Airbrushing fluorescent paint without white undercoat

[Jj7leaf]

Looking for some input on getting a good fluorescent dot without using white under it. 

I have done some sticks and blades recently where I would like to add a fluorescent dot over the nickel or brass without doing a white dot first. 

May this point all of my paints are water based, this may be part of the issue but I noticed HOK neon paints all have the same recommendation to use white undercoat.

What is anyone's input on getting a fluorescence chartreuse or pink dot directly over the blades without white undercoat?

would an enamel or laqcuer based paint get me a better fluorescent without the base coat?

 

thanks in advance 

jason

[Tom Hester]

The white undercoat really does make a difference. I use an acrylic lacquer fluorescent paint and a UV enhanced clear coat. That said, successive light coats of the lacquer will give the 'pop' as long as you are not trying to apply it over a dark color. By the way, it may seem counter-intuitive, but nickel is actually a dark substrate. Silver plate will give you a much brighter result.

[cadman]

If you don't care if it looks too tacky, you can buy fluorescent electric tape, punch out the size you want, stick it on your blade, then I would clearcoat it. If you don't want to clearcoat it, it will stick really well to a clean painted surface. Just a thought.

[Musky Glenn]

A little different solution to your problem. I would punch a hole in a piece of masking tape, of the proper size of the eye. I would then spray the white base coat, let dry and spray the fluorescent paint through the tape before I removed the tape. High dollar masking tape from an auto paint supplier has less sticky to it than the cheap tape, thus it doesn't pull paint off as bad as the cheap tape. Good luck. I have best results removing tape by pulling at a sharp angle rather than straight up.

Edited November 9, 2017 by Musky Glenn