here's the progress with Ex-S Gundam:
tried something new this time with the whites. to save time, and avoid pain in the arm pits, by repainting every stain, dirt, etc. - i was thinking of literally cleaning the whites with cotton buds and some "cleaning" solution. after the whites are throughly clean, that's the time to repaint the paint scrapes, correct edges, paint mistakes, etc. this is the fastest method to clean the whites IMO. but the trick is finding the right cleaning solution that is effective, and safest to the GFF's base paint.
so first in the experiment, i tried using gunze sangyo's "Mr. Color Thinner 110". yeah it's the thinner used for gunze sangyo's Mr. Color paints, and i've used it extensively in the past as a mild paint stripper when i make mistakes in painting.
now i choose the safest part of the model to apply this solution, so if ever the base paint of the model goes bad by this solution, this part can easily be fixed. i chosed the "back fin" part-
dipped the cotton bud in the solution bottle, removed excess solution by tapping it on tissue paper, then rubbed on the whites.
tried rubbing it with minimal force, and in one direction only. every time i was checking if the white paint (or plastic resin) is melting (",). and everytime the tip of the bud is soiled, replaced it. didn't rub the dirty cotton buds on the whites anymore to prevent more smudging.
here are the in-prog pics with description on the method:
back fin-
i was very satisfied with the result - success! the solution cleaned the whites and it did not eat up / melt the base paint. IMO you cant achieve this level of clean just by repainting the stain and dirty spots here and there. and this solution evaporates very fast so i dont think it still has any residue left on the whites for it to do any harm on the base paint / plastic resin. but i think it was very important to stop rubbing when i see and feel its time to stop, when the dirt / stain is already clean. definitely no need to test how tough the base paint is.
the solution tried on the other parts-
-Ed
EDIT:started with the panel lines on the whites. i've used the Gundam 'sumi-ire' pen to panel line the lower leg armor and drop tanks of Ex-S:
i think this is an enamel based pen, with a pointed steel tip (ultra fine tip). this pen looked good on darker colors before, but on the whites its a different story - they look thick IMO. the "stock" panel lines of the GFF are finer. and the pointed steel tip, which i think has a 0.4 mm tip, didn't fit on some of the crevices too, making the lines uneven on some. so now im thinking of another style for the finer lines on the whites, i can use one or combination of the following:
easy level-
Mechanical Pencil (graphite) - sticks well on matte surface. easy clean up with eraser. works well in making very thin panel lines.
advance-
"Artist Acrylic Paint + Joy" wash - mixture of cheap artist acrylic paint (grey color, in tubes), water, and few drops of Joy dishwashing liquid. apply with pointed brush. this is no joke (",), i've used this panel line mixture in the past before, with success. clean up when the panel line is partly dry (within minutes), to prevent smudging, with cotton buds dampen with alcohol.
the logic for the Joy is to make the panel line mixture soapy enough to fill all the fine crevices, so it produces very even panel lines when dry. the Joy also makes the smudges very easy to remove even when the smudge is dry.
-Ed