Painting FUD

[BCR751]

Today I tried priming a Shapeways FUD loco shell.  It turned out very blotchy with some portions of the shell absorbing all of the primer and the primer adhering well to the remainder.  I tried several coats, all with the same result with portions absorbing everything put on them.  I am really afraid now to apply any final coats out of fear the same thing will happen and it will look terrible.

Has anyone had similar experiences when paint FUD products?    Should I have applied some sort of sealer prior to applying the primer?  Any remedies, suggestions?

Doug

[jmlaboda - RIP]

Have you stripped the waxy coating?  This could be why you are having problems...

[BCR751]

I thought I did.  I left it in a tub of Bestine for over a week.

Doug

[HuskerN]

I prime my models with a rattle can of Rustoleum.  If the model is a bit more porous, or has a slight texture, I use more primer until I have a smooth surface for my paint.

I have been using Testors rattle cans for my paint.

Here are some examples of models in primer and in final paint:















HuskerN
www.nscaleaddiction.blogspot.com
www.shapeways.com/shops/NScaleAddict

[PiperguyUMD]

HuskerN, is that plain old rustolium that you're using?  Anything special? 

[DKS]

I thought I did.  I left it in a tub of Bestine for over a week.

Sometimes you need to use a little brush action to dislodge heavier deposits.

[BCR751]

I left the shell in the Bestine for about 6 days.  When I removed it, I scrubbed it, still in the Bestine, with a toothbrush, then put it in a tub of warm water and dish detergent and let it sit in there for about an hour.  I then put it under a slow stream of warm water and scrubbed it with the toothbrush again.  Therefore, I don't think there was any wax residue left on the shell.  I then went over the entire shell using an electric eraser with a medium hardness eraser in it and tried to remove all of the obvious "texture" that I could without screwing up any of the detail.  This seemed to work pretty well and left a reasonably smooth finish on most of the shell.  However, it still had horizontal lines in it from the printing that I could not remove.

It seems that the areas that are absorbing the paint are very porous, something I didn't notice until I started to apply the paint.  I wasn't aware that this could be an issue with FUD products.  And HuskerN, I would use your method of priming with the Rustoleum (Tremclad in Canada <g>) but I'm afraid it would obliterate some of the fine detail.  Yours look really good.

I think I will just keep applying more coats of the primer and see if that will sort of seal the porous areas before trying to apply any final coats. Hopefully, the finer detail won't be covered up.  If that doesn't work, it will be about two months of working with this shell down the drain.  I think I will shy away from anything 3D printed for a while.  Nice looking stuff but way too many issues.

Doug

[sd45elect2000]

It appears porous but its not, its just very rough. Find the dark spots , circle them with a sharpie and sand the area smooth. I've been building ALOT of FUD models of late and I have been wet sanding after I prime the shells. The small detail spots are difficult but I glue different grades of sandpaper to small sticks to get in the tight spots. If you are doing either an FM shell or an ALCo S-3 shell this method works well. I haven't done my AS414 Baldwin yet.

Randy

[Ian MacMillan]

I primed mine with regular gray Rustolium primer and it worked well. I had to strip mine because the yellow I then sprayed, which was from a rattle can, came out chunky as it was a bad can.

[Philip H]

I primed mine with regular gray Rustolium primer and it worked well. I had to strip mine because the yellow I then sprayed, which was from a rattle can, came out chunky as it was a bad can.

I've used this same primer and it works fine for FUD.

[pnolan48]

Rustoleum primer works fine for me. Rustoleum Krylon primer works better. Tamiya primer works even better. Just my experience.

[wazzou]

Slightly OT, but this is TRW after all, I find Rustoleums nozzles to be complete and udder crap. 
They're fine when purchased and first used, however almost every can over the last few years won't spray well again, if at all.
I do tip upside down when done and spray to clean too, in most cases.

[peteski]

Slightly OT, but this is TRW after all, I find Rustoleums nozzles to be complete and udder crap. 
They're fine when purchased and first used, however almost every can over the last few years won't spray well again, if at all.
I do tip upside down when done and spray to clean too, in most cases.

I decant the spray can paints and then I airbrush them. To me the volume of paint coming out of any spray can nozzle is just way too heavy for painting small items like N scale locomotive shells (or other, even smaller details).  Also, like you mentioned, nozzles or valves in spray can can get clogged. If you have an airbrush, decanting and airbrushing. might be an alternative.

[central.vermont]

I decant the spray can paints and then I airbrush them. To me the volume of paint coming out of any spray can nozzle is just way too heavy for painting small items like N scale locomotive shells (or other, even smaller details).  Also, like you mentioned, nozzles or valves in spray can can get clogged. If you have an airbrush, decanting and airbrushing. might be an alternative.

One caution when doing this. After you have decanted the paint into a container be sure to let the paint sit for a while before putting the cover on it. It will still have some of the pressure left in it. It's kinda like pouring a glass of soda that still has fizz in it it needs to be flat first. Trust me you will have some unfortunate consequence's if you close it too early. Don't ask how I know this....

Jon

[pnolan48]

Interesting. How much paint do you get out of a spray can?

When I finish a can of Rustoleum, if it is still spraying, I save the nozzle for those cans that clog.