[Watchmaking] EP.9 Painting a watch dial - Lacquer Paints

The most readily available lacquer paints for airbrushing are modeling paints. If you go to a modeling hobby store, you can find paints sold by Mr.hobby, Tamiya, and other modelling companies. (FYI, Mr.Color from Mr.hobby, which are described as solvent-based acrylic paints, are lacquer paints.) They come in a wide variety of colors, so you should be able to find almost any color you want. If you don't find the color you want, you can mix them up. The bottles are small and cheap, so you can try different colors.


Primers

While the automotive spray paint in the previous post (link) adheres well to metal surfaces, this modeling lacquer paint does not adhere well to metal, so I recommend using a primer. It's important to note that many modeling primers are only intended for use on plastic surfaces, so be sure to read the instructions carefully.

I used multi-purpose primer, which is a primer designed for use on metal or resin surfaces.

Spray the primer on and wet-sand with fine sandpaper to level the surface.



Lacquer paint

Paints are categorized as glossy, semi-gloss, and matte. Some paints are metallic, with a metallic texture, while others are transparent candy paints. There are even glow-in-the-dark paints, like this one. (I'll talk more about this glow-in-the-dark paints later when talking about making a full-lume watch dial).

Modelling lacquer paint usually comes in a little glass bottle like this.


Lacquer paint needs to be thinned with thinner, which you can do by pouring the paint onto a silver plate and mixing it with thinner, but that's a bit too much work, so I usually just mix the paint and thinner in an empty bottle. I sometimes add a glass bead or two to help mix the contents.


There's a difference between the color of the paint in the bottle and the actual color you'll get, so it's helpful to spray the color on a piece of paper and store it for later use.


With lacquer paint, it's best to apply several thin coats instead of one. Once it's dry, wet-sand to smooth the surface, spray again, over and over again.


Thinner

You'll want to use modeling thinner. There are two types: regular thinner and leveling thinner. Leveling thinner dries a little slower, so it will give you a smoother surface.




Finishing Coats

I applied a coat of lacquer paint, pad printed, and then sprayed on an additional finishing coats.

The product I used is Super Clear(GX100), which is glossy; if you want a matte finish, you can use Super Smooth Clear(GX114). (The matte clear contains particles that reduce reflections.) The UV cut products should not be sprayed over glow in the dark, as they block UV and glow in the dark will not work.

There are also a number of products available as sprays.



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