"Paint and matte sprays over gloss spray paints..." Topic

I like to use cheap walmart spray paints for basecoats. I use alot of the flat white, black, tan and red primers/paints and have gotten good results. Lately, I've been looking at some of the gloss colors out there.

If I basecoat with a gloss spray paint, will it make it harder to paint the details on top?

Also, will a matte spray finish adequately remove the shine?

Depends on what paint you use. I think for most paints, as long as you don't thin them too much, it should be OK.

I glosscote all my figures after painting, then dullcote, and don't have any problems with it.

The other advantage is if you use waterslide decals, the gloss paint will help with that.

Damon.

Some paints, even within a single range, do not "grab" a gloss primer coat very well.

I was reminded of this by a recent project in which I used an interim gloss coat of Future acrylic--specifically to apply transfers, as Damon suggests--and then went baclk over spots with paint. Some Vallejo (VMC) colors went over it with no problems; others tended to want to slide off the gloss surface.

I would tend to avoid gloss primers on general principles. But if you try it and it works for you, great.

Allen

It will be harder for paint to stick to a glossy surface. A matt spray will definitely remove the glossy finish. You will have to experiment some.

I used a satin finish for the base color on this airplane and then gave it a coat of dullcote.

link

I believe it was a Rustoleum brand. I really did not have any issues using this technique and I will be doing it again.

Mike

As well as the non-stick issue, the other problem I found with a gloss base coat was that the surface detail was much harder to see while you are painting due to the reflectiveness of the gloss surface.

three reasons for a gloss coat,
1) to accept decals
2) protective coat
3) accept washes easier.

In all cases you'll need a Matt coat after!
If you dont want them for 1,2,3 and have the matt option dont use gloss! unless of course your subject is a gloss finish!

You can use the gloss colors, but paint will not stick as well as the gloss coat has very little tooth for the paint to grab onto when it dries. This makes rubbing and handling cause wear spots much easier than over a matte color. After you have finished the model, a gloss coat provides good protection, but no more protection than a good matte finish, with the exception that anything that gets on the figure is more easily removed from a gloss coat.

Thanks for the input folks. I think I'll stick to matte and flat undercoats, and possibly experiement with satin. I had a feeling that a true gloss might not be a great painiting surface, but it's good to not have to find out for myself.