anyone have any experience with plastic models?

[NAB]

[The Comrade]

yeah if i had the benjamins to spend on an airbrush i'd be using enamel paint and this wouldn't be a problem haha. considering floor sealant tends to be self-settling, i think a brush will do fine.

[NAB]

[The Comrade]

masking tape and a steady hand have served me well

[NAB]

[exploited]

Your mom's a plastic model.

[The Comrade]

[The Dharma Bum]

[The Comrade]

after a few coats it's really hard to even tell anyways

[Professor]

Of course, you could always just buy what the Navy uses on their real warships. Ameron PSX700. Only costs $250/gallon for their medium grey.

Seriously, I talked with a friend of mine who was a Senior Master Chief, in charge of the gunnery crews on several boats. He said that, while the hulls were typically painted a flat color, most of the guns and non-trafficked surfaces were painted gloss. Why? More durable and easier to keep clean. In fact, when they had various gatherings for Naval ships (put into port, Navy Day, etc.), there was an unofficial competition between gun crews for who had the shiniest guns.

So, you could put a matte finish on the hull and deck, then paint the guns and superstructure gloss.