• Painting a model airplane is the last, often most important step in creating realism.Paint brush and aqua paints image by PaulPaladin from Fotolia.com
  
  Hobbies such as model building are often a painstaking, meticulous and rewarding experience. Working with all the small parts and various aspects of the model requires focus. That's why one of the last steps is painting–and it can't be overlooked if you want the end result to have integrity.
  
  

Type of Paint

• The paint used for model planes is composed of three elements: Pigment which gives the paint its color, resin which allows the pigment to attach to the surface, and the solvent which holds the paint together when it's in liquid form. The most common type of paint used for painting is lacquer–more specifically, either an oil-based enamel or a water-based acrylic. The oil-based variant of lacquer features a mineral spirit, leaving the paint to dry ultra slowly, giving the airplane a hardened, beautiful glossy finish, according to Model Airplane Building. The water-based acrylic offers an alcohol base, allowing for quick drying and an easy clean up if a spill occurs.
  
  

Painting Options

• When painting a model airplane three options are available for adding the paint to the model: Standard brush, spray can, and airbrush. When using a paintbrush the goal is to eliminate brush marks using a smooth, slow stroke. The brush should have soft bristles and it should be clean before use. Using a spray can on models has advantages over brushes such as a faster paint job and no brush stroke eyesores. However, using spray cans can be wasteful and tend to be more expensive than using brushes. Airbrushing is the best tool to use when painting models, according to Model Airplane Building. The user can control the pressure and amount of paint that comes out, allowing for a smooth coat.
  
  

Layering Paint

• To prepare a finalized model, several layers of paint must be applied to create the best looking product. The layers of paint most commonly used are primer, base coats, color coats and lastly, clear coats. The primer simply covers the model's material in a substance that easily bonds with paint, allowing a smooth application. The base coat is the color of paint that is going to be the main color of the model. Color coats are touch up jobs to add color over the base coat such as a camouflage color scheme. The final coat is the clear coat, and it provides a glossy finish that gives depth to the paint, commonly seen on modern automobiles.