Acrysion - podkladová červená

A base that raises the intensity of the top color

Base red is an opaque shade pushed toward a brick tone, and its main job is to carry the color laid over it. Under bright red, orange or metallic top coats it does far better service than white or gray: a warm base supports the resulting intensity and saves one or two covering coats. On its own it suits everywhere that oxide red would appear on a real machine: the insides of landing gear bays, structural members, protective coats on steel parts before final painting, or unrepaired spots on bodywork.

Water from the tap is enough for thinning, and where a very fine spray is wanted the thinner from the same range comes in handy. The paint is laid on by spraying and the reward for patience is noticeable: three light passes lay down a continuous film that does not bury the engraved detail. A heavy coat, by contrast, easily runs into the recesses and forms glossy pools in the corners.

Working with the base

Before you start, rid the surface of grease from your fingers and of dust from sanding; the red pigment is opaque, but on a greasy spot it forms a mark that shows through even under two further coats. Let the base really mature before the top coat: dry to the touch does not yet mean cured. Anyone who then sands it lightly with very fine paper gains a smooth surface on which even gloss shades look as if they came from a spray booth. The same procedure proves itself with two-tone schemes as well: a warm base showing through a thin top mist gives the surface a depth that an even coat on its own never has.