Painting Basic’s
    Glad you all stuck around to date. But I have to warn you, if you thought all the tools and gadgets you needed to build Garage Kits was something, well, get prepared for overload! This section on Painting Basics will focus on what tools you will need to get started painting these little beauties. So sit back, strap yourself in, and get ready to see the ducats fly from your wallet! This is where the fun REALLY begins!

  
 

   Primer: The primer that you MUST use on Garage Kits, be it vinyl or resin, is a lacquer based sandable type. Primer has a two-fold use with Garage Kits. First off, the resin used to make Garage Kits does not let paint adhere to it well. If you were to paint straight onto the kit, more than likely the paint will flake off with only minor handling. Spraying primer onto the kit will give the paint something to “bite” and adhere to, making it less prone to flaking off. Secondly, after you have your kit all built and cleaned, priming the kit will bring out any small defects that you may have missed and allow you to correct them before painting, leaving you with a perfect build-up.

   There are a number of different brands of primer out there to choose from: Plasticote auto primer, Armory, FloQuil, and Mr. Surfacer from Japan. My favorite is good old Krylon brand. It’s inexpensive, comes in five different colors (which is actually pretty important depending on what you’re painting), and is available just about everywhere. I prefer the white when I am painting a lot of flesh or going to use transparent paints, black for kits that I will be doing a lot of dry-brushing (don’t worry we’ll go over the techniques at a later date), the rust color for ground bases or kits that will use a lot of earth tones, and the light and dark gray ones for general kit work.

   To prime your kit, follow the directions on the can. Mist the primer onto the kit from about 12 inches away to get a smooth, even coat all over. Let the primer cure for 24 hours, and you’re all set.
 
   Brushes: If you’re anything like me, you’re going to end up with enough brushes to paint a house. After many, MANY years in the hobby, I’ve been able to narrow the amount down to several thousand different ones. Got ya scared there, didn’t I? I’ll readily admit that I do have an art supply store full of brushes, but what I’m going to focus on here are the ones that I use the most. Your mileage may vary. But this will be a good starting point.

   You are going to want a brush that feels comfortable in your hand, holds up to abuse, can hold its shape, and does the job that you need it to do. The latter two functions are the most important. In the long run you will probably find some brushes on your own that fit your style of painting kits, so with that in mind I’m just going to tell you of some of the basic ones that I prefer and let you take it from there.

  You will need at least three “rounds” and thee “flats” in various sizes. For the flats I like the Loew-Cornell 797-F Flat stain brush in the 4, 2, and 1 size. You’ll find other comparable brushes, but the size and width of the bristles on the brush is what I’m trying to show here. For the rounds I tend to stick with smaller sizes since I primarily use them for detail work. The largest size round I use is a 2, but I go all the way down to a 10/0 for some of the serious detail work. Find the ones that YOU are comfortable with, and don’t be afraid to experiment.
    All brushes are made with either synthetic or natural fibers. I have both kinds, and each has their place. It’ll be up to you to find which ones fit your needs.
 

Specialty Brushes: As with all tools, it takes a certain type to do a certain job. The same holds true for painting kits.

The Stippling Brush: This is used to create textured effects on stone, groundwork, bricks, and various base related items. I wouldn’t go crazy buying up a bunch of these. I have one, and that’s all I’ve ever needed for everything in that regard.		   Angle Brushes: These are basically flats that are cut on the bias. I know some guys who prefer these to flats. I have a few, and at times the angled edge makes it easier to get into recessed detail that I can’t get at using a flat. But that’s the exception, not the rule.
   Dry Brush Brushes: A hobby related company by the name of Micro Mark came out with a set of Dry Brush Brushes in four different sizes about four or five years ago. As you will find out later, dry brushing is a technique where you remove most of the paint from your brush and gently paint onto the highest points of your kit for texture/highlights or to show wear on clothing. I’d be a bold faced liar if I didn’t say that I LOVE these brushes! Granted, they’re a specialty brush, but they are just about foolproof for dry brushing and applying pastels on your kits. The set costs about $24.00, but I NEVER have less than three sets at home at all times. If I were to hear that they are being discontinued, I’d buy up every one they have in stock and never look back. They’re that damn good!
 

Brush Care: Brushes can be a pretty big investment – nothing like if you would buy an airbrush, but those $3.00-$5.00 brushes add up after a while! So it’s a good idea to maintain them properly.

NEVER load paint onto your brush past a ¼ of the way down the bristles. Sure, we all do it by accident every now and then, but that’s basically a waste of paint, and it ends up drying in a clump, damaging the lay of the bristles. Specifically, do NOT load paint down to the metal wrap. If paint dries up and clogs down there, it’s not all that easy to get out and will separate the bristles, leaving you with a powder puff.    
ALWAYS clean your brushes between colors and before putting them away at the end of a painting session. If you don’t, the next day you’ll find the paint dried into a little rock, basically destroying any shape the brush originally had.  
Maintaining the shape at the tip of the brush is IMPORTANT, especially with round detail brushes. These smaller brushes will be used for detail work like lips, eyes, eyelids, pupils, finger and toe nails, thin areas where clothing comes in contact with the skin, small jewelry, buttons on clothing, teeth, and what have you. There is nothing worse than doing this type of detail work and having a stray wild fiber pop out and ruin your work. So make sure after you clean the brush to GENTLY reshape the head by dragging it on the paper towel in the direction the bristles go when drying. It doesn’t hurt to leave the bristles a little damp ether.
 

The Cheap Stuff: Just like with tools needed to build the kit, there are some basic household items that you can get to help out in the painting department.

Sea Sponges: You can find these in most any supermarket. They are used basically for texture effects on bases and to get a marble effect on tombstones and coffins or the like. Just dab on the paint and dab off the excess.

Paper Plates: Who needs some fancy schmancy pallet to put your paint on or to mix colors? A coated paper plate will do the exact same thing for next to nothing in cost!

Paper Towels: Easiest thing to find around the house to clean brushes, remove excess paint for dry brushing, and clean up spills. Get the cheap no-name brand.

Paint Thinner/Brush Cleaner:
Don’t waste your time and money on those expensive brands in the art supply stores. Get yourself a gallon jug of windshield wiper fluid from the grocery store for $1.29. Does the exact same thing! Run out of thinner while you’re at home modeling? Grab that bottle of rubbing alcohol you have stashed in the bathroom and make a 50/50 mix with tap water. Does the trick!

  
  Well, that about wraps up this lesson, kiddies. By now you should have all that you’ll need to build the kits and the brushes to start painting them. But next time around we’re gonna hit the BIG money suckers and the light at the end of the tunnel . . . PAINTS! If you thought there were a lot of different brushes to choose from, well, just let me say you’re in for a world of hurt!

Til next time . . .