The Ultimate Guide to Tracking Model Paint Recipes and Decals

Why Track Paint Recipes?

Every gunpla builder who paints has experienced this: you mix the perfect shade of Char pink or Zaku green, apply it beautifully, and then... three months later you're trying to remember the ratio. Was it 3:1 Mr. Color with thinner, or 4:1? Did you use a drop of white or skip it?

Tracking paint recipes isn't just about consistency. It's about:

• Reproducibility — Match the exact color on a future build or repair
• Efficiency — Stop re-mixing and re-testing batches
• Evolution — See how your techniques improve over time
• Sharing — Share your exact recipe with the community

What to Record

A complete paint recipe entry should include:

• Base Color Name — e.g., "Mr. Color Gundam Color Char Pink"
• Paint Brand & Code — Mr. Color, Vallejo, Citadel, Tamiya, Gaia Notes
• Mix Ratio — Exact proportions (e.g., 2:1:0.5 for paint:thinner:additive)
• Thinner & Additives — Type and ratio used
• Application Method — Airbrush (psi), hand brush, or spray can
• Finish Result — Gloss, matte, satin, metallic
• Reference Photo — A picture of the painted part in good lighting
• Kit Applied To — Which build this recipe was used on

Building Your Recipe System

There are two approaches to organizing paint recipes, and the best one is the one you'll actually use:

Method 1: By Kit

Each kit build gets a dedicated page with all the recipes used. This is great for reference — when you want to know exactly what you did on your Sazabi Ver. Ka, everything is in one place. The downside is that finding all builds that used a specific color requires searching.

Method 2: By Color/Paint

Each paint recipe gets its own entry, tagged with which kits it was used on. This is ideal for builders who reuse colors across kits. "Char Pink v2" becomes a reusable asset you can pull up for any build.

Gunpla Log supports both approaches. You can attach paint recipes to individual builds while also maintaining a master recipe library. Each recipe is searchable and reusable.

Managing Decals & Water Slides

Decals are often the most frustrating part of a build — and the easiest to forget. Track these details:

• Decal Brand & Sheet Code — Bandai official, Delpi Decal, G-Rework, etc.
• Placement Notes — "Rear skirt decal was too large, trimmed 2mm"
• Setting Solution Used — Mark Softer, Micro Set, etc.
• Top Coat Order — Decal → gloss coat → weathering → matte coat
• Reference Photos — Before and after setting solution

Good decal notes save hours of frustration on your next build, especially when working with third-party decals that may have different sizing or adhesion properties.

Digital vs. Analog

You can track paint recipes in a notebook, a spreadsheet, or a dedicated app. Here's a quick comparison:

• Notebook: Always accessible, no battery needed. But searching is slow and photos are hard to include.
• Spreadsheet: Powerful sorting and filtering. But no photo support and prone to formatting drift.
• Dedicated App: Purpose-built with photo logs, search, and easy data entry. Gunpla Log was designed specifically for this workflow.

Conclusion

Paint and decal tracking is one of the highest-ROI habits you can develop as a gunpla builder. The time investment is minimal — a few seconds per mix — but the payoff is enormous when you need to match a color months or years later.

Start today with your current build. Record one recipe. You'll be glad you did.