Painting

[bentheairsoftman]

Right guys, Looking at doing a complete painting of my MK18 however I want to move away from Krylon as it is too matte for me. I know how to prepare the surfaces such as using scotch pads and then wet and dry sand paper however looking for something a bit less matte than Krylon however don't want it to stand out and be all shiny. Any one got any pics of their work and what paints you used. Will also need to be stripping the previous paint off, Any better methods than white spirits and a toothbrush ?

Cheers

Ben

[Figjam]

Re: Painting

I used acrylic last time, applied freehand with a brush. I'll be stripping it soon to do better with an airbrush and a stencil. For stripping I'll likely use fairy powerspray which I use on miniatures quite frequently to good effect. I hear dettol is also very good. In the airbrush I'll use acrylic and a suitable thinner. I'm cutting the stencil out of plasticard.

[Almondo]

Re: Painting

Stripping krylon is best achieved with 2k universal thinners. This is available from a car paint suppliers. Do not expect to get this from anywhere other than a professional paint factors. Google for your nearest place. I stripped my systema completely in under an hour using this. Apply with a cloth and use a cotton bud to get into the corners easy. Do this outside because the vapours given off are strong and you don't want to be breathing them in. A mask is also advisable. Some people have also used nail varnish remover with some good results, but similar health and safety advise is given.

[Xxerox]

Re: Painting

I used a white primer, then a bog standard generic matte black car spray, then a satin lacquer on top which I found gave a really nice finish - not too shiny, and matched the factory lower receiver fairly well (was slightly off on shade, but you have to look really close to tell)
When I was stripping it, I used nitomors on recommendation from a friend - having got it, I then saw lots of bad reviews, but it stripped off the top cheap glossy black, the nasty fluorescent green AND the factory black underneath in one go which I was very impressed with. Didn't require a whole lot of effort to scrub away either, literally just a brush in some soapy water after application as per instructions. Although you can't use this on plastic!