The Ship Model Forum

PE can be a painful learning step and my suggestion is to have a lil nice, clean area with new blades, tweezers etc and practice as much as you can without paint or prime first. Get the cranes bent first and glued so that it looks decent and spray nice primer on after it dries for 12 -24 hrs later from super glue. The primer is best way to see how cool PE can be with spray vers/brush application. It will encourage you to take-on more PE and don't think I haven't screwed up many a 1/700 radar or yardarms that
are half diameter of kitten hair that seem to repel all surfaces of model but love to flip, slide, launch into carpet, sleeping dog fur, deep box of hardware junk ya knew should have been moved before UPS delivers the special kit you've been tracking for 8 days with the same look as the dog waiting for you to come home from work or hobby shop. I love my airbrush, love my brushes but the success is in the Tamiya tape and proper paints.

Well, I'm not really using anything except ladders and railing. Maybe I can get by with that. I appreciate the suggestion of painting while still on the fret. I can see how that would be easier with or without airbrush.

I handbrush my PE and while it can get a bit frustrating for fine grates and netting, it's not really a problem for railings and ladders. In both cases, I paint them while they're still on the fret. I then install them and if there's any visible shiny spots, touch them up afterwards.

Generally, I prime and airbrush my PE while they are still on their frets, and remove and shape them later. Of course some of the paint will chip off from handling and bending, but this is touched up by brush after glueing on the model.

There is a cheapish starter set for a badger 350 that runs about $80ish. It is a single action flimsy hose and comes wih a can of compressed air. But if you think you will be sticking with this I would recommend a dual action, a hose with a moisture trap and a compressor with a pressure regulator on it.

Airbrushing was the advice of one of the tutorials I found also. So, maybe I have to buy an airbrush. Thanks!

My brush painting sucks so that might be part of the problem I am about to describe. I noticed with thinks like railing and catwalk that it is easier to clog the spaces in between. I found airbrushing to be a much better way to go. Also I would suggest soaking the PE in vinegar for about 15 minutes. Similar to washing model parts to remove residue. I am no expert but these are tips I have gotten from places on these forums.

I tried searching this, but there are too many places where PE and paint are mentioned. I'm looking ahead to placing my PE rails and ladders. I found some good tutorials on bending and shaping, but there seems to be a number of opinions on painting. My plan is to paint the pieces with a brush, after installation for the rails and before installation for the ladders. Does that seem reasonable? PE scares me to death anyway. Thanks in advance.