Fixing the Iron Man bust

[ichiro51]

Okay, I know I posted asking for professional help fixing my iron man bust. 3 scratches on the top of the helmet, in the red area.

But, I have some time on my hands, so I'm going to try to fix it myself. If I fail horribly, then I'll just pay someone local to fix it.

When I asked sideshow QA, they told me to sand it, base coat in silver and then go over in red. They suggested Tamiya, so I have my paints, my thinner and my air gun.

Gonna use fine sandpaper to remove the scratches
Base in silver paint
Then dilute the red and go lightly over it repeated trying to match the color around it
Then I'll gloss coat it

I have lots of painting experience with brush and figures, but little with paint guns

I'm I smoking crack? Will it be a disaster?

Btw, it looks worse now because I tried to smooth out the scratches with Novus paint scratch remover. It removed some paint around the scratches but not the scratches. So it really needs a fix now.

[ickwinzs]

its very hard to blend paint of this type. For best results repaint the whole head.

[Astounding]

You are not crazy for trying but I suggest a fair amount of practice since you are on unfamiliar ground. I also agree with ickwinzs, it will be very hard to blend the repair, especially if it is your first try doing it. If it goes horribly wrong... Well, I'm here.

[ichiro51]

K - going for it

Sanded with fine sandpaper to get rid of the scratches

Revealed a silver layer under the red, and a white layer beneath that

Airbrushed some silver acrylic to cover

Letting it dry before doing the red

Starting to have doubts that I can match up well, but we'll see....

[Astounding]

The trick is going to be feathering that red on so that it covers the silver but doesn't darken the surrounding red. Then you will also see if you silver looks akin to the existing silver. Best of luck.

[ichiro51]

Yea, so that didn't work
Silver went on very easily
The clear red is so thin, it just didn't seem to stick well.

Giving up, wiped off the red

Had a few painters message me regarding fixing it, they wanted close ups
Close ups of current status below
PM me if you think you can restore it to factory level and price
Would prefer to stay local, Bay Area, Sacramento, as shipping this is a pain

If an painter just wants to out and out buy it from me, that's cool too (again, prefer local, no shipping).

Thanks for looking! Respect to all the professionals out there!

[jeff_boy]

Hi,
Just my 2 cent worth if pointers....
as to what others had already said, it not easy task to get back the same color, for best result is to repaint the whole head...

if not you can try,
base silver as what you have already done,
mix the clear red with silver, taking note that the more red you put the more red the mixture will be...a bit by bit, spray on something else to match the red you want...till you get it, then you spray over the silver base.

hope it helps.

[ichiro51]

Thanks for the helpful insight!

Yeah I diluted the silver well (with the thinner) and it applied really smoothly

Then I tried the clear red - it's so thin I just makes a watery film that blows around. Even without thinner. Your suggestion to mix it with silver sounds right on there.

Still looking for local professional save though.

[Astounding]

Well, I salute you for giving it a try.
Too bad it didn't work out - it truly is a difficult fix without a lot of experience.
My approach would be to repaint the entire red area (or at least the top area within the panel line), saving anything else that can be masked. Personally I would not mix the red and silver. There is a reason the red is applied on top. Anytime you mix a metallic into a red it dulls it considerably. With the red on top you see the red cleanly with the silver shining from below. It's like a colored lens.

I wish you well with finding someone locally to help you out. As before, if you can't find a local painter let me know. I mix my own transparent lacquer colors from components, so I can control the intensity and color match. Have sprayed transparents (tints) and candy effects many, many times. If not this time, keep me in mind for future.

Best,
-Astounding

[fenix v.2.0]

Originally Posted by ichiro51

Thanks for the helpful insight!

Yeah I diluted the silver well (with the thinner) and it applied really smoothly

Then I tried the clear red - it's so thin I just makes a watery film that blows around. Even without thinner. Your suggestion to mix it with silver sounds right on there.

Still looking for local professional save though.

what paints did you use?