Best opaque white paint

[breadneck]

Just painted two well dilluted coats of Humbrol 22 right on top of light grey plastic. It`s one of those stressfree builds (GeeBee)

so i used a flat paintbrush instead of my airbrush. I am still not happy with the opacity of the paint. I can easily see some of the

grey plastic underneath. I dilluted the rather thick flowing Humbrol 22 gloss white with Humbrol thinner so it would lay down

smoother and it seems to have worked. I am hoping a third coat will get wrid of any such "problem" areas. If i lay it down too

thick it will take away all the surface details. Don`t want that. Should white colours generally be airbrushed on because of this tricky issue?

Edited June 3, 2016 by breadneck

[Darren Roberts]

White is one of the hardest colors to brush on and get an even, opaque coat. If you're hand brushing, my suggestion would be to prime the entire model with Tamiya white primer in the spray can. I've heard good things about it. I use Alclad white primer, but it needs to be sprayed on. The white primer will give you all the white you need. I go an extra step and actually hand brush Model Master Acryl Semi-Gloss white over my Alclad with a wide, soft brush. It gives a crisp look that I like. The MM Semi-Gloss also covers small areas quite well, especially if you have a light colored base.

[Mike J. Idacavage]

I agree with Darren's comments. The majority of my models seem to be white as I build a lot of airliners, NASA aircraft, civil aircraft, etc. I strongly prefer airbrushing the white to get even coverage versus using a brush. I have found that a primer coat of flat white to be essential. I usually use MR Base White (white MR Surfacer) but Darren's suggestions are also good. I then follow up with one or two final gloss white coats of Model Master gloss white. I add 2 - 3 drops of light blue to the Model Master bottle to compensate for any yellowing as the paint ages. Here's a recent white 1/144 F-8C that I built using this method.

Have fun modeling

Mike

:cheers:/>/>

[scotthldr]

Definitely lay down a White Matt surface first weather it be primer or paint. Two light coats of Matt followed by one light coat of Gloss finished with a wet coat will give you a great finish. Also in a similar fashion always apply Yellow over a White matt base

[breadneck]

The Testors Gee Bee kit had a very light grey shade, so i gambled the gloss would suffice. Now with my third coat it`s looking good. This is the "Hawk 1960" mold with enhanced raised panel lines where you place the decals and the barrier between the white and red colour. Maybe not so bad covering up most of those in three layers of gloss white. Thanks for the tip on the matt white primer. I`m not really into using spray cans as these do not dig up easily around these parts. I`m very glad i dilluted the Humbrol as much as i did. The results were brushless ;-)

[jonbryon]

Mr Base White is the best white I've come across. It's not an enamel and you will have to airbrush it, but I can't see why anyone would prefer anything else.

Jon

[admiralcag]

I have had good results with gloss white on top of flat white as well. I have also been told to add a couple of drops of light gray to white to improve the opacity. I haven't tried that yet, though.

Vern

[jfmajor60]

I'll echo everyone else, I always start with a flat white base usually Tamiya XF-2 straight out of the bottle no thinning, you just need to up the air pressure a little, I've seen Phil Flory suggest to start with a black primer before painting it white, but I haven't tried that one yet.

[balls47]

Yessir, I'll reiterate what everyone else has said. Gloss white is a nightmare to brush paint. I tried it once, several years ago, and that was it for my brush painting white. I may dry-brush some white or paint a tiny part, but other than that, it's a spray bomb or the airbrush. Another thing that I didn't see was that white enamel paint, regardless of the brand, WILL yellow. I think that someone mentioned adding a few drops of blue to the white paint. This just fools the eye. If you have an old jar of white enamel paint, look how dark yellow/brown the oil is that settles on top. Good Luck!!!

[jpk]

I use Tamiya primer white right out of the spray can. I do not decant it. Start with light coats and let dry then add more to desired coating. It lays down just about as smooth as if it were airbrushed. Less messy as well. 

[breadneck]

On 2.12.2016 at 6:12 PM, jpk said:

I use Tamiya primer white right out of the spray can. I do not decant it. Start with light coats and let dry then add more to desired coating. It lays down just about as smooth as if it were airbrushed. Less messy as well. 

Would be noice to know if you are referring to Tamiya acrylics or enamels :) 

[The Rat]

On 02/12/2016 at 0:12 PM, jpk said:

I use Tamiya primer white right out of the spray can. I do not decant it. Start with light coats and let dry then add more to desired coating. It lays down just about as smooth as if it were airbrushed. Less messy as well. 

 

Yep, that's my standard reply to questions like this. Tamiya Fine White Primer, can't beat it.

[spejic]

The best opaque white paint is any white paint over a coat of light gray paint.