Hello everyone Been thinking about getting some of my other engines into UP paint to match the rest of my fleet. My question is, do you paint grey or yellow first? i think if i use testors primer paint and then mask that and paint Yellow it would work pretty well. so which comes first?
IMHO, I would do three coats. Primer gray, UP Armor Yellow, then UP Harbor Mist (or Dark) gray. I think the UP Harbor Mist Gray is too dark for a primer. I am more familiar with Espee colors. I think Espee Lark Dark Gray and Espee Lark Light Gray are both too dark for a primer. I would use Espee Lettering Gray for a primer substitute. If you can find these colors, you can see the relative differences I am referencing. Check Testor's website for relative differences. [edit] I am using acrylics. You didn't mention a preference?
use byods white primer from testors or your yellow will look muddy over gray primer http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXHL83
Use a primer. Without a primer, it may not matter: if you put the gray on first, it serves as the primer for the yellow. But generally work light to dark. Sometimes the topography makes dark to light easier: on my model ships it is sometimes easier to paint the dark deck first, then mask it and paint the hull. Probably uses a bit more paint, but saves time and may lead to a sharper line.
Uncle Pete is an easy answer. You get the best of both worlds in that you can shoot the yellow first and then do the gray which is easier to mask for better results. Don't listen to old wives tales on the lightest to darkest color stuff. I am a true pro at this and do 200 plus models a year. The answer ALWAYS lies in which is the easiest to mask. That is what you paint first. Paint if properly applied is very very thin. If push comes to shove and you have an unusual situation where a second ( or third ) color will not cover well. Revert back to a light primer base after masking and before shooting the color. I can really only think of maybe 3 or 4 colors I have used which just react so poorly to what is underneath it that simply applying the colors in order of easiest to mask is the way this is done. Generally speaking the way to determine the easiest to mask is work from the center out. Didn't get this by listening to rumors or experimenting on my own although years of using this technique proves it is correct for sharp edge lines. This was taught to me by a great auto body custom painter who has done work that would blow any of our socks off. Scale is irrelevant in all this. Paint is paint. To achieve the best line edges you need to be applying each successive in a very precise manner. This is pretty much without exception work from the center color out.
