New here. I'm a car modeling guy (30 years)

[cedarsales]

Do you guys prime coat the plane kits first before the top coat colors? I use a Hi-Build automotive primer on my car kits. Is there a primer for the plane's that would be a better choice. My first aircraft kit will be the Academy 1/72 scale Enola Gay B29 Bomber.

Thanks

[Phil marchese]

Oh my natural metal finish. Ok here we go. Because of the aerodynamic design a/c have areas where vortex blowback will occur. You may be aware from some curvy cars.

For metal finishes people will prime with gloss black. Or flat white and many other options. This maybe why you got no responses. No joking... best adviice is put the superfort on the shelf and get a 1/4 scale P-47D of moderate price to build in NMF first. It will give you room to get a feel for the 72 nd 29. Just one opinion to break the ice.

[B24RESEARCHER]

Cedarsales, you're going to hate this reply, but...it depends.

For me, it depends mostly upon the color of the basic plastic of the kit. Odd? Yes, and proud of it!

But here is why.

Natural metal finishes are generally very, very thin, and the underlying color of the plastic (or primer) will have an impact on how light or dark the NMF appears when finished. I use Alclad II metal paints exclusively, and when painting their Chrome or Shiny Aluminum it is critical to use a glass black paint beneath them. I believe lacquer-based is required to avoid having the Alclad lacquer eat up an enamel base coat. My painful experience is that this is pretty much true not matter WHAT shade of Alclad you're going to use - use a lacquer primer. One primer that has worked wonderfully for me is the Tamiya white primer in the spray can. A bit wasteful but a finish that will make baby's skin feel rough.

I was scared to death of NMF finshes for years and years. There. I've said it. Hi...my name is Alan and I'm afraid of NMF. Or was until I discovered Future floor polish! I don't know where I read about it, but I tried it and it is incredible!! I don't spend hours buffing and polishing as you are told to do. I file away then sand ending up with old used 600 grade wet and dry. I fill scratches with Liquid Paper, then gently sand even. I do not EVER bother with the ultra polishing. I then spray Future onto the model, being careful to avoid pooling (and wicking away with an ancient t-shirt where needed). Future will look strange, but it shrinks as it dries and gives you a glassy and glossy finish where all the panel lines nd rivets still show nicely but the micro-scratches from the sand paper are filled by the leveling process and are gone forever! I let this dry in a dust-free area (like under a box or something) for about 48 hours. Use the nose test - if it still smells strongly of Future let it dry a bit more.

Then get out whatever NMF paint you want to use and blow it on! The surface is so hard that if you get too much paint in one area or those rough spots from paint drying before it hits you can gently sand it with that 600 sand paper until smooth and just blow more paint on. It is truly miraculous.

It doesn't look like I transferred many of my model pics onto my new computer. I'll see what I can find of NMF and post them here later.

I hope you'll find the above useful. If you try the Future route, practice on a cheap and/or old assembled model until you get the hang of it. Future is finicky but once you get the technique down you're made in the shade.

Alan Griffith

[Otto]

I love Hi-build gray automotive lacquer primer. But having said that not all are created equal. If you get the can of the super thick stuff and thin it yourself with the right thinner than you can have some miraculous smooth results. If you use it from a spray can or use the wrong thinner, the plastic will absorb the thinner and swell sometimes even to the point of foaming. Than it will take days or even weeks for all the solvent to rid from the plastic and everything shrink back to its original size. Even though you can sand it after a short period of time and everything looks perfect, you can come back a couple of days later and find sink holes. at which point you have to sand again. A few days you will find the same and you have to sand again. The thing you will notice is that the part will smell of solvent for a LONG-LONG-LONG-LONG time. Once though you have gotten a smooth finish I go down to 2000 grit paper, the best base for NMF is BLACK. But if you want panels to be distinct from each other than you can use colors on individual panels from black to gray to white to yellow blue green and so on. Every color besides brown or red. The most important thing to remember is that the base under the NMF be Hi-gloss.

Edited April 11, 2012 by Otto

[WymanV]

I rarely prime anything. Only when I have some serious repairs/corrections/modifications to do.

Ken