ATA Bucket Build[*ATA]

[Midnyt17]

I would paint the entire bucket with rustoleum epoxy.

 

there are lot's of plastic model puttys and fillers. make sure you get one that

is compatiable with HIPS plastic.

 

sandpaper is your friend! water and wetsanding is the best path to take.

make sure you're dust free by washing it up with soap and water.

 

dishwashing soap like "dawn" is a good choice. you don't want soaps with

lotion, or any kind of mixture like that. just a plain degreaser.

 

I would love to use Rustoleum Epoxy but unfortunately we don't have that here in the Philippines. The only brands our hardware stores carry are Bosny, RJ London, Pylox, and ACE. There are a couple of cheap brand paints as well but I wouldn't even consider using those. As for the putty, the only one I've found is Tamiya Basic putty. Is that good enough to use as a filler for the gaps?

 

I'm sorry but could you explain to me how to wet sand? I have no idea how to do that. Is that just sanding while the surface and sandpaper are wet? or is there a certain kind of "wet" sand paper?

 

I actually bought a couple of sachets of dishwashing soap yesterday for cleaning my bucket before painting. I made sure that they didn't have any weird add-ons to them.

 

Thanks for all the suggestions. I really appreciate it.

[Midnyt17]

acrylics are good for airbrushing. but when hand painting enamels are the way. dont forget to buy enamel thinner for enamel paints.

 

 

I forgot what tamiya paint number you have to buy, I know it's in one of the topics. I do know it's tamiya royal blue and xf? Sky grey?

 

I ended up buying acrylics after researching on them on the net. I just feel like I'll do a better job with them. Will try them out on spare plastic first before I use them on the bucket. If the acrylics don't work well then I can switch to enamels before I paint the bucket. For now, I only bought the gloss black (X-1) for the vocoder, light grey (XF-66) and clear (X-22) to mix to make it glossy for the teeth and ears. Will buy the blue for the ab buttons when I have my armor.

 

Thanks for all the advice Luis. Are you back in town?

Edited August 13, 2010 by Midnyt17

[2155TK[TK]]

Hi Martin. Believe me mas mabilis mabakbak ang acrylics. especially if you just hand paint them on a shiny surface such as your newly painted helmet.

 

I've used model paints for a long time, and i know mas forgiving ang enamels when you brush paint it on. It dries slower so the paint levels leaving a smooth finish. (as long as you add a few drops of thinner on the paint mix pallete. )

 

acrylics on the other hand are very tricky,They leave brush strokes on a flat surface when hand painted on because it dries faster. especially the tamiya and Gunze paints. you need to use Acrylic retarders(which are not easy to find) for the paint to dry slower when brush painting.

 

maybe the reason you saw that acrylics are for begginers is that is water soluble. so it's easy to clean. Use windex window cleaning fluid with ammonia for cleanups.

 

Enamels have the fumes, and can only be cleaned with enamel thinners. Use the Hardware enamel thinner for cleanups. no use using the expensive tamiya brand.

 

Oh and yes i'm back in manila. give me a ring anytime

[Midnyt17]

Hi Martin. Believe me mas mabilis mabakbak ang acrylics. especially if you just hand paint them on a shiny surface such as your newly painted helmet.

 

I've used model paints for a long time, and i know mas forgiving ang enamels when you brush paint it on. It dries slower so the paint levels leaving a smooth finish. (as long as you add a few drops of thinner on the paint mix pallete. )

 

acrylics on the other hand are very tricky,They leave brush strokes on a flat surface when hand painted on because it dries faster. especially the tamiya and Gunze paints. you need to use Acrylic retarders(which are not easy to find) for the paint to dry slower when brush painting.

 

maybe the reason you saw that acrylics are for begginers is that is water soluble. so it's easy to clean. Use windex window cleaning fluid with ammonia for cleanups.

 

Enamels have the fumes, and can only be cleaned with enamel thinners. Use the Hardware enamel thinner for cleanups. no use using the expensive tamiya brand.

 

Oh and yes i'm back in manila. give me a ring anytime

 

Really? Alright, that kinda sucks.

 

I was set on buying enamels at first since the Humbrol paints were enamel but after reading this article and other threads on the net regarding "acrylics vs enamels", then having the saleslady at Lil's Hobby Center in Park Square 1 tell me that the acrylics were easier to use since they were water-based plus seeing the acrylic bottles were bigger compared to the tiny enamel bottles so looked more "sulit" I ended up buying acrylics.

 

The kicker is that Lil's has a sign in their store stating that they don't allow exchanges on their paints.

[2155TK[TK]]

after reading this article

 

Haha, bilib ako dito he paints 1/72 aircraft using only a brush! I'd have to tell you he must be in the 10% market of all the modelers out there who don't use an airbrush. Plus I'd love to see his models!

But believe me as far as competitive modeling levels are concerned, modelers always use an A/B especially on aircraft,tanks,etc. I can't imagine how he does camouflage with his brush!

 

The reason he's successful when he uses acrylics is for a number of reasons. One, he's been painting with that technique for a looong time and he's already very used to that. Two, he uses 91% isopropyl alcohol. here sa pinas i can only find 70%. If you read that part where he says that too little alcohol and you'll get paint lines,paint will harden and stick to your brush etc, but adding more alcohol will let the paint pool and run on all sides..very tricky especially for a beginner on painting such as yourself.

 

Another bad thing about using acrylics on the helmet is it will chip off easily. Since acrylics are water soluble it's not the hardest and toughest of the paints out there. Give for example the vocoder, pag nagasgas yan against a surface since it protrudes it will reveal your white base coat underneath.the only possible solution is if acrylics are painted on a "matte" surface.it will stick on the base coat better but you will have to fine sand the places where you will apply your paints!

 

Don't get me wrong, i LOVE acrylics.. i use it on 80% of the models i work on, in fact my Finemolds Millennium, X-wing, and most of my model kits were painted with Acrylic paints.BUT i almost always use an Airbrush when applying it except of course for teeny tiny touch-ups where i have to use a brush, but when i add fine details or paint small parts i use Enamels all the time.

 

just give me an SMS. then maybe we can talk on a landline. Cheers!

[Midnyt17]

Haha, bilib ako dito he paints 1/72 aircraft using only a brush! I'd have to tell you he must be in the 10% market of all the modelers out there who don't use an airbrush. Plus I'd love to see his models!

But believe me as far as competitive modeling levels are concerned, modelers always use an A/B especially on aircraft,tanks,etc. I can't imagine how he does camouflage with his brush!

 

The reason he's successful when he uses acrylics is for a number of reasons. One, he's been painting with that technique for a looong time and he's already very used to that. Two, he uses 91% isopropyl alcohol. here sa pinas i can only find 70%. If you read that part where he says that too little alcohol and you'll get paint lines,paint will harden and stick to your brush etc, but adding more alcohol will let the paint pool and run on all sides..very tricky especially for a beginner on painting such as yourself.

 

Another bad thing about using acrylics on the helmet is it will chip off easily. Since acrylics are water soluble it's not the hardest and toughest of the paints out there. Give for example the vocoder, pag nagasgas yan against a surface since it protrudes it will reveal your white base coat underneath.the only possible solution is if acrylics are painted on a "matte" surface.it will stick on the base coat better but you will have to fine sand the places where you will apply your paints!

 

Don't get me wrong, i LOVE acrylics.. i use it on 80% of the models i work on, in fact my Finemolds Millennium, X-wing, and most of my model kits were painted with Acrylic paints.BUT i almost always use an Airbrush when applying it except of course for teeny tiny touch-ups where i have to use a brush, but when i add fine details or paint small parts i use Enamels all the time.

 

just give me an SMS. then maybe we can talk on a landline. Cheers!

 

Hahaha thanks Luis. I should've consulted with you extensively first before buying my Tamiya paints. I forgot you were a pro modeler. I now remember seeing your X-wing and Falcon at ToyCon.

 

I guess I'll just purchase Tamiya enamels next week. I still have to wait for my bucket to cure before I can paint it further anyway. I'll find some other use for the acrylics

 

I'm painting my bucket today. I'm actually in the middle of doing it now. I'm on my third coat of primer and I'm spraying my first coat of glossy white in 5 minutes. I'm following instructions on the can to the letter. I'm taking pictures of the whole thing and will post it after lunch. I also took a picture of the lens installed before I took it out. Will post that later as well.

 

I'll give you a call this afternoon to let you know how it went.

Edited August 15, 2010 by Midnyt17

[Midnyt17]

I just finished putting the 6th coat of paint on my bucket. Can or should I put on another coat even after it's been more than an hour or would I need to sand/prime it again?

[Midnyt17]

Scratch that last post. I read around and I'm waiting at least a week before I do anything with the bucket again.

 

I'm pretty happy with how it came out. I'm just grateful I didn't get any orange peel although the whole bucket didn't come out glossy. I have parts where the paint is shiny but not smooth and glossy; it just has a bit of texture or roughness to it. Anyone have any tips on how to smooth/shine those parts up and even out the look of the bucket?

 

I also painted the mic tips. Does anyone have any tips on how to remove bits of paint? Because some paint seeped through under the mic tips which I wanted white.

 

Here are some pics:

 

 

Here are the paints I used. I decided to go with one brand all the way to make sure everything would work well together.

 

 

The mic tips. I taped up the back area, the screws and the front then held them up wearing gloves while spraying and rotating. A bit of paint seeped under the tape on the front side of one of the mics. Anyone have any advise on how to clean it up?

 

 

A picture of the bucket before painting

 

 

A before picture of the lens material that Alex requested.

 

 

After dry and wet sanding and washing with detergent. I wiped it down and let it dry up more for 30 minutes before I painted it.

 

 

After 3 coats of primer which was apparently clear colored.

 

 

After 6 coats of paint. See how the left side is glossy and the right side is a bit flat.

 

 

Close-up of the left.

 

 

Now the right.

 

I just got off the phone with LUIS TK-2155 (Luis) and he advised me to get some polishing cloths to get rid of the roughness and to help gloss it up more. Will probably buy them + some Tamiya enamels on Tuesday.

 

Will wait for at least a week or 2 before I work on it again.

Edited August 15, 2010 by Midnyt17

[Midnyt17]

Took a look at my bucket today and some of the roughness has smoothed out. The bucket is looking pretty good. Although I'm going to have to even up the shine with some polishing clothes. As for the mic tips, they've dried up pretty well.

[2155TK[TK]]

Hey Martin looks to be ok! As for removing the excess paint on your mic tips just use a cotton swab with a bit of lacquer thinner. rub gently till the paint gets off. Lovin the progress!

[Midnyt17]

Hey Martin looks to be ok! As for removing the excess paint on your mic tips just use a cotton swab with a bit of lacquer thinner. rub gently till the paint gets off. Lovin the progress!

 

Thanks Luis!

 

How long should I wait before I work on the mic tips? Should I also wait a week or 2 before I try and remove the excess paint? or ASAP?

 

The helmet is getting shinier by the day. Still uneven but less rough. I'm getting more confident that a few rounds with polishing clothes would even out the sheen.

[DarkTrooper[TK]]

Great job with the bucket so far. I was able to meet the 501st's representative from the Philippines at Celebration 5 this past weekend in Orlando, Florida. Chris Catanda. Unfortunately he wasn't able to bring his armor but I'm glad he made the very long trip to the states.

[2155TK[TK]]

Hey yeah only Chris was able to attend this year! sucks not being there though.

 

Martin you can do that asap.

[Midnyt17]

Great job with the bucket so far. I was able to meet the 501st's representative from the Philippines at Celebration 5 this past weekend in Orlando, Florida. Chris Catanda. Unfortunately he wasn't able to bring his armor but I'm glad he made the very long trip to the states.

 

Thanks Daniel. I'm pretty happy with it. Even with all mistakes I've made; Like the gaps on the ears, rough paint job, etc. It's an experience.

 

I would've loved to have gone to Celebration and hopefully someday I will with the other troopers from Philippine Outpost.

 

Hey yeah only Chris was able to attend this year! sucks not being there though.

 

Martin you can do that asap.

 

Alright, will get on the mic tips as soon as I get back from my retreat. Is the outpost trooping at the Metro ComicCon this Saturday? I'm going on Saturday to sit in on the panels.

Edited August 18, 2010 by Midnyt17