How to Paint Gunpla! - A Beginner's Guide Pt.2: Spray Can Painting

Let's get to painting out Entry-Grade Lah Gundam and go over all the steps required for spray can painting!
Check out more Gunpla, paints, and supplies at USA Gundam Store!
www.usagundamstore.com/
Paint Station DIY Tutorial:
• D.I.Y. Paint Station! ...
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Thanks for watching!
00:00:00 Intro
00:00:34 Cleaning parts for painting
00:02:22 Which color surfacer?
00:06:21 What products to use?
00:07:54 Paint order planning
00:09:13 Clipping parts for painting
00:11:48 Safety while spraying
00:13:27 Spraying technique
00:15:14 After spraying
00:16:07 Masking
00:18:11 Wrap-up/ Troubleshooting

[@iamtrillahd]

One HUGE tip I recently discovered is: take all your smaller pieces, put them on alligator clips and into a foam or green brick, and SPRAY PAINT THEM ALL AT ONCE !!! You will save SO MUCH spray paint instead of doing it piece of piece. I literally did around 16 small pieces in less than 30 seconds with only a few sprays. This was a huge game changer for me because spraying piece by piece no matter how you do will fly through cans and cost you a lot of money.

[@jormungand72]

Its been a long time that I have watched your channel. Around 8 years or so. I remember when you uploaded your "how to build gunpla" videos that also covered this topic. And now we have come full circle for the new generation of scale model hobbyists to enjoy.

[@ZakuAurelius]

Indeed! Nice to rehash old content with a fresh take, but will be even better to also cover airbrushing in upcoming videos!

[@karl8933]

Please do hand brushing

[@jormungand72]

@@karl8933 Lincoln Wright is really good at hand brushing mecha

[@DZMaven]

As someone with expereince with spray canning it, a couple additional tips: 1. Mask your joints! May not be as important with the EG, but RGs, MGs, and PGs have tight tolerances in their joints and several plastic on plastic joints. With primer, paint, and top coats those joints can get sticky once assembled and will likely snap if you do any posing. It can be a PITA to mask but it'll be worth it avoid that pain down the line if you plan on posing your kit. 2. On painting outside, you forgot to mention the wind. Even a slight breeze can drastically shift the direction the paint goes when spraying. I've had sprays goes up, over, down and even back in my face in almost imperceptible breezes. Wear your mask, but consider eye protection too. Can't always avoid it but it's something to be aware of.

[@ZakuAurelius]

Yes! Both points I thought to include but decided to push to part 3!

[@zayarphyo7770]

How about HG kits should I mask the joints ball joints and the hip joint Which connects the two legs and the skirt Also can I airbrush the inner frame of ibo kits

[@DZMaven]

@@zayarphyo7770 I would still do and yes, airbrushing the frame should be fine.

[@DouglaZandem]

waiting for part 3

[@Geekeric]

I bought cat scratch pads to use as paint stick holders. They weren't too expensive and are luxuriously big. Love the video!

[@TheSolidMonki]

I just started this hobby back in January 2024, so I'm fairly new to this stuff. I really find your videos to be quite helpful, I am not in a place that works for an airbrush setup, so this is very great. I am looking forward to part 3. Thank you so much.

[@fantastiCkiLler92]

Ah, spray cans...bring back so much memories. I was using spray can before in my college life, man...those cans are expensive! I will add some tips to save you some troubles. - Stick more than one parts on the painting clips using blue tac or whatever you have when you paint if the parts are tiny. For example, the thruster bell. Don't spray it one by one, you're wasting the paint. - Mask all the expose pegs and joints, paint has thickness and you'll have trouble putting parts together after painting. - When you painting outside, be aware of the wind and check your parts again before spraying. The sand or dust might be sticking on parts, bring out some old brush...you might need it.

[@ronynyoda4567]

Thank you so much for this series! Anxiously awaiting Part 3.

[@neilwood5081]

I’ve watched tons of painting how to’s and this is the best beginner video on KZbin. Great video dude, this will help more people get into our awesome hobby.

[@keithgoh123]

Lmao the timing. I just finished spray can painting for the 1st time. Also my first time painting a kit. M1 Astray. Great Fun. Though if this video had came out a week earlier or I waited 1 more week before I began, a lot of mistakes could have been avoided.

[@HobbyWorksbyRani]

Touching on and showing the effect of various surfacers/ primers is very helpful zach! I love this video!

[@dorsk84]

To dry the model faster, and during the painting too, look into a dehydrator. Get one based on the size or amount of models you work on.

[@sheakone]

Yes! The episode Ive been waiting for!

[@ascensionindustries9631]

Thanks for metioning the humidity issuse. I almost completely screwed up my first painted kit using spraycans outside. Not a good idea during the summer in Georgia. Relocated to my cooler and much dryer basement to get away from the humidity and shifing winds that would ocassionaly blow the paint back on me.

[@johnchristian9933]

I know you have done these videos before but always appreciate it you going over it again very helpful thank you

[@seiya880]

Very informative stuff! I remember your videos from back in Korea where you painted parts with spray cans on your balcony :)

[@drakenguyen8649]

Thanks again for the series man, I’ve always wanted to try out spray cans but never knew how. Keep it up!

[@AndreaDoesYoga]

Amazing guide, my Gundam looks fantastic now! 🎨🤖

[@JuLVideos]

Another great tutorial! Instructive and accessible, "pro" but not boring. Thanks!

[@calvinj7496]

That different colored sufacer segment was very helpful. Thank you!

[@matthiasbruns8570]

I happily await the series covering the airbrush, hence I recently started my first painting project.

[@sooehn]

its nice that you're redoing this series. I think a lot of times people will prefer to watch a tutorial or video that is more recent than one that is 5 years old

[@treywiley5294]

Currently in the middle of spray can painting for the second time! Thanks for the tips

[@danielsingzonart]

Love this! I think one other thing worth mentioning when talking about masking is knowing which joints or pegs (or c-clips or connections) to mask before proceeding to the colors especially if you plan on layering a few. I had to learn this the hard way before haha finished everything just to realize some parts fit too tight when reassembling. sometimes it's easy to underestimate how even a "thin" coat of paint or primer adds to the parts.

[@RideIsOverMutie]

Rubbing alcohol (Isopropyl Alcohol) is good for stripping paint off of plastic safely and quickly. I use 99% rubbing alcohol personally.

[@SamRK-1000]

Awesome to hear that; I have 70% but that should probably work too right?

[@RideIsOverMutie]

@@SamRK-1000 It should work, I've used 99% to remove solvent based paints (Gaianotes/Mr color).

[@andrewtaylor940]

One more tip, that blew my mind for rattle can results when I first learned it. Warm your paint. Let your paint cans sit in a hot to the touch, but not burning, warm water bath, before using them. Shake them really well before spraying. The paint will flow better and give results much closer to an airbrush.

[@lylestratos6880]

How funny greta timing, just bought a airbrush set last week and bought some acrylic paints to use for it a few days ago

[@gianni9700]

Adding to my notes right now

[@GeorgeK340]

I like a more dim, a little darker color tone on my gunpla so I usually use grey or black primer.

[@supafryrice]

fantastic video, you're very well spoken!

[@ZakuAurelius]

Hah thanks! I try 😅

[@AzraelThanatos]

I would suggest an addition to things, along with the alligator clip skewers, to grab some of the paint mixing sticks of the type that hardware stores have for house paint or some cheap rulers from the dollar store of choice, add a layer of double sided tape to a flat side for some of the smaller detail pieces that will not have the back painted. It's just an easier and cheap thing to work with some parts that are a pain in the rear to have on alligator clips.

[@GaussIon]

For 2022's Battlogue contest I used an old pair of tweezers to hold the parts for painting and then used toothpicks in cardboard to hold the parts for drying, I've since bought clips lol

[@achaoPSG]

Thins I'll add about priming : Don't paint white over pink primer. It will give the white a pink hue that will be very hard to work around (will require multiple coats). I speak from experience. The best primer for a bright white ? White primer :D . Or grey at the very least. I would use the pin primer under : Red, Yellow, Blue, Green. Mainly colors that have a good "coverage". Thanks for the tutorial, very useful indeed !

[@vetrin1548]

"We don't make mistakes, we have happy accidents" - Bob Ross

[@coffeedudeguy]

A cheap second hand food dehydrator can be good for drying parts after washing and drying/curing after painting

[@OuroborosChoked]

Are you going to do a hand-painting series as well? :)

[@ZakuAurelius]

Hmmmmm possibly 😅

[@schemage2210]

Don't forget that the underside of parts can be visible at times. Sounds obvious but I have been caught out by this. Also, I highly recommend Vallejo spray paints. Often, colour and primer in one tin, great colours and dries flat. Not as cheap as Tamiya, and not quite as expansive a range, but less prone to bubbling. In my experience.

[@deejayleo44]

90% is prep and 10% is the paint job 😅... I've been using automotive paint all this time coz im painting and restoring cars for my day job but i still use mr hobby surfacers for primer😂.. its just the best for model kit..

[@romanov6420]

Hack on parts with pegs: You can cut their tip with a slight angle so it's easier to separate them later when snap fitting 👍

[@dwaynealberttgalicia3834]

i would love to see you make a video how to mix color lacquer and acrylic

[@Aserbic]

Ah, the guide I need.

[@pyrosinugami]

I have also seen people using red for tanks

[@danielsingzonart]

i heard it;s good for making the browns and greens pop out even more. also useful when chipping off for weathering--giving this rust underneath the paint effect

[@Dracobyte]

Let's goo!!

[@ZestyZaku]

This is much appreciated. I recently picked up airbrushing, and your tips can be applied to it. You ended on fixing a few common mistakes. Is there any interest in making a more in-depth video about fixing common mistakes? For example, you said sanding the paint down - does that mean waiting till your mistake drys, then sand it lightly for the paint to come off, then spray again? I figured it'd need to be washed and brushed a bit again. Also brings up the question on if spraying the mistake area to coat it would influence the areas that already have good paint coverage on it. I've read some people spray in patterns, wants to hear your input on that too. This stuff is fun and I can't wait to keep going. My first project is priming a hg zaku and painting it yellow. Knowing that I'll probably mess up and get that orange peel effect, he's gonna take photos next to a bowl of lemons.

[@lolprime]

Hello Zak! Hope you are having a wonderful day. I want to paint the molded gold of MGEX strike freedom. should I prime it before I use gold spray paint? Will I then have to top coat it before I panel line on top of the new gold? Any tips would be appreciated Thank you for your time :)

[@jiminboo]

I remember starting with spray cans then realizing how expensive it gets in the long run as opposed to airbrushing 🤓

[@cernunnos8344]

You still buy paint and the entry price is forbidding for a lot of people

[@TheSpongyMallard]

I’m going to be building my third kit, the Gundvolva HG. IMO, the colors are kinda boring, so I’m going to paint just some accents. This is kinda time consuming, but find a good picture of the built kit, then use some sort of art app to color in the parts you want to paint before even buying any paint. This way you can very easily change up the colors if you aren’t happy with your first idea that seemed good at the time.

[@rhen4short]

@ZakuAurelius, I'm planning to paint the purple parts of the MG 2.0 G3 Gundam from purple to dark gray, what color of surface primer would you recommend?

[@torifin755]

i wanna ask this since im going to do my first paint on my precious (and beloved) Master Grade GM Sniper II. and ive been avoiding the inner frame for this (Because i like the color already and worry that if i paint the frame that the interlapping parts would in turn get "glued" together refusing to move so ive only really have prepped the outer parts really well. but my question: will the parts be able to fit just right or will they be more hard to get back on?

[@alexandreluzpereira]

Do you have any plans to do a how to do scribing gunpla?

[@BLAZE084]

Are you going to make a sort of in between tutorial about decanting rattle cans? Or have you already done a video about this technique?

[@ZakuAurelius]

I’ve not done that! I vaguely know how to do it but it’s never seemed worth the effort for me

[@user-rq4jq4kh5t]

hello sir👋 i'm planning to top coat for the 1st time my pg freedom, is it okay to do it with my decals and sticker on it?

[@kennethjulia8581]

Do you need to top coat first your painted gunpla before panel lining?

[@OtherMomo]

Lmao I've never used primer when spraying with rattlecans. Tamiya paint sticks to bandai plastic pretty well if put on raw, but you do need to lay it on well or else the original color peeks thru too much

[@Ronc137]

Is there still a part 3 on the way?

[@DS91284]

Wow super helpful tip. Thanks.

[@pero02review47]

hi, i had one question. Does using Tamiya or hobby spray paint easily peal off like normal spray like Samurai brand? I had once used samurai spray paint on gunpla but it doesn't stick and easily peeled or scrubs. thanks.

[@RevanR]

Can we get air brush booth diy 2024 Zach?

[@littleggriffith7126]

I'm a big fan of Gundam

[@marcelocarneiro8410]

heyy, quick question, if the kit alredy has 1 major color, like the hg rgm79n custom, do i still need primer?

[@nickbentz4793]

Ive painted a lot of scale models, but none with moving parts (on gunpla's scale). How do you deal with joints/frame bits on bigger kits, like RG, MG, PG and the like?

[@kimchipunch]

I have an ultrasonic cleaner. how long can I leave the gunpla parts in there while they wash?

[@ben-cp4lz]

if im spray painting gunpla parts do i HAVE to use a primer? can you actually tell is if these things are necessary or not

[@dragoonzen]

highly recommend to break up the parts into label bags: Head, Body, Arms, Legs, Waist, Backpack, Weapons especially for more incredibly high parts number model kits so it makes it easier to put the kit back together after painting and you don't get frustrated trying to find parts...

[@Helblind]

Does surfacer/primer bond better to plastic than other paints?

[@andrewliang5401]

aside from cleaning, you would also take the kit apart prior to painting

[@Tronjheimr]

Do you have suggestions on hkw to separate MG kits for the painting? Worried I might break smaller/thin parts.

[@ZakuAurelius]

Carefully! Just take your time and I would recommend getting a part separator! Very handy tool

[@Tronjheimr]

@@ZakuAurelius Btw, you look a bit tired. Make sure you take care of yourself bro.

[@maryus786]

can we get a tutorial on panel lining... well can I mostly.

[@jorgeclarkson8286]

Pfft masking I'm a Warhammer painter I don't mask, just all by hand baby. (Joking aside masking is a totally valid technique and if you like doing it then that's great!)

[@embe9146]

I just got hip to surfacer 1000. It's gonna take a lot to get me away from it.

[@Coolek]

How to disassemble the model for painting? For me disassembling even one part is plenty hard.

[@Hadogei123456789]

Is part 3 coming out soon?

[@ZakuAurelius]

Yes’

[@vustvaleo8068]

still not sure using masking tape meant for painting actual cars as in the ones you drive on your plastic model kits is a good idea.

[@Perpskerp]

I am confused a little about something. You were cementing the parts together but then taking them back apart again. Did I miss something?

[@Pandemonium-zp2fg]

lose a part in the sink drain done it and not happy about it

[@John_Burner]

What does the number mean on the Mr. Primer Surfacer 1000?

[@ZakuAurelius]

That’s the grit! So 1000 is a higher grit (like sandpaper) compared to 1200 or 1500 which is usually called “finishing surfacer” because it’s the smoothest 👍

[@cernunnos8344]

Can you use acrylics with gunpla ?

[@ZakuAurelius]

Yes!

[@Leescreativeart]

I’m like 777!!!!!!! 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉

[@OtherMomo]

Finally, it's been a thousand years

[@MikeTheGamer77]

use a salad spinner.

[@argoth231]

Mask the pegs. Paint build up can make It difficult to assemble.

[@Ben10LookinAss]

Mann who cares about spray cans. Do the airbrush one already

[@PhilReotardo]

is it bad if i build sections like legs, arms, head, torso, THEN I wash them? I just bought my first 2 kits, I tried washing all the pieces broken down on the first one, and it went good, on the second one I built it in limb sections and then washed it with dish soap and water. I am not painting but i plan to panel line and top coat. is there any negatives to doing what i did? I feel like washing it built in limbs has been fine for the one i did it with.