Rescibing Door Panel Lines

[Abell82]

I can not seem to get a straight edge to the new line, as the putty seems to be chipping away from the edges.

I am using the back af an x-acto knife blade to recribe the lines. Is there a better tool, or ???

[MrObsessive]

Jason, when starting a new line such as when you're making new door lines, I think it'll be better to use the front edge of the blade instead of the back.

The back edge is helpful when cutting out doors because the "trough" or door line has already been established on the body. It's more blunt which may be why your putty is chipping along the edges.

Scribe gently using the front edge of the blade, then at a certain point (only you can determine this) you want to take 400 grit sandpaper and using the rough side of the paper............you can "V" sand the line that you need on both sides of the line.

To do radii, you're going to have to curl the paper somewhat to go around the radii................this is where skill comes in! :wink:

In other words, the rough side of the paper is used to widen (ever so slightly) the door line being made. I wouldn't rely on using just the knife alone.

I would suggest folding the sandpaper in half, but that may widen the door line too much and you'd have to putty and start all over again. :shock:

To better show an example, on the Turbine Car I'm working on now, I had to reapply trim that was very weakly molded on the body. I used strip plastic to make the dual pieces of trim that outline the tops of the fenders. Because the liquid glue spreads a bit the intial result was a little sloppy. To get the dual look that the 1:1 has, I used 400 grit sandpaper to better define the division of the chrome trim.

Hope this explains this a bit better.........:wink:

[bobss396]

I like to use a razor saw for re-scribing panel lines. Normally I hold it at a fairly shallow angle until I get the cut established. For tighter curves, I work with the leading teeth of the saw at around a 45 degree angle.

Practice ona scrap body first. Also putty tends to chip as compared to plastic, you might try filling the old lines with CA glue and baking soda.

Bob

[White325is]

I have looked through the tips and tricks section and I couldnt find it. Well unless I was looking to hard and just skipped over it. Does anyone have any tips for cutting in new door lines and keeping them crisp and straight??

[Harry P.]

Scribe them in by dragging the back side of an exacto blade, using some sort of guide (straightedge, french curve, etc.) depending on the shape of the line(s) you want. Don't try to cut the line all in one stroke, it'll take several passes. Small radius corners are best done freehand, but again, don't try to cut the groove all in one stroke.

Keeping the lines clean, sharp and straight requires patience and practice. Definitely practice on an old scrap body before you go trying this on a good body.

[Steven Zimmerman]

The BEST way to do these is to (ahem.....) ....send em to Harry !.........(grin).....Steve Zimmerman aka the'Z'man.....

[Scott Colmer]

A friend of mine had a neat trick for making sure they were doorlines were straight AND consistent on both sides.

He would cut the door shape out of thin styrene and shape it with sticks etc, then lightly glue it to the side of the body. Then scribe as you normally would using light strokes the back of with a #11 against the side of the styrene door guide. One you have your line, carefully pop it off and do the other side. There might be a little clean up from to spots where the guide was glued to the body.

Scott

[Harry P.]

You might try double-sided tape instead of glue... no cleanup necessary.

[roadhawg]

Laugh if you will, but I've used a very fine tipped marker to "draw" on certain panel lines before. Yes, I know thats "cheating", but if I hadn't told anyone, they'd never know the difference.

[Swany]

I've never tried it, but saw the technique used in one of the minidreams threads...

Maybe try masking tape to get the lines you want, and use that as a straight edge. It wont move, and you will be able to curve it by cutting the tape to shape if needed?

[E St. Kruiser50]

Hey

The pictured 'Vetted and shortened '59 chev had the doors lengthend nearly a scale 8", and re-shaped at the bottom rear to look "Vettish" .

I used a #11 blade, and after drawing what I wanted, I used the sharp edge first, and scribed what I wanted SEVERAL TIMES, and then used the back edge of the blade as Harry suggested, and finished it.

Again, like Harry says, use a scrap body, or some sort of scrap plastic to PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE.

And don't expect perfection. There is always finish work with body filler , primer and sanding.

Patience, time and MORE PATIENCE will help you do the best job.

Good luck - dave

And here's an example of one in the works. The late Mustang roadster interior has longer door panels, so that's why the longer doors - and it'll look kool too -

Edited June 16, 2009 by Treehugger Dave

[White325is]

Thanks a bunch fellas, I think I got it down pretty good. I guess Im just never happy with the way things turn out sometimes. But it looks good...

[Olle F]

Dymo tape works great as a disposable stick-on straightedge, and you can also cut curves in it before you stick it to the model to make a guide for rounded door corners.

[Greg D]

Dymo tape works great as a disposable stick-on straightedge, and you can also cut curves in it before you stick it to the model to make a guide for rounded door corners.

I use the Dymo tape too. I bought a "Squadron Panel Line Scriber" about 15 - 16 years ago that still works like new. Micro X sells one too I believe, but my LHS had the other one in stock.

Edited June 27, 2009 by Greg D

[Olle F]

I use the Dymo tape too. I bought a "Squadron Panel Line Scriber" about 15 - 16 years ago that still works like new. Micro X sells one too I believe, but my LHS had the other one in stock.

Yeah, those scribers work great. I have some that I bought in a hobby store, and I have also got several picks that I got from my dentist. Very useful tools for a lot of different purposes. The only problem is to find Dymo tape, many people don't even know what this is nowadays.

[FujimiLover]

I've also been told dental floss is great for cutting the doors if you want to make theme open. But I don't know if this thread is for creating just the lines, or opening the doors. Sounds more like just creating lines.

I've asked this once before when working with putty that tends to cover up some original body lines that you wanted to keep.

[Ddms]

Yet another application for one of my favorite tools, two-sided carpet tape!

Unlike masking tapes, it comes with a stiff backing, so it's easy to trim to a precise shape. You can leave the backing on - or attach a piece of styrene sheet - to make a solid edge to follow with your scribing tool. (Get the tool that's made in Pakistan. They're available from Squadron, Micro Mark and other places. Once you've used one of these, you'll never again try to scribe a panel gap with the back of a #11 Xacto blade.)

I use carpet tape a lot. Attached to a paddle, it's perfect for holding small parts while I paint them. It can also be stuck to a work surface, where it holds PE and other small parts for gluing.

Ddms

[evilone]

Ok my 59 impala needs new door lines for the front and rear side doors. Any tips or suggestions on how to scribe them? What type of blade do i use? what do i use to keep the lines straight?

[Fisher61]

I take it the lines are there, but real faint? I use the backside of a #ll blade to start with, then I'll go over it with a panel scriber ( if you don't have one, you can keep going at it with the #11 blade ). If I need a guide line, I'll use that plastic Dymo label maker tape. Try to practice on an old scrap body first, and I've also noticed that some styrene is harder than others, so watch how much pressure you use.

Edited December 21, 2010 by Fisher61

[evilone]

actually the rear door lines are MIA and the front door lines are half there lol. basically most of them got filled in during bodywork so i could scribe the lines where i want them to be.

[Fisher61]

Use the label maker tape as a guide for the blade then, if you mess up, I guess you can just refill and start over!

[evilone]

Use the label maker tape as a guide for the blade then, if you mess up, I guess you can just refill and start over!

thanks bro

[LoneWolf15]

Kevin ,

Trick to this is to scribe lightly ! Trying to obtain the line with just a few passes will just create a mess . Turn on the tunes , hunker down and pass the blade lightly over the panel numerous times.

Tedious ? Yes ! However , being patient will be produce excellent results . One other bit of advice , use an old blade rather than a new one . It makes the job easier !

The Old Man

[Rider]

That label tape tip is awesome.

If you can't obtain that you can also use 2 sided tape with a piece of styrene sheet. The styrene sheet/2 sided tape thing works when you need to scribe a curve, you just cut the sheet to what ever curve you need.

For actually scribing the lines, as has been said the back of a knife works ok. For added control use a .010"

(which is a 1/4 inch in 1/24 scale) drill bit. I've also used the back of a knife but I've ground the tip down flat then put a small back into it with a small relief. This works by scraping a trench into the plastic not cutting into it and moving material to either side of the blade as when using the back side of a blade. This method leaves a much cleaner cut as it removes material while scribing a line.

Edited December 22, 2010 by Rider