mike mccabe wrote:
I have had problems in the past of paint not adhering to the plastic even when cleaned, this is especially the case if you use masking tape for camoflage schemes.
.../...
Mike
Hello Mike and all,
Even is somewhat new to Warship modelling, I have had some experience about this and the solution is in the tape you use depending on the paint, it's thinning degree when applied, and the time you let it dry.
Even if dry "on touch" in a few minutes, acrylic deep structure need longer to be really hard.
Best (or worst) exemple of this is Vallejo/Prince August Air line of paint :
It is dry "on touch" about two minutes...
... but needs 1 day at least to be really strong.
If you put masking on it (or even handle the painted parts too strong) the paint will leave.
This is an extreme example. If you are using more common (and efficient) paints such as
Gunze or Tamiya, the problem will be really more lowest : At middle thinning and aero layering you can mask safely after about 30 minutes.
The thing is that paint first dry at their surface, then with time, deeper and depper up to the moment it will reach the paint in direct contact with plastic. The thicker the paint, the longer the drying time... difference with acrylics, is that when touching theim their surface is dry far before the full paint is completly dry... If you mask then... well...
Proof is the HMS Onslow I plan to post soon : I used Gunze, well thinned, with several thin regular layers.Then I masked the hull and superstructure as I worked, so no more than ~20 minutes after full colors sprays from part to part.
No primer was used and it went really nicely.
The second key I think is the kind of tape you use. If it "stick" too strong it will scratch your paint if not (deeply) dry enough. IMHO, Tamiya yellow masking tape is the best, but is more expensive than standard scotch or whatever.
One trick is that the strength of "sticking" can be modified simply : Find a clean window, or the glass workbench part everybody should have, then stick and unstick your tape on it several time, at different locations each time. This will lower its sticking power.
Last point is, when masking, remeber that only the "junction" between the to be protected and to be painted area needs real sticking of the tape : so do not press too strongly your tape on your paint, except that thin frontier. (I use a wet wood tooth-pick for that)
Obviously, this is not to say that priming is unusefull : In other things, white priming is a way to increase the lightness of colours when used thinned, to check (and somewhat rectify in some case) for surface uniformity before painting, and is fundamental in artist oil painting of miniatures.
Simply, to the question of "is priming unavoidable to have good paint adherence" I think the answer is not obviously yes.
After that, it's up to everybody to make it's mind about it, test the stuff, and develop it's own experience...
Only important thing is the hobby, isn't it ?
Bruno.
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