Dark Gray RLM42

Dark Gray RLM 42 — a Vallejo Model Air acrylic paint

Dark Gray is an acrylic from the Vallejo Model Air range. The RLM 42 designation in the name refers to the period system of numbering aircraft shades that the manufacturer relates the paint to; it is a dark gray of the kind used on large areas of models of interwar and wartime aircraft. The binder is acrylic, thinnable with water and with the same brand's thinner for acrylics, and the consistency is built to pass through an airbrush nozzle. Note that the volume of the bottle is stated by the manufacturer on the label rather than in the designation.

Adhesion and the base

Water-based acrylics hold reasonably well on bare injection-molded plastic, but on smooth materials it pays to secure them. Degrease photo-etched parts and turned metal accessories before painting and apply an acrylic primer to them, otherwise the paint will flake off at the first touch of a fingernail or masking tape. Resin parts are also usually coated with residual mold release agent — without washing in lukewarm soapy water the paint will take in only a few places. On large-area aircraft models a primer also pays off because it unifies the color of the base, and the shade then comes out the same everywhere, even over filler and sanded seams.

Use

• Dark gray areas on models of aircraft in period schemes.
• Airbrush spraying, on its own and as a component of a mixed tone.
• Application over an acrylic primer on plastic, photo-etch and resin.
• Touch-ups and smaller areas with a brush in several thin coats.
• A base under subsequent shading and weathering.

Who it is for

For aircraft modelers who work with period shades according to the paint manufacturer's designations, and for anyone who needs a dark gray with reliable adhesion on metal and resin parts too.

Keep out of reach of children. Ventilate and protect your airways when spraying and sanding. Protect from frost.