Filling light leaks

Hey all, I was wanted to get everyone take on what is the best way to fill light leaks when doing lighting on plastic models ?

To block light Ive use aluminium foil. I also use that black car underbody tar spray too. It goes on quite thick and light doesn't pass through it. I've had a situation when I was building a nuBattlestar Galactica ship and had the rear engine pods all glued together and forgot to light block the insides. I got the black tar underbody spray and put one of those little straw attachments that you normally get with a can of wd40 or any antisieze spray and plugged it it the end of the nozzle. Squirted it right in there. Had to do it a few times until I got it good as I had no control of where the spray was going.

Both of the above mentioned methods are great for blocking light. Aluminum foil will block better than anything else, but is sometimes a pain to get in the way it is supposed to be and chances are there will be a crack somewhere that you won't see until you light it up that you will have to correct.

Tar spray is also good, but it can get a bit messy if you are not careful and because it is black it will absorb some of your light unless you put a coat of white on top of it.

90% of the time I use a cheap aluminum color spray paint. You have to make sure that that you buy one that has metal flakes in it, but I have had very good experience with it. I very seldom have to put a second coat and although it is not white, it does a fairly good job of dispersing light inside the model so that you dont get any indirect hotspots. The only draw back that I have seen (at least with the brand that I buy) is that sometimes even after it has dried, it tends to rub off a bit. Not enough to allow light through mind you, but enough to get color on your hands if you handle it too much. If I am casting, I sometimes spray it onto the silicone first and let the resin cure to the paint as opposed to spraying it on and letting the paint cure to the finished resin form. This way it actually becomes a part of the piece and is practically impossible to scratch it. Often I do this as well with primer for the outside of the piece. It makes things a bit more complicated and it can also make a mess but you just can't get a better bond.

We used to spray the insides of models with silver followed by black spray paint to block light leaks, and that does a lot to do away with the shell glowing.

But! My favorite these days is aluminum tape. You can buy it in 2" to 4" wide rolls from home improvement stores. It is used for sealing air ducts and such.
It aint cheap, but it works the best!

A good coat of metallic spray paint or foil tape. I do a lot of architectural models with lighting and we use both to block out light leaks.

of course it depends what type of effect a guy is going for, but I avoid black to block light. If I am forced to use black to light block a model, then I put another coat of white on top of it. Black absorbs alot of your light inside the model and it prevents the light from reflecting back and forth within the model. this reflecting is necessary if you have a lot of corners (or cables) inside. Lighting a large area that is light blocked with black can cause windows farther away from the light source to be a fraction darker than ones closer. One might think that the mirrored side of Aluminum foil is good for reflecting but it isn't, I do not use aluminum often but if I do, I use the matt side of it facing the light source. You also do not want a glossy paint. The very best is a flat white.

Where possible, I line with aluminum foil and paint the inside of the foil flat white. Seems to work good.

--Alex

Gray primer both sides. White afterwards on the inside. Spreads the light better than silver. For gaps putty. I use red spot putty, squadron and for the big stuff Apoxy. For the little ones that still show, tulip raised fabric paint. Works good for weld lines and rivets too.
I've used. Black primer, silver and aluminum but have found a few coats of gray primer works just as well followed by the white for defusing and despersing the light.
steve

Thanks all for the suggestions , Im currently working on a 1/350 enterprise and am doing the saucer and neck portion at the moment and look forward to using some of these tips. I will post up some photos shortly if anyone is interested

The Rinzler said:

Thanks all for the suggestions , Im currently working on a 1/350 enterprise and am doing the saucer and neck portion at the moment and look forward to using some of these tips. I will post up some photos shortly if anyone is interested

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Glad to have been of help Rinzler, and welcome to the RPF! I will be looking forward to seeing your Work In Progress thread, I never get tired of seeing another build of ol' girl. The 350 is a really nice kit, I have one that is on the shelf waiting its turn to be put together. Are you planning on lighting it up? If you do not have them already I can really recommend getting the aftermarket PE kits as well as some aftermarket shuttles. Although, I will be painting mine with luminescent paint panel for panel, I bought the the aztec decals from Acreation and have to admit they are fantastic.