Light Blocking Color

Thomas E. Johnson · Post by **Thomas E. Johnson** » Mon May 05, 2008 12:15 am

Ok gents, I need some opinions on what type and brand of silver (spray can) to use as a light blocking barrier (this is suppose to work better than just using black). One of the things that I think screwed up my build of the Soveriegn Replicas 1/650 Ent-E kit is that I had to lay down so many coats of black to block up all the light leaks, that all the coats of paint made it impossible to cleanly pull up the window masks. I want to avoid this on the second round after I strip and repaint the whole thing from fiberglass up. I'm looking for a paint that will completely block all light leaks and bleed with just 1 or 2 coats.

Post by **TER-OR** » Mon May 05, 2008 9:47 pm

Wow. From my limited experience, silver doesn't work as well as black. It's pretty much a clear paint, after all. You might try something like Alclad or another metalizer.

TrekFX · Post by **TrekFX** » Sat May 10, 2008 1:43 pm

I think silver is the way to go for sheer blocking power, since the pigment is pretty much metallic solids. If it's a dense enough paint (ie lots of solids versus clear carrier) you should be good to go. I can't recommend any specific brand offhand (been a while) but it's easy enough to do test shoots.

Added benefit is you have a reflective interior by default. (well, sort of, depending on how opaque the hull is.)

tonyG2 · Post by **tonyG2** » Sat May 10, 2008 1:48 pm

I've a combined suggestion. Spray gloss black inside first. THat acts as a solid blocking medium to prevent light bleed.

Then spray silver on top.

Then you get a good level of internal light spread.

rpauly · Post by **rpauly** » Sat May 10, 2008 2:58 pm

White actually reflects more light than silver. My suggestion would be a first coat of black, and a second of white for premium light blockage and distribution.

Or, you could line the interior with foil...

Thomas E. Johnson · Post by **Thomas E. Johnson** » Sat May 10, 2008 4:14 pm

All the light blocking must be done on the outside of the model, because all of the windows are cast on the surface. This is the Soveriegn Replicas 1/650 Ent-E model. I need a color that blocks up all the light bleed, in the fewest coats possible (preferably 1 or 2 coats) so all of the window masks don't get buried by paint.

rpauly · Post by **rpauly** » Sat May 10, 2008 4:22 pm

Ah.. Then I'd reccomend a base coat of white, followed by black, tour primer, and your color coats. I'd also suggest scoring around the window masks with a fresh hobby knife before lifting them.