Airbrush Painting 101

Airbrush Painting 101
Welcome to Craig's kitchen. Craig "flyracing" Rieland will take you through his basic "Painting 101" for painting
clear bodies.
Some of you may think that the key to quality work - is a clean, neat, organized workspace. Well, Craig blows that
theory! ;-) Craig just uses the dining table and goes at it. Clean up is easy. (Yes.... Craig is single!)
Prior to masking, all bodies have been washed with "Fast Orange" hand cleaner or any good dish soap. Rinse
thoroughly and dry. This removes any residue from mold release agents used when the bodies are made.
Craig prefers using blue "painter's tape.” It has low adhesion and will not stretch or distort if you need to pull it or
move it.
Many modern clear bodies come with their own window masks. Dennison stationary dots are used for front
wheel wells.
Windows can also be masked by pre-detailing the window outlines with an Extra-Fine "IDenti-Pen" dual tip
permanent marking pen. Then apply blue masking tape on the inside and trace. Peel off, cut out, and reapply.
Two-Tone (no relation to Tommy) paint schemes can be made by masking off entire areas or panels. A rule of
thumb, plan on using dark colors first, then light.
Stripes, flames, and other designs can be masked in as well. Be creative!
Flame masks were made using a "Detail Master" template, then scanned, and cut on Bill Clemans' vinyl cutter.
Parma also offers a wide range of precut masks.
Inspiration can come from anywhere. While watching the Seafair Hydroplane races on TV during painting, we
borrowed a color scheme idea from the "O Boy Oberto" Hydro. Parma Fascolor paints come in a vast assortment
of colors. You can also mix colors to come up with your own custom colors. This body will look great with the red,
green, & white of the "O Boy Oberto" - "sausage" boat.
You do not need a fancy paint booth - Craig uses the box his barbeque came in - propped on the counter in his
condo Kitchen.
The kitchen butcher-block counter, covered in newspaper, provides plenty of room for paint prep. If married, be
sure to send the wife out shopping first.
Also, send out any furry animals you may have lurking about. Pet hair and painting do not mix.
Ah, yes... I think we are about ready to paint. Grab your favorite "racer's beverage" of choice and let us get to it.
Craig's favorite tip for using Parma Fascolor water based paints, is to thin it with "Formula 409.”
Put some 409 in your largest paint bottle, to use for thinning, and to spray through the airbrush for cleaning when
done.
Thin the paint with the "Formula 409" to a 2% Milk-like consistency. The 409 has a better viscosity then water.
When applying the first coat of paint, BARELY dust the edges of the masks.
Apply heat, using a hair dryer, to SEAL the edges of the paint
just applied. This prevents "bleeding" of paint under the
masking. VERY IMPORTANT
After drying to seal the first coat, then apply the desired amount of paint. If you are "fogging,” then spray a fine
line around the masks or edges to achieve the desired effect.
This shot shows a body with a light "fogging" effect around the flames. In this case, a second "base" color will be
applied next.
Closer view of fogging: Although a high quality airbrush can be used to achieve amazing results - Craig uses an
inexpensive Aztec 320 airbrush (around $50) to produce some excellent paint jobs. Craig says, "Know your
airbrush" and "Practice, practice, practice.”
Another example of fogging; Ready for base color. This body will also have another color after masking is removed
later.
Now apply the "base" color. Easy does it - do not try to put it all on at once. It is best to apply VERY light coats,
followed by drying between coats.
Immediately following each color application - hit it with the hair dryer. This is the key to making water based
paints stick to lexan.
Here is an example of a simple paint job, with no extra masking. Simply freehand fogging and a base color can
look surprisingly good. KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid)
After drying the base coat thoroughly, remove design masks (if any) to apply the next colors for inside the masked
designs or panels.
Use an Xacto to carefully peel away the masks - careful not to scratch the paint! For subsequent colors, simply
repeat the previous steps for each color used. Remember - dark to light colors works best!
After all colors are done, the body can be LIGHTLY undercoated with white paint. White will bring out all the
colors, and add opacity.
Do not go too heavy on the white! Silver can also be used for a more "metallic" look, but white works great for
making bright colors.
HOT tap water works best for cleaning between coats and final cleanup. Craig uses an "Insta-Hot" 180-degree hot
water tap for cleaning. Flushing and soaking with HOT water cleans whatever spraying the 409 does not get out.
The masking ball - after masking tape has been removed from all bodies. "It's art.”
After window and wheel well masks are removed - WA-LA! We have a batch of bodies all ready for detailing
& stickers.
This HO body was not painted by Craig - it was a pre-painted one, but with some nice door lines and decals added,
it too looks impressive.
Craig used the tips of the vinyl flames for this HO body. Even using the Aztec airbrush and water based paints, it is
possible to produce cool flames and fogging - even on an HO car!
Remember - a little detailing... using a fine pen and good choice of stickers, can make a simple paint
job into a Concourse winner!
Since most NASCAR cars are rolling billboards - a decent sticker sheet and some neat detailing can
even turn a solid color car into a cool looking car.
Let us go racing! This Mitsubishi Lancer won concourse at our first European Sedan series race.