The Little World

If you think time spent in a dentist’s waiting room is difficult, try waiting for a paint coat or decal application to set. You know that you should leave the model undisturbed…but you can barely resist the desire to try the next operation or apply the next coat.

I was like this when made my ill-fated Corsair, and the memory of the mess has inspired me to write a schedule of drying times for different paint coats.

a. Lacquer-based spray can – still air at room temperature for two hours.

b. Lacquer-based airbrush – coloured – still air at room temperature for an hour.

c. Lacquer-based airbrush – clear coat – still air at room temperature for two hours.

d. Water-based acrylic brush – room temperature for six hours.

e. Water-based acrylic airbrush – room temperature for four hours.

f. Enamel paints airbrush – 1-2 days at room temperature.

The use of a heated curing box can reduce the above times by 1/4 but still leave some coats soft. If in doubt, put the job away for a day and go about some other task.

In none of these cases should you try to spray a complete wet finish coat in one go – do at least two coats, and preferably three.

Unfortunately the appearance of a dried coat and the actual complete drying down through the paint or varnish can be two separate things. Give it time. If that means working on several models at once to get something in progress all the time, pull up your big girl panties and just get on with it.

Hint: Takeaway plastic containers from the local Chinese restaurant washed thoroughly and used to organise the various models is a great idea – even if you are called a way for a week, the parts you’ve already done can be sealed away and you won’t lose them for the next working session.