How do you get a nice fade from one color to another

So i am going to try to make my excel plus look like



and i was wondering how most of you would suggest doing to the blue to gold gradients

B787_300 said:

So i am going to try to make my excel plus look like

and i was wondering how most of you would suggest doing to the blue to gold gradients

Click to expand...

Always start with the Lightest color working to the darkest.
Choose rattle can or paints that you have used in the past and Know for a fact are compatible before attempting to do a wet fade.
Spray the lightest color first feathering out about where you want the second color to begin.
Let the first color tack up about 2-5 minutes before applying the second color. Begin at the Solid color end of the rocket moving up to join the fade while moving the spray pattern away from the body and feathering out to nothing but increasing the speed of the can or gun movements.
Let the paints dry for several days. then the surface can be wet sanded if necessary to smooth out any rough areas you don't like. Apply a coat of Pledge with Future to bring up the Gloss.

All below are Rattle can fades.

1st and foremost, your light colors need to go down first. It's easier to darken than it is to lighten. 2nd, If you have an airbrush, that will be a plus. You can do it with rattle cans, but the transition from one color to another, is grainier? Not quite as defined. An airbrush can be controlled, so you have better fading capability. 3rd, patience. You really have to calm that quick finishing demon to get this right. I had very little airbrush experience when I did my Madcow Cricket, but it's OK by my standards.

When I painted the Phoenix below, I painted the whole thing White first, let it dry for the requisite 48 hours...
To do the fade, I did one color at a time, lightest to darkest, just feathering at the top and bottom, with only an inch of two of actual solid color in the middle. For more depth/effect, I did a VERY light spritz of black in between each layer. Created a pretty sweet finish.
My two-cent tip is this... If using this rattle-can technique, you need to be willing to be less exact. If there's a little too much here or there, you've got to let it go. Once it's on, it's on. There is no good way to fix it, unless you're willing to cover more with the darker color.
Good luck and post pictures!

thanks for all the advice on the rattle can fades... and yes i will post pics once i actually receive the kit (ill actually make a full build thread for it)

I don't think it's necessary to fade the lighter under color. When I did a fade from yellow to black I painted the tube all yellow first and didn't worry about fading it. The black went on afterwards and by holding the spray paint can much further away than normal I got a pretty good fade, and then painted the rest of the tube black from the normal distance.

I also worked with a test piece of tube to see what distance worked for me. That's the best piece of advice I can give you. I show the test and the final fade in this post:

https://www.rocketryforum.com/showthread.php?32620-Estes-Hyper-Bat-BATMAN-build&p=303992#post303992

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Here's a post where I describe how I did this fade. https://www.rocketryforum.com/showt...-fade-without-an-airbrush&p=683413#post683413

It was actually pretty easy and fast --- easier and faster than a rocket with a complex masking job. That whole thread has some good info about fades, but I did mine slightly differently from most, with the nozzle aimed parallel to the body tube.

If you want a really gradual fade from one color to the next, you will need a door jamb or detail gun or air brush.
As stated, lighter color goes on first.
Darker color goes on 90% thinner. Each strock towards the lighter color stops farther back.
The more coats, the darker the color.
I once did a coarse high matalic silver on the whold truck, then faded blue over it.
Went on so the back/blue part of the truck in the sun made the metalic show thouht.
Was quite sweet.
Someone said to sand after a fade. NO, don't do this, you'll leave swipe marks.
Bury it in clear first, then sand and buff.
The more clear you put on, the more it looks like it's covered in glass.

Dug up this. Same paint on the restored boat except no fading but had cobwebs. Had to glass a new transom in, old one was dry rotted in half.

https://www.facebook.com/#!/photo.php?fbid=177203705778294&set=pb.100004659968485.-2207520000.1414428141.&type=3&theater

Just one more little tid-bit: Try and have your dark solid color on the bottom. With spray cans, the atomization isn't as fine and paint will stick together to form larger droplets which will fall faster because they're heavier. You don't want a light color on the "down" side, else you're liable to get larger spots of paint where you don't want them. A fade from dark (top) to light (bottom)—you would want your rocket to be hung upside down.

Just a thought for the future.

An airbrush is good for the best results. If using a rattle can, I'd use a piece of cardboard held away from the body tube that would allow for a partial block of the paint spray.

Micromeister said:

Always start with the Lightest color working to the darkest.
Choose rattle can or paints that you have used in the past and Know for a fact are compatible before attempting to do a wet fade.
Spray the lightest color first feathering out about where you want the second color to begin.
Let the first color tack up about 2-5 minutes before applying the second color. Begin at the Solid color end of the rocket moving up to join the fade while moving the spray pattern away from the body and feathering out to nothing but increasing the speed of the can or gun movements.
Let the paints dry for several days. then the surface can be wet sanded if necessary to smooth out any rough areas you don't like. Apply a coat of Pledge with Future to bring up the Gloss.

All below are Rattle can fades.

Click to expand...

It's really not that hard to do,great advice from Micromeister.Future really does bring out the gloss.