How long should I wait before painting details on base coat?

penguinpc · Post by **penguinpc** » Sat Jun 22, 2013 10:48 am

I have spray painted the Round 2 Cadet Enterprise C with Testors gloss white. Although many of the details are taken care of with the decals, there are a few places that can be painted. I plan to brush paint the details in these areas.

How long should I let the base coat of gloss white dry before painting details on it?

Thanks for your help.

southwestforests · Post by **southwestforests** » Sat Jun 22, 2013 12:17 pm

Does the fine print on the spray can, if that is what was used, say something to the effect of "Recoat in ...."

If you used airbrush, was the paint enamel or acrylic - very different answers.

What will details be painted with - enamel or acrylic - again, different answers.

Gloss enamel is notorious for taking half of forever to cure enough to paint over with enamel.

penguinpc · Post by **penguinpc** » Sat Jun 22, 2013 12:52 pm

southwestforests wrote:Does the fine print on the spray can, if that is what was used, say something to the effect of "Recoat in ...."

If you used airbrush, was the paint enamel or acrylic - very different answers.

What will details be painted with - enamel or acrylic - again, different answers.

Gloss enamel is notorious for taking half of forever to cure enough to paint over with enamel.

I used Testors gloss white enamel from a rattle can. It says to recoat within 3 hours or after 48. I guess that's my answer.

All my detail paints are Testors/Model Master enamel, some flat, some gloss.

dizzyfugu · Post by **dizzyfugu** » Tue Jun 25, 2013 10:46 am

Gloss enamels can be tricky and deceiving. Better let the paint dry the full 48 hours. Matt enamels dry up much quicker, but the glossy variants take a long time to thoroughly dry through. The surface might appear solid and dry, and just brushing light details might be O.K. But the deeper levels are still wet and fluid - and easily distrubed by pressure (touch!) or some other paint on the surface that dries quicker, esp. when you paint larger areas like panels. These can break up, the surface might "crack", with ugly results.

Just be patient!

CaptBillD · Post by **CaptBillD** » Wed Jul 10, 2013 12:06 pm

A gloss coat can take up to a week to cure. I'd wait that long if it's from a rattlecan, just to be sure with that thickness.