

1, first attempt, i carefully filled the lines with diluted wash (being careful) about 50:50 with water, capillary action wasn't really to be seen, left it to dry then tried to clean up (dry time was only a few minutes) used a qtip to clean off and found i had to apply a lot of pressure (and moisture) to lift the excess, in doing so removed most of the paint in the lines.

2, Applied the wash heavily (not diluted) across the whole tail plane, really worked it into the lines, left again for a few minutes and then tried to clean off, the wash was literally welded to the surface, and took a lot of hard scrubbing to remove the excess, again in the process took off most of that in the lines.

3, Third attempt was back to the careful method, and i mean really careful trying not to go outside of the lines as much, tried to clean up along the way, but again ended up taking most of the wash out when cleaning up.

So i kinda got a bit stumped now, most of the articles/videos I've seen are pointing towards using light pressure and a hardly dampened qtip/kitchen roll but at no point in my above experiments was i able to remove anything with 'light' pressure or a hardly dampened qtip (i often found i was soaking it in order to remove the excess)

Any suggestions on the above? Am i going about it in the wrong way?

Another quick query i have is should i be looking to fill 'every' panel line no matter how large or small, as there are a few rounded hatches and other less defined lines, or should i only be looking at the major ones, flaps and so on?

Many thanks in advance.

Matt

 

[Elm City Hobbies]

If it is drying that fast, I would say to wipe the excess back off right after putting it on, just leaving it in the panel lines.

Personally the way I do my washes (and I use the Vallejo ones as well) is I use a very fine brush, and basically "draw" the wash into the panel lines. Very controllable and less to clean up afterwards.

 

[sunsanvil]

I would recommend that instead of water to thin the washes, you try Vallejo's "Glaze Medium". Its a nice flow agent but more importantly will greatly extend the dry/cure time making cleanup much easier. You can also try diluted alcohol on your qtip to take up excess but you must use a light touch, otherwise you will eat into the varnish (which to a certain extent can be fixed by a final varnish, but if you cut through to the paint you will want to cry).

On your last question, that is purely, purely an artistic choice for you to make.

 

[vadersrighthand]

Cool, thanks for the responses, I'll try the careful way again and clean up as I go along, being as careful as I can.

Will do an update to let you know how I get on.

 

[Chris S]

Another problem you could be facing is because you are using rattle cans and brush painting ,the paint being thicker could be clogging up the panel lines and stopping the wash from running along it .

Chris.

 

[vadersrighthand]

Yep, clogged panel lines for certain. Quite frustrated with that, you can see them clear as day through the varnish, I did a little checking and found only a few that were actually clear, tried to clean them out gently with a knife and have slipped a couple of times. So I'm putting it down for a week or so. I think I may just leave them and dirty it up good and proper with some pigments I bought, possibly run a wash over everything to hide a few mistakes.

I always knew at the back of my mind this would be a learning project. At least I've made a mistake and learnt from it.

I do think I need an airbrush so I have much more control over the amount of paint going onto the model. To be honest the finish from the humbrol gloss worried me as it just didn't feel nice, however the primer from humbrol I used at the start was brilliant.

And I know now that the vallejo gloss I applied was far too thick, I thinned it with some acrylic flow improver I have (w&n) and it felt like it went on thin enough, but clearly not.

Defiantly a slap yourself on the forehead moment.

M

 

[Chris S]

Rattle cans are not too bad generally speaking ..if you keep the coats light ,brush painting is were the problem really arises ,using the brush you will pull paint into the panel lines ...you cant avoid it ,its one of those things .
If you can afford it ,an airbrush is the way forward ,not only for control ,but it widens your scope ,the choices for camo etc are endless you are not stuck to what you can make do with using the brush or tins ,not saying there is anything wrong with using brushes or tins ...just saying it holds you back a bit ,so if you can ...yes ,get an Airbrush ..you wont look back

Chris.

 

[Little Cutie]

OK, I think I'm a little late to the party, but maybe I could be of help for future builders/projects. By "rattle can" I take it that you guys mean SPRAY CAN, or SPRAY PAINT? This is usually formulated for broad coverage not for small models. The paint film itself can only fill over small areas with limited level, or smoothness. The orange peel effect comes into play when you spray paint more over the entire surface than one, or two solid coats. You build paint slowly. This is a problem with spray cans - you can only build a solid, or even coverage after four, or five coats (sprayings) over the surface to achieve full hide (full coverage). This makes the film thicker as you progress. You only have so much control over the application with this type of method. With an airbrush you can do things not possible with spray cans. The real problem is that you're not getting the paint to lie into the crevices because you're applying an enamel surface that's smoother than the more abrasive, and waterier paint that is designed to go onto rough, or coarse surfaces. This won't stay on the painted surface very well, and being diluted makes it worse. This only makes for a runny effect. You'll want to use an oil based paint - not acrylic for this. Thinning isn't usually neccessary for this, but in this case you'll want to so that it will run into the lines, but with more durability than a water based finish paint. I hope that this will help.