Topic: First custom paint job... Need advice

[Jakartha]

  Hey all, I have an Obi Wan starfighter I picked up at a yard sale for a few bucks and I'd like to give a custom paint job. I've never tried one before though, so I'd love to get some tips. I was just going to get some spraypaints and model tape... but I don't know if it's the right way to go about it. Does the current paint need to be stripped off of it or would be ok to just apply? Anything you guys can offer would be greatly appreciated! 

[JDeck]

   I'm no expert by any means. What I do is spray paint the vehicle either Tamiya matte black or Tamiya flat German grey first then paint the main color. That does two things, it covers the old paint and makes it a uniformed color. It also gives the vehicle a pre shadow effect. You can make some parts darker for a weathering effect by spraying the top coat thinly, and it will make the panel lines dark without black washing. I've done this on the prepainted Revell kits, I've never had any problems. I've heard of people stripping off the old paint, but I never have. That's just my two cents. Good luck.

[Jakartha]

Sounds like a plan to me. Much appreciated Jdeck. I don't know that I'm feeling adventurous enough to try for the weathered effect,  although it does sound cool… And ya, I'm definitely not up for stripping the paint so this sounds like a great approach.  Thx again

[JDeck]

  No problem bud. Just as a reminder, make sure the surface is clean of oils. Its best to use Dish soap, water and a toothbrush. You probably already know but its worth noting. Also spray multiple thin coats in a sweeping motion. Let it dry between coats, doesn't take long. That way you don't get runs or the paint doesn't bulk up.

[Jakartha]

 Thx again. I was in the process of dismantling in preparation of cleaning, but ran into a hitch. The wing struts have a metal pin holding them in place. One of the sides refuses to budge. Put some oil over the sides but nothing. I suppose I can try and paint around it if I have to, it's just going to be inconvenient is all.

[JDeck]

You know I wouldn't bother dismantling the whole thing. I would just remove the canopy, the landing gear, the R2 unit, meybe the engines. The airfoils if its impossible to remove, I'd just paint it in the open position. Then you can close them and  touch up the bare spot. As long as you paint thin coats, it won't gum up the joints. Anything you don't want painted can be masked off, like the front window or the R2 if you can't remove it.

[Jakartha]

 It looks like that'll be the way I'm going. I'm just working with photoshop to play with color configurations before I get started