| Horshu |
03-01-2005 04:53 PM |
I've noticed the same thing with mica/metallic paint, too. I've got a 4 megapixel camera, and as good as my painted remote is looking, the camera cannot get focus close enough to do any kind of justice to the paint layering (2 cans of dark metallic blue under 2 cans of mica blue under 2 cans of clearcoat gives it terrific depth). It kills me, because I see closeup pics of mica-painted computer cases (Shuttle had one made by Soldam, plus any Soldam case that has pearl paint looks incredible), and I know my remote is looking that good, but I can't take a picture that truly reflects that.
BTW: On masking tape, I tried several different kinds, and have found the Tamiya tape to be by far the best to work with. It's super-thin, so it cuts very, very easiliy, but it's got a waxy, smooth surface that I assume is what is preventing the bleed that I get with other masks (although I also started using a method of laying down a very thin base coat for every mask, and I let dry for a couple of hours to seal the edges)
Also, regarding getting a nice, smooth sheen pre-clearcoat, I start spraying with a warmed can 12 inches from the target, aiming as close to straight down as possible, and count to 5. I wait 10-15 minutes, holding for the visual cue of the solvent evaporating and orange peel showing up, and then hit it with another 5 second coat. I do that 4-5 times and let it dry, which has worked pretty well, and I live in a very humid city.
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