I was just working on my project of the Sd. Kfz. 9 Famo from Tamiya.
And I was priming the model with Revell Basic Color primer in a spray can.
I used AK Interactive Camouflage putty to mask of the areas that I didn’t wanted to be primed.
So I did the first side with primer and I removed the camouflage putty.
And this has happened:
residue of the camouflage putty are all over the wheels.
I have tried to carefully remove the residue with my modeling knife, but the putty is stuck.
And I did actually take some of the paint with the putty of the sprockup wheel.
I tried to remove with a screw driver, with a flat head.
But didn’t work that great either.
I can’t go any further with how it is like this.
And I’m afraid that I’m also not able to prime any further, knowing that is a good possibility that the rest will be like this as well. Help me please with this problem I’m facing.
If you have some pieces of removed putty pieces you could check how they react to alcohol, window cleaning fluid (contains ammonia), white spirit/naphta and turpentine and finally acetone.
Hopefully one of those solvents will be able to break down the putty.
Usually putty removes putty, but I’m guessing you’ve tried that already. It’s a shame, but at least it looks as if you can salvage it.
I suppose you could try freezing it as well. Maybe it’ll just pop right off. It can’t hurt.
Unfortunately it looks as if we can add you to the growing list of folks who are not happy with these sorts of products.
It could be an unfortunate reaction between whatever solvent is in that spray can and the chemistry of the putty.
I turned a tin of Humbrol to jelly due to using the wrong solvent to thin it. I salvaged it afterwards using turpentine.
@18bravo I didn’t have much successes with it, that is right. It always did leave something behind that made the finish not that perfect or satisfying. I haven’t tried to put putty over the existing putty to remove it, if that is what you were suggesting. But my guess is that it just is sticking and got stuck there. I guess I can just spray it over with the color I’m wanting to airbrush my model. Fortunately, I did only one side using this technique. So the ‘damage’ is restricted to only one side of the model. The rest is intact.
As I’m doing more and more myself and ‘trying’ new stuff I’m also getting more experience. Including the unpleasant ‘failing’ experiences such as this one. And I don’t usually know what to do in such situations. Because there is nothing else really besides this place to fall back on. Everything of my scale modeling hobby is via internet and/or phone. No real contacts, because there is nothing close enough to the place where I live. Sad but true.
@Uncle-Heavy I honestly don’t know. Before I did this. I had decided to place an order at the store I’m regular customer for my model making stuff. modelbouwkrikke.nl. And I asked in advance if I could use the camouflage putty to mask of my model before painting it. And I remember they said something like, yes you could do that in principal. So I thought it would be possible without problems. I was wrong. I hope that I still can get a decent result with my model, since I have already put in a lot of work. And I’m thinking of looking to more variety of shops to purchase items as I’m gettng more personal experiences. And I’m experiencing that one shop isn’t always the best to satisfy the needs and wishes I have.
@claude I don’t have good experiences with asking to manufacturers directly. Long time ago I did ask questions to Revell directly. And they didn’t seem to be happy to receive questions of me. And they wanted me to contact a shop or something. ICM is different, they are helpful and they respond to e-mails asking questions directly. But they are probably the exception on this rule. So I probably don’t ask directly.
I don’t have time to solve the problem in the coming days. I really have a struggle with finding time and planning everything. There seems always to be something that disrupts my planning. And I just have to see when I’m able to spend some time solving the problem.
I had a similar problem when I sprayed my surfacer from a rattle can over it. I ended up leaving the model upside down, and a large amount of it slowly dripped out. That stuff was contaminated. I then used fresh stuff to pull the remaining stuff out.
I don’t know if it is something with Revell I got. Or if I’m using the putty wrong in some way. But the result isn’t looking to nice. When I did my last purchase to get all the products I needed to finish my Renault R35 and my Sd. Kfz. 9 Famo from Tamiya. I asked what primers I needed to buy. And the shop told me, that I best used the primer of the same brand. For example, Revell paints with Revell primers. Tamiya paint with Tamiya primer etc. I also asked if I needed to buy masking tape or if I could use the camouflage putty I got. And I remember that they said something like, yes you can in principal. So I thought, okay fine. Than I don’t have to buy masking tape. Now I see I probably made a terrible mistake. If you are also saying to contact AK Interactive, maybe I will give it a shot. It is hard that when I search for video’s on specific topics in preperation of wanting to do something. Like use Revell Basic Color primer. There are usually no video’s to be found about the topic. And since my only source is internet and the store via phone. I’m probably having a hard time practicing the hobby.
Thank you for replying, much appreciated.
ModelbouwNederland
Spray cans tend to have been pretty caustic solvents relative to say an airbrush or hand paint. Compounding this issue is that it’s hard to apply rattle can paints (at least for me) in a controlled manner. My guess is an aggressive solvent combined with the primer going on too “wet” melted the putty.
The good news, as @Uncle-Heavy pointed out, is if a solvent led to the problem, there is a good chance a solvent will also help remedy the problem
I’m glad I’m not the only one experiencing issues with this product.
In my case, it just looks like flakes leafing the camouflage putty.
And when I wanted to remove the putty by just pulling with my hands, I got sticky residue on my fingers.
And I just quickly washed my hands and tried with a tweezer to pull it of.
My tweezer is now dirty and sticky.
So I’m overall not having a really good experience using this product.
The problem is, that I’m wanting to do at least something usefull with this product.
Since I paid I believe 10 euro’s for it and I’m wanting to use stuff until it is done for.
Or just throw it in the trash, but that means throwing away 10 euro’s.
Which I find unfortunate and wastefull.
Thanks for contributing to the topic.
Modelbouwnederland
I was wanting to purchase primer that I could use with my airbrush.
But most of the primers that were sold were all in spray cans.
And the only other types were Vallejo primers.
But according to the sellers from the store, it was best to stick to the own brands of the paint manufacturers.
And since Revell only seemed to have their primer in a spray can.
I bought that.
I’m totally agreeing that it is hard to spray with spray can paints.
But what if there is no other option to purchase?
What to do then?
I think you got bad advice on that. You should almost always use the same brand thinner unless you’ve tested on scrap and in a mix cup not your airbrush. But I often mix and match primer and paint and haven’t had any problems. I often use badger primer, which is similar to Vallejo, and put both Vallejo and Tamiya paint over without issue. Just make sure the primer has plenty of time to set up before painting over it
Thanks for the tip. When I’m unsure of a product to purchase or I have another question. I better put it in here, not ask the shop. Because I have had more bad advices and bad experiences when I purchased something on advice they gave me. The shop is still good, but the advice and such aren’t. I’m going to look at a different shop for a new spray gun. Since I’m also having bad experiences with Fengda airbrushes. Lot’s of brake downs and very difficult and delicate to maintain. I mean cleaning and that kind of thing. I’m going to investigate Airbrush Services Almere. See if a pure A-Mark will serve me better.
Thanks for the reply.
Modelbouwnederland
Is the revell primer lacquer based? Lacquer based paints can have agressive thinners that bite into the plastic. I’m wondering if this primer went on too wet and melted the putty
I was always taught, or adopted the method anyway, of pre-painting parts (especially complicated running gear) off the kit and to assemble/touch up afterwards. I tend to ‘blanket’ prime the sprues before assembly.
Never been a fan of completing assembly of whole kits and then painting them. When I have dabbled with Blu-Tack as a linear mask in the past, its always left some kind of residue. I actually have some Vellejo Liquid Mask in my tool box. I’ve never used it, and after reading posts like this, probably never will - i’m deeply suspicious of these type of products.
For me there is no substitute for the good old fashioned prime and paint off the kit for sub-assemblies which are a different colour or have detail of a different colour to the base structure, even if this means painstaking masking (Tamiya masking tape) or using Quick Wheel masks (which are excellent)
Looking at the amount of primer on the road wheels, it looks to me like you accidentally created a shell that covered the whole wheel and removing the putty cracked that shell and pulled some extra primer off with it. You can see in the second pic how the wheel in the center has detail obscured by paint flooding.
Also, as Khouli commented above, it is not usual to paint in such a manner. Usually everything is primed first and then whatever base chosen is applied, and in the case of road wheels the rubber rims are painted next and the whole assembled as appropriate. You also run into the issue that the paint you put on the rubber parts hasn’t had the benefit of being applied to primer and so won’t have a good grip on its own. Even if you did decide to put it all together as you have, you would still primer all of it and then use circle masks to cover the wheels as you paint the rubber edges. And as mentioned, the primer is a bit aggressive on the putty as most of AK’s products are acrylic-based if I recall correctly.
I must also point out that the drive wheels in the front do not have black pads around the rim like that; the wheel is made of pressed steel components but those little roller things going around the rim like seats on a Ferris Wheel? Those are rubber rollers and are the part that should be painted as black/off-black.
I concur with @brekinapez , way, way too much primer, which formed a thick skin covering the putty. When the putty was removed, the primer skin held on to some of it. Also an awkward assembly/painting sequence. The base coat color should be complete before seat cushions, tires, and bogie rims are painted.
