Anyone have any good setups for undercoating indoors? I've moved and am finally getting around to setting things up properly. Basic painting & using a small airbrush is fine at my desk. But undercoating troops in bulk with a spray can is a bit difficult to find a good spot for. I tried looking at spray-paint station things. But those are far too small to spray stuff in bulk, as they're made to use an airbrush on 1 model. Anyone have any good setups to undercoat in bulk without making a mess that can be stored easily?
I used to do it on the balcony in my old place cuz it was sheltered from the rain and wind. But now I have a garden, so I've lost my shelter, and my wife didn't want to bring my spraypaint table along since it was too ugly.
My airbrush doesn't really have the capacity to undercoat models in bulk. Undercoating 20-30 models with it would be a pain.
Honestly, not entirely sure. Mostly I still want to try find a solution where I use the spray can though.
I would honestly see about ways to spray outside as there are a lot of complications doing it inside. Getting a lazy suzan can help a lot. I've got one of sorts, found it in a skip on my daily walk. If you are desperate, get (or make) a big box with the front and top removed and stick it in the boot of your car. Just make sure to put down a bunch of newspaper on stuff you don't want paint going.
If you have the space, money and time, you could build a fumehood / ventilation system so that you can spray inside. I can't imagine it being worth the effort though unless you are painting extraordinarily frequently. A simpler option might be to spray things ahead of time so that you have a stockpile of primed models ready to be painted throughout the winter months. It won't help you with the latest release dropped while the weather is bad, but it should be enough to keep you busy.
There are two issues with doing the undercoat with a spray can indoors. 1. Fumes 2. There will always be paint hitting other places than the models. Both of these can be a factor to keep in mind, all depending on where you are setting up the paint area, and what options you have available. Now, for the first point, this can, in most cases, be easily sorted with a good mask and the correct filter for fumes from spray cans. However, if your paint area is in one of the regular rooms of the house, it is not that simple, as the fumes can be smelled in the close rooms/area as well, all depending on how much you spray. So if this is the case, you need some kind of an vent system that you spray under, and that pulls the air outside. For the second point, this again depends on where the location is in the house and if you are ok with paint potentially staining the wall/floor. I put the location for base coating the models in the garage and have a foldable table mounted to one of the walls. So all I do is take out the car, and depending on the temperature, I might put a heater on for a few hours before I do the basecoat. This is the table I have used: https://www.ikea.com/no/no/p/norberg-veggmontert-klaffebord-hvit-30180504/
The room is pretty well ventilated, with some big windows that can be opened to air it out. Plus, I'm not planning to paint 100's of models at once, so it should be relatively manageable with a decent mask. I'm mainly struggling with finding something to limit potential stains. All the storeable/reusable setups I can find are far too small for a spraycan to be used with any sort of efficiency.
In that case, have you considered a roll of grey paper? (not sure if this is the correct English word for it, just directly translated from Norwegian) https://www.toolstore.no/toolstoreno/no/gråpapir-mg-47 And just make kind of a small "booth" area, with it on the table, and like a wall around, perhaps with a plank or cardboard holding the side walls up.
The issue is that I need to be able to store it conveniently. I don't have the space to just leave it up the entire time. Creating a permanent booth area isn't really viable.
I understand that is why I suggested the "grey paper." A roll of that is relatively inexpensive, at least here in Norway. That would allow you to quickly setup a "spray area" when you want to basecoat, and then after just throw the used paper in the trash.
Yeah, but isn't it going to just fall over without a frame to hold the paper up? And I'm not sure how to make a frame that I can actually store conveniently.
Cardboard box. Around 50x50x50 cm (20"). You can store it flat behind furniture, use piece of tape from behind to ensure that it keep shape when in use (and also to prevent spraying throught small gap that is there). But I wouldn't do it inside anyways. I used this for spraying outside to keep models from wind and kept box outside as well, because better half has extreme sence of smell and complained that it stinks even after week of drying. Nowadays I either brushprime, or prime away from home.
This is a good solution and is probably the simplest regarding ease of setting up, and it takes little space when put away.