Help needed

[Giorginetto]

Hello all

I want to create a slightly customised 3536 space station. I was thinking to have the top part which is in white painted in black and not change anything else. In fact i dont want anything else changed. Pulling out and putting back the stickers is an easy job , somethign i have done a lot recently , using a very sharp knife does the job easily

So i want to paint the white part of the station black. What is the best way to do this ? get a simple black paint spray or what ? never done this before , anyone can give me any tips please and also be specific about the brand/color/ applicator ( eg spray ) to get please ?

Thank you all !!!! 

[playmofire]

You need to be carefyul spraying plastic, especially old plastic as this set is, as early plastics could react badly to certain types of paint with the surface bubbling up.  This was especially so with cellulose paints, so yuou should avoid using these.

To get a good surface for the top coat to adhere to, try spraying it with primer specially designed for plastic.   After that, I'd use an acrylic primer and top coat.

Note: no responsiblity is accepted for any damage arising from following this advice!

[cheng]

my tech knowhow is not that good...but being ignorant has its advantages too
I presume you know about cleaning and masking...
I use Tamiya (there's only gloss black or matt black) spray cans (the more professional ones use a spray gun of course)
which is for plastic models of course and is safe on PM..
read spraying techniques about spraying a thin coat at a time in a wave/passing motion. (otherwise they get too thick and start to run)
and remove the masking tapes before the paint dries.

[playmofire]

A veryb useful post, cheng, especially about the use of masking tape.  I had assumed that the roof was completely separate, which it may not be of course.

[bonniebeth]

George, if you don't have much experience with spray paint, please please please practice first! It's not as easy as it looks, so practice on something not so rare, but with different angled surfaces and such so that you get a feel for how to handle getting good coverage on crevices etc., like a PM car or something like that. Don't hold the spray can too close to what you are painting, or it will bubble, and as cheng said, the paint can should always be in motion when you are spraying. Never hold it still in one spot, or you will get thick paint that warps and bubbles. You want a super thin coat, let it dry, then the next thin coat. But you must get a feel for all this yourself, so practice before you try it on a space station!

[Pynedor]

Everything bonniebeth said is right. You want very thin coats and to make sweeping motions with your arm. You may find it beneficial to keep your wrist firm and only move your arm. Less paint is better for each pass, you can always spray over another light pass if needed. Make sure to shake the can every few sprays, and do not find yourself holding in the valve for more than a few moments at a time.

[Giorginetto]

Thank you all for the very useful advice !!!! I will expand my playmospace fleet hoefully in the following weeks and will buy a cheap / incomplete 3536 to paint after i do some practice on my legos some plastic .... then i will give a go to the cheapo 3536 i will get hopefully soon. I think the top white plastic can be removed and will then remove the stickers too and paint it all etc .

Will update you on this !!!!!

[Wolf Knight]

I did this project last summer http://www.playmofriends.com/forum/index.php?topic=9602.msg175542#msg175542, perhaps you can get some ideas out of it, George. Every other advice alreay given is a must for a successful result.