The "I'm painting a Captain America Shield" thread

[metalzeus]

about how many cans of spray paint does it take for a single shield? i'm gearing up to do mine in the next weekend or so... just have to strip the paint off first, but i don't want to run out of paint when i'm in the middle of spraying.

Not even one can of each,you will have plenty of extra paint left with just one can of blue and red.

 

[MandoMan531]

Thanks for the tips Valor & Chris! Got my star attached, not 100% flush but very close. Now onto painting...

Yesterday I tried the Testors blue, but I put it on a little too heavy. So I stripped today it and gave the Duplicolor a try, which applied easier for me but the color seems way too opaque. I feel like I want to go back to the Testors... How are you guys applying these? Doing one wet coat with the Testors on my test piece looked great, but on the larger area it's too easy to get runs, which is exactly what happened. I was thinking of trying to buff the Duplicolor blue to see if it makes it a bit more transparent. However I think I'll just start over.

 

[metalzeus]

guys after you put the clear coat( i already finished one can of clear gloss,going to put a second one)Do you buffed it to bring out the shine?It still looks dull a bit.I Clear coated then after it dried i sprayed it with water and wet sanded with 2000 grit and then clear coated again.

 

[ironman42]

Love the kids shields! I hope they "really" get how awesome that is lol.

 

[Kevin Gossett]

guys after you put the clear coat( i already finished one can of clear gloss,going to put a second one)Do you buffed it to bring out the shine?It still looks dull a bit.I Clear coated then after it dried i sprayed it with water and wet sanded with 2000 grit and then clear coated again.

You used a full can and you're doing a second? Is that not overkill?

 

[metalzeus]

i guess i should buff it first to see how it turns out?

 

[Chris Fields]

Thanks for the tips Valor & Chris! Got my star attached, not 100% flush but very close. Now onto painting...

Yesterday I tried the Testors blue, but I put it on a little too heavy. So I stripped today it and gave the Duplicolor a try, which applied easier for me but the color seems way too opaque. I feel like I want to go back to the Testors... How are you guys applying these? Doing one wet coat with the Testors on my test piece looked great, but on the larger area it's too easy to get runs, which is exactly what happened. I was thinking of trying to buff the Duplicolor blue to see if it makes it a bit more transparent. However I think I'll just start over.

Make sure to shake the testors well, and maybe even heat up the cans in hot water if need be. I've never had any runs with the testors. Light coats, multiple coats, always works fine. If you are getting runs, you are putting on coats way too heavy

 

[MandoMan531]

Here's the Duplicolor after drying overnight. The transparency looks a bit better now, I'll probably do it again though as there are a few small imperfections, a few small dots stuck (possibly paint spots) in the paint.

 

[bjall4jc]

Mandoman that looks great man. Keep up the good work!

 

[MandoMan531]

Color looks really great here.

Mandoman that looks great man. Keep up the good work!

Thanks man! From most angles the Duplicolor blue looks quite good, I actually think I may prefer it to the lighter shade of the Testors. It still has some imperfections and a couple tiny, tiny things stuck in the paint which I'd like to correct, but I don't really have an area to paint that doesn't have airborne particles. I'll probably strip it again (and again), maybe try the Testors blue again even though I like the darker blue. The red is a different story, I'm almost certain I like the Testors red more.

Another thing I'm slightly concerned about is clearcoat. I want to use satin, but how much will it cut down on the transparency, and how much will it darken the colors?

 

[drakeprimeone]

Color looks really great here.
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f...28E0CAE-2329-0000052D4CA23E9E_zpsf5185574.jpg


Thanks man! From most angles the Duplicolor blue looks quite good, I actually think I may prefer it to the lighter shade of the Testors. It still has some imperfections and a couple tiny, tiny things stuck in the paint which I'd like to correct, but I don't really have an area to paint that doesn't have airborne particles. I'll probably strip it again (and again), maybe try the Testors blue again even though I like the darker blue. The red is a different story, I'm almost certain I like the Testors red more.

Another thing I'm slightly concerned about is clearcoat. I want to use satin, but how much will it cut down on the transparency, and how much will it darken the colors?

http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f...9267293-2329-00000549D95BB939_zps0db4fd32.jpg

That looks awesome man. The paint job looks very clean. You are only one red ring away from cap shield goodness!

 

[PraeTac]

That's a wicked project

 

[Chris Fields]

Color looks really great here.
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f...28E0CAE-2329-0000052D4CA23E9E_zpsf5185574.jpg

Thanks man! From most angles the Duplicolor blue looks quite good, I actually think I may prefer it to the lighter shade of the Testors. It still has some imperfections and a couple tiny, tiny things stuck in the paint which I'd like to correct, but I don't really have an area to paint that doesn't have airborne particles. I'll probably strip it again (and again), maybe try the Testors blue again even though I like the darker blue. The red is a different story, I'm almost certain I like the Testors red more.

Another thing I'm slightly concerned about is clearcoat. I want to use satin, but how much will it cut down on the transparency, and how much will it darken the colors?

http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f...9267293-2329-00000549D95BB939_zps0db4fd32.jpg

Looking good! I recommend painting before you put the star on next time though. It's funny that your blue testors came out lighter than the duplicolor... I had the opposite experience, the blue testors that I used was actually darker than the dupicolor. Don't worry about the clear coat, use the testors semi gloss gloss coat laquer and it comes out great. Clear coat will not effect the transparency of the blues and reds, but will actually make them pop better.

 

[MandoMan531]

Looking good! I recommend painting before you put the star on next time though. It's funny that your blue testors came out lighter than the duplicolor... I had the opposite experience, the blue testors that I used was actually darker than the dupicolor. Don't worry about the clear coat, use the testors semi gloss gloss coat laquer and it comes out great. Clear coat will not effect the transparency of the blues and reds, but will actually make them pop better.

Thanks! Yea the Testors blue looked a bit lighter to my eye. Definitely more transparent though. In hindsight I wish I had waited to attach the star until after painting. I'll have to see if my local hobby shop had the Testors SemiGloss, I tried some Krylon Acrylic Satin over the Testors on my test piece last night and it didn't look very good to me, Stripped it and painted the Duplicolor on it, so I'll probably try the satin on that tonight to see how it looks.

 

[Chris Fields]

Yeah, the testors semigloss GlossCoat is very common at hobby shops apparently. They should have it. Make sure it's the GlossCoat laquer though as testor has many semi gloss clear coats.

 

[metalzeus]

Ater you put your clear coat do you buff it to bring out the shine?

 

[MandoMan531]

I don't think I'll be buffing. I don't want a super glossy look. However if you're painting it gloss/high gloss, buffing will definitely make a difference.

 

[batmanrz]

Hey all,

I thinking of making my own shield, and I was wondering after the paint job is all done with the clear coat, how easily is it scratched? Would putting it on a cement floor scratch the paint?

 

[MandoMan531]

Okay so I redid the blue and got it Looking good enough for me. Painted the outermost red ring and while it looks great from head on, at an angle the paint looks uneven, should I be worried about this or will clearcoat help with that?

 

[vividfury]

I need to clear coat the bare metal ring on my shield. I tried VHT Quick Coat on my previous shield, but it gave it a slightly satin finish. I'm looking for a clear coat that will retain that shiny, polished metal look. Any suggestions? Thanks!