Light leaks

belkin321 · Post by **belkin321** » Mon Mar 03, 2014 5:13 pm

What is best color to paint inside model to prevent light showing thru

nick · Post by **nick** » Mon Mar 03, 2014 6:32 pm

I spray the insides black. This is probably the best colour to use.
cheers

belkin321 · Post by **belkin321** » Mon Mar 03, 2014 9:38 pm

Thanks

belkin321 · Post by **belkin321** » Mon Mar 03, 2014 9:39 pm

Thanks

dizzyfugu · Post by **dizzyfugu** » Tue Mar 04, 2014 9:25 am

Black "sucks up" a lot of light. It really depends on what you want to achieve. If it is just for light blocking, a black coat will be fine (make sure to seal seams!), but if you use the model als a "lamp", white might be a better option for even light distribution.

For blocking light I also had good success with a special Chrome Silver paint from the rattkle can - actually, the result was not chrome-like at all, but the soft paint created a thick and really opaque layer, better than any acrylic spray paint.

chiver · Post by **chiver** » Tue Mar 04, 2014 12:53 pm

i use the chrome as well. works well for me.

nick · Post by **nick** » Tue Mar 04, 2014 5:35 pm

Like you said, black 'sucks up' a lot of the light. Silver will just reflect it all around the interior of the model until it finds a small seam and then will show through. Black is best to 'absorb' the light.
Make sure there are no seams, even better is to use black electrical tape around all/or most seam lines to definitely block any possibility of light escaping. This works really quite well.

cheers

TREKKRIFFIC · Post by **TREKKRIFFIC** » Tue Mar 04, 2014 7:13 pm

Another great product for light blocking is black Tulip Fabric Paint. It's water based and goes on thick. Great if you have assembled and finished painting a model and notice a tiny light leak in a seamline. You can dab some Tulip on it, wipe off the excess with a wet rag or your finger, and no more light leak. Saves you having to putty, sand, and do touchup.