Author Topic: Hairspray technique question.  (Read 2925 times)

Offline redpiano

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Hairspray technique question.
« on: April 22, 2013, 02:10:19 PM »
Hey guys, I'm trying to find the stuff needed to start using hairspray for weathering but I need some info. I've read that you cannot use water based top coat underneath the hairspray because when you apply water to scratch off the top paint layer over the hairspray it'll break down the top coat as well. I just got done testing this on a random plastic thing I had laying around and that seems to be true, anyone out there using water based top coat and not having any problems using the hairpsray technique?

Problem I'm having is I can't actually find any enamel based top coat in spray can form online, only the water based stuff. So if anyone knows of a readily available(online) spray can enamel top coat I can order, I would appreciate a link.

Offline redpiano

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Re: Hairspray technique question.
« Reply #1 on: April 22, 2013, 03:57:17 PM »
Does it matter if it's gloss or matte?

Offline Chris Johnson

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Re: Hairspray technique question.
« Reply #2 on: April 22, 2013, 10:43:01 PM »
My approach is to use Tamiya acrylic paints exclusively because they work so well with both undercoats and top coats. Undercoat thinned with lacquer thinner and top coat thinned with water. Here's an image of the technique on a recent AFV build of mine.



In this case, my base coat was Tamiya Hull Red thinned with lacquer thinner, for a good solid layer of paint. I then applied two light mist coats of Tresemme aerosol hairspray. Avoid heavy coats of hairspray at all costs as it will lead to spidering of your top coat of paint and you'll end up removing large sheets of paint instead of small bits. Make sure it's an aerosol spray as the pump bottles will give you uneven coverage. When the mist coats were dry, I applied my top camouflage coat of Tamiya paint, this time thinned with water. When it was dry, I brushed water on the area from where I wanted to scrub away the paint. Not too heavy, as you don't want it to pool. After a minute or so to allow the water to loosen the top colour, I started lightly scrubbing away the top coat of paint with a stiff bristle brush. The tendency is to overdue the effect so be careful not to get carried away. Work slowly and check your results frequently.

Cheers,

Chris

P.S. I forgot to mention that I use Tamiya's flat paints.
« Last Edit: April 22, 2013, 10:45:34 PM by Chris Johnson »
You can have it good; You can have it fast; you can have it cheap. Pick any two, but all three are impossible.

Offline GAJouette

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Re: Hairspray technique question.
« Reply #3 on: April 22, 2013, 10:48:27 PM »
  There's a good article on this very technique in Aprils Fine Scale Modeler for anyone interested. Thanks Chris for the  how to reply my old friend.Is that the Panzer IV ?
Highest Regards,
Gregory Jouette
" What Me Worry"

Offline Chris Johnson

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Re: Hairspray technique question.
« Reply #4 on: April 22, 2013, 10:56:49 PM »
Is that the Panzer IV ?

That it is!

Cheers,

Chris
You can have it good; You can have it fast; you can have it cheap. Pick any two, but all three are impossible.

Offline GAJouette

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Re: Hairspray technique question.
« Reply #5 on: April 22, 2013, 11:05:21 PM »
  Chris,
I thought so but not knowing much about Armor wasn't certain. By the way the IV still looks awesome my old friend.
Highest Regards,
Gregory Jouette
" What Me Worry"

Offline redpiano

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Re: Hairspray technique question.
« Reply #6 on: April 22, 2013, 11:54:12 PM »
Thanks for the replies, excellent armor there Chris.

Don't have any tamiya paints myself but Vallejo's acrylics seem to have a tendency to scratch off easily so I expect that fact will finally work in my favor. I did my test using Mr. Hobby semi gloss top coat but I only waited for it to not be tacky before I put the hair spray and paint over it and started scraping it off, it worked well but a couple spots I pretty easily scratched through to the plastic. I'll definitely be practicing this on scrap a lot before applying it to any finished model.

Thanks again.