Hello Fellow Tankers !!! I need some advice. I just finished painting my 1:9 scale Abrams with Model Master Spray Enamel (Modern Desert). I like the look and I believe the color is better (closer according to some) than the alternatives. Anyway, I want to use an enamel oil for a filter or two, and then for a final wash. Colors not yet decided, but definitely darker. What can I use as a sealer for the enamel topcoat? Can't be acrylic because supposedly it will destroy the enamel paint, but I read somewhere that oil enamel washes can be used over an oil enamel base coat if "sealed" with an acrylic clearcoat. Is it the acrylic thinner (Tamiya) that will destroy the enamel base coat? If thats the case, why won't regular acrylic paint do the same thing? Ingredients are pretty much the same - just different amounts, and an acrylic is an acrylic, etc, etc, etc. Right ??? Any help will be greatly appreciated !!! Thanks.

One of the best resources for armor painting, visit here for some help:

http://www.naritafamily.com/howto/paint.htm

http://www.naritafamily.com/Scalemod...hoto_frame.htm

Enjoy

What do they mean by (in the case of acrylic paints), "easy fingerprinting" (as a cons)?

Will the paint be easily "fingerprinted" when touching the model, even once the pain has dried?

You can use Acrylic sealers over enamels, and vice versa, as long as you make sure that the paint are completely dry before you apply the sealer.

I usually use an acrylic sealer prior to doing oil washing, because it's harder for the paint thinner to eat through the acrylic sealer.

Here's a pic of my WIP Pershing. I think I've done like...4-5 oil washes on it, in various degrees. Didn't have any problems with the paint thinner eating through the acrylic sealer.

Great weathering googley. When I painted my HL Tiger figure, I used oil based paint and had trouble with the paint staying sticky,even after if had time to dry. I think it had something to do with what HL used to make their figures. It shows finger prints and collects lint badly. Im planning on spraying the figure with some flat and se if that helps.

should have sprayed surface primers before you paint them, they are good to make paint stick on stubborn surfaces.

I did spray the figure first.

Did you paint the fittings (hatches, levers, etc.) BEFORE glueing to the hull?

If so, how do you glue the fittings on the hull once it is covered in paint?

I glued everything first on the tank, then paint them. The only thing I didn't glue to the tank prior to painting are the tools, spare tracks, etc.

And if I need to glue things on the tank after painting, I simply glue them directly on to the paint. Even a small dab of glue is enough to hold everything in place. It's not as super-strong bond as a plastic-to-plastic bonding, but from my experience, gluing directly to the paint is more than enough to hold things in place.

In fact, there were times when I'm about to repaint a tank, that I sometimes have trouble removing some tools, even though I simply glued them directly on top of the paint.