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Painting Figures with Oil-Colors

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Jürgen Pettke

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Sep 5, 1999, 3:00:00 AM9/5/99
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Hi there

i'm a german modeller (planes 1/48, 1/32 and tanks 1/35). i want to paint
the faces of my pilots and tank drivers with oil-colors. But i have one
problem: the colors don't dry. What can I do ?

CU
Jay

Steve Filak, Sr.

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Sep 5, 1999, 3:00:00 AM9/5/99
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Jürgen Pettke <jay...@t-online.de> wrote in message
news:7qt8gp$l6o$1...@news07.btx.dtag.de...

Hi Jay-

Without actually being able to see what you're doing, I'm assuming that
you're painting the oil colors on directly over the plastic. Oil paints
applied in this fashion won't dry (and they won't stick to the plastic very
well, either). The first thing you need to do is to use a flat white or
flat sand undercoat to give the oil paints something to grab on
to(preferably acrylic, as the oil paints won't lift it after it dries).
Once you've applied the undercoat to all of the skin areas, you can proceed
with the oil paints.

If you've applied an undercoat, and the oils are still not drying, you could
either apply a
*little* heat by placing the figure near a light bulb for a while, or you
could also try mixing a small amount of Japan Dryer with your paints. Japan
Dryer is used to accelerate the drying time of oil paints.

Remember, though, oil paints are favored by figure modelers because of their
long drying time, which gives you more time to work on the figure and blend
the colors to your liking. They generally won't be completely dry for a
couple of days, so use care in handling them after painting. I usually wait
about a week or so, then apply a clear coat over the oil-painted areas.

Hope this helps!

Steve Filak, Sr.= RLWDH
Guardian of Temple Northeast
and Keeper of the Fountain of Useless Knowledge
Contributor-Internet Modeler Magazine
http://www.internetmodeler.com
>
>

William H. Shuey

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Sep 5, 1999, 3:00:00 AM9/5/99
to Steve Filak, Sr.
Steve Filak, Sr. wrote:
>
> Jürgen Pettke <jay...@t-online.de> wrote in message
> news:7qt8gp$l6o$1...@news07.btx.dtag.de..
> >Steve:

This Gent might also try putting the figure in a de-hydrator if
he has one. They aren't very widely used here in the U.S. but I
understand they are very popular in Europe so maybe he has one.

Bill Shuey

mcpete

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Sep 5, 1999, 3:00:00 AM9/5/99
to Jürgen Pettke
Jürgen Pettke wrote:

> Hi there
>
> i'm a german modeller (planes 1/48, 1/32 and tanks 1/35). i want to
> paint
> the faces of my pilots and tank drivers with oil-colors. But i have
> one
> problem: the colors don't dry. What can I do ?
>
> CU
> Jay

Wie gehts Jurgen:

You might try:

1. Baking in a very low temperature oven.

2. Getting what we call overhere a crock-pot or slow electric
cooker. I know they're common in the UK but don't know about Germany.

3. Make your own figure-baking oven out of a box lined with
aluminum foil and a low temperature light bulb.

In all three cases use the lowest heat setting and keep an eye on your
figure. You might try a test using scrap or an unwanted figure to
determine just how long you should bake the figures.

good luck:

Jim


CSRZ28

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Sep 6, 1999, 3:00:00 AM9/6/99
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From Jay:>i'm a german modeller (planes 1/48, 1/32 and tanks 1/35). i want to

paint
>the faces of my pilots and tank drivers with oil-colors. But i have one
>problem: the colors don't dry. What can I do ?
If you are referring to artists oils, they do take much longer to dry than
bottled paints, even longer if you use an extender like linseed oil. These
steps below are what I follow when I paint figures using artist oils
1. Wash them in dish soap to remove all sanding and mold release agent.
2. Priming them will help
3. Adding thinner to the paint will help it dry quicker.(even though I also use
an extender)
4. Placing them in a dryer (not the clothes type) will speed the process. An
enclosed space, like an aquarium, with a 75-90 Watt lamp inside will do.
Drying time still varies, sometimes up to a week. Plan ahead :-}
Chuck Ryan

Rick and Janine Bennett

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Sep 6, 1999, 3:00:00 AM9/6/99
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> >the faces of my pilots and tank drivers with oil-colors. But i have one
> >problem: the colors don't dry. What can I do ?


At your local art store you will find a substance known as cobalt dryer. It
is a dark purple liquid that you add to the oil paint. It accelerates the
drying process and will not cause cracking and checking as Japan dryer will.
Add about one drop to a pea sized dollop of paint. Your oil paints will
then surface dry in about 1 to 2 hours (even whites and greens).

Rick

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