simple question, is there a right color black to use? I tried a black and it just doesn’t seem right. Please let me know if there is a proper brand to use..thanks-eric
Well its really down to personal preference, some use flat black some use satin black or even hammered black.
Have a look in the fan props section here :Proton Packs - Fan Props - GBFans.com | GBFans.com when you find a finish that you like just shoot them a pm and ask what they used 
Ya, my pack is a bit too glossy and dark for my liking. Its hard to take a picture of it. You loose detail easily. Plus we painted it at work with an automotive sprayer. Its definitely too thick. I will be painting my second pack differently. I will try a Matte black which is somewhere between flat and semi-gloss. Then I will lay down some dry rub down transfers and then a single coat of clear to seal them in. Personal preference is right.
After primer, hit it with an even coat of Krylon brilliant silver, then use Krylon satin black. Having the silver undercoat gives the black the color behavior similar to the first film.
there was a time when i was in favor of semi-gloss black but i have noticed recently that my pack is a bit too dark and shiny as well, and as a result doesnt photograph well. I ended up rubbing greasy ■■■■ all over it and then giving a healthy dusting of crushed brown and yellow pastel and its finally dulled down a bit.
to avoid all that mess, i have pretty decided to do my next pack like this: gray primer > hammered finish paint > satin black
there’s a still a possibility that i’ll use semi gloss and then hit the whole pack with a matte clear spray after the vinyl(not metallic) labels are applied.
I have to say it sucks that krylon discontinued the semi flat black. The semi flat was the perfect color.
A little fine mist of clear gloss over flat turns out pretty close to semi flat.. Its what I do.
Krylon BBQ Black is a nice, semi-flat, metallic color that fits very well on the pack, methinks. Check out my pack pictures to see if it’s to your liking.
They still make semi flat you just cannot find it. no stores sell it any longer. go to a smaller hardware store and have it ordered.
I’ve been using Rustoleum paints on all my packs. They cure very well and are sold at Home Depot. I have to say honestly putting my packs side-by-side I can’t really see much difference between the “semi-gloss black” and “satin black”, they’re both a little shiny. Semi-gloss seems to be the easier of the two to find in stores however.
As Kind said, what makes the difference if you’re going for the on-screen look, is to dirty the pack up.
I think for all my builds my formula from here on out is
plastic fiberglass/resin/pvc parts = primer, hammered black, satin black.
metal parts = I go straight to the satin black
Then a little fullers earth (which I still haven’t done to 2 of my builds).
My Mark V uses Krylon Grey Primer, Krylon Matte Aluminum, and Krylon Flat Black with various other Krylon paints for the other colors.
for weathering you’ll want to get some silver, black, brown, and white acrylic paints to add the look of dirt and grim to the pack. You may also want to use some ranch dressing between the aluminum coat and the black coat to mask of areas where you want it to look like the paint has chipped off.
Ranch dressing? Is that a term I don’t know or do you literally mean ranch salad dressing?
Is that the same combo you used on the pack you were recently trying to sell on eBay? I really like how that pack looks.
Hmmmmm. I remember reading somewhere on these boards about a “mustard” method where you would paint over mustard and then scrape it off, making it look like a chipped finish. Perhaps the ranch is the same method?
Yes. I lierally take a butter knife, put Hidden Valley ranch dressing on the pack, and then paint it. I have had very good luck with this technique.
and a Halo helmet I did with the same technique:
I’d use rubber cement instead of dressing. Don’t want to mix greasy food with paint.
Actually you do. To clean the dressing off you take a sponge and use the rough end to scrub around the item. It will remove any paint that covers dressing and gives the perfect chipped appearance. Rubber cement might work but removing it seems tedious.
This is my first proton pack build! Which parts do I paint each color? Base coat grey in everything? Then why kind of black do I use for the bumper, cyclotron and the rest of it? Also can I make a motherboard out of wood or should it be made of metal?