Gun finishing tips

[WarrenD]

Am I the only one who keeps reading the thread title as "Gun fishing trips"

I keep having these flash visions of our US stalwarts on the forum, all armed with shotguns, handguns, assault rifles (like all American men, right?) sitting in a boat drifting down a river firing randomly into the water.......

Sorry, just thought I'd share.

And you write that as if something were wrong with that. 

Warren

[Michael Scarborough]

Interesting how the Southerners are the first to reply to this......y'all. I 'spec Cajun'll be along directly.

[WarrenD]

Just add beer!

"Live Action!"

Warren

[Edo]

well... I keep reading "gunship tips" and think of some gondola - like thread for a Zeppelin....
this too has to mean something....
maybe I just can't read right! 
ciao
Edo

[ALBATROS1234]

well i am half cajun french,live in the south(new orleans) and i dont own an armory, nor am i an outdoorsy type. just like you aussies arent necessarily jumping into a crocodile pond with a bowie knife in your teeth and you brits arent necessarily sipping earl grey with butter biscuits in an english garden.....stereotypes eh?

[WarrenD]

.....stereotypes eh?

But they're kind of fun when not taken seriously. This is a forum about gluing and painting bits and pieces together to make a little aeroplane. There's no way we can be taking each other too seriously.   

Warren

[rowan broadbent]

Oi, young Albatros, I'll 'ave you know, good sir, that I take tea every afternoon at 4pm precisely, with cucumber sandwiches with the crust cut orf.

Sorry boys and girls, should stop this now or the grown-ups will get cross. Not to mention sullying a perfectly good and useful thread with such frivolity. Back to silent running.

[Ian from Doncaster]

I have tried several methods with guns.  I don't go too overboard about trying to make the guns historically accurate, so unless the instructions specify otherwise, I aim for a blackened effect with metallic highlights.

I sometimes paint with matt or satin black first, then use my buffing brush (it usually has enough metallic pigment from previous Mr Metal buffing) to dry brush the metallic features.  Alternatively I'll use Mr Metal Iron or Humbrol metalcote buffed up, and if I think the metal is too bright I'll apply a black wash.

I have tried the brass jackets but haven't yet mastered the rolling technique so I stick to the molded plastic guns.  The tonal effect of black and metallic gives a good enough effect (for me) as opposed to monochromatic black or metal.


Earl Grey?  Pah!  Tetley every day for me!

[Michael Scarborough]

Ian, thanks for jumping into the river and pulling us back on topic.

I plan to try both Bo and Bertl's processes. My only problem with chemical blackener is this: I used one called Blacken-it which is made for the hobby trade. It did indeed blacken some PE I was working with but also left a scale which has continued to flake off. Not sure what the cause was as the substance has worked well in the past.

Re: the other topic which is running concurrently with this.....I consider myself a Southerner by heritage and birth but have lived most of my adult life in NYC. As Warren said stereotypes can be fun when taken as fun and nothing more.

PG Tips for me, BTW.

[uncletony]

It did indeed blacken some PE I was working with but also left a scale which has continued to flake off. Not sure what the cause was as the substance has worked well in the past.

Parts need to be really clean before blackening… no grease at all.

[Michael Scarborough]

Is there some sort of "mold release" on PE parts? I never had this problem with white metal parts.

[uncletony]

Is there some sort of "mold release" on PE parts? I never had this problem with white metal parts.

The brass jackets are machined, so by definition they've probably come into contact with lubricant. PE goes through several stages of chemistry, and then potentially gets handled during packing, unpacking and assembly...

[Michael Scarborough]

OK...I didn't realize that.....thanks. These are the sorts of things I need to know to graduate to a higher level of model building. Having been doing so off and on since 1958ish, it is very hard to break the mind set of, buy it, open it, build it, hang it from the ceiling.

[petrov27]

Thanks for the tips again - in particular regarding the blackening - I have a bottle of the Uschi liquid for brass gun barrels on the way and I will make sure I clean the brass first (any recommendations on what to use for that? Acetone maybe?)

[uncletony]

Yes … Acetone works pretty well as a degreaser...