62 replies to this topic

[cobraman]

Very nice. I like the color. I never had a lot of luck with the Krylon paints. Maybe I need to give them another try.

[Bernard Kron]

Thanx everyone!

...I never had a lot of luck with the Krylon paints. Maybe I need to give them another try.

What you see in the photographs is a light dust coat followed immediately by a first color coat, all over white primer. I 'll shoot a second thin color coat tomorrow after a light polish. Once I've applied the decals I'll probably seal the whole thing under clear, but it's a race car so I'm not going for a high show car gloss, just a uniform smoothness so the bodywork looks thin and crisp.

For us rattlecan types, Krylon paints have a lot appeal because they are cheap, very widely available, and come in a large variety of basic solids and metallics. The trick with them is that Krylon advertises them as fast drying, which has a tendency to make one approach them as you would lacquers. But from the odor they give off as they air out I would hazard a guess that they are spme sort of acrylic enamel. In any case, even though they appear to dry to the point where they can be handled in 15 or 20 minutes, the paint remains fairly soft for another day or two before it can be properly sanded down or rubbed out. Also, as you can see from the pictures, if you apply it in thin coats it has a tendency to set up in a semi-gloss state. Once it hardens enough it polishes out nicely. It's also fairly drip resistant unless you're really excessive in loading up a coat. It's best to rely on a clear coat to get a high gloss.

[Bernard Kron]

I designed some decals for the car. The fictitious sponsor is Avalon Racing Services in Long Beach, California. Avalon is a small town on Catalina Island and Long Beach is the main industrial city facing Catalina on the California coast. The red in the Photoshop mockup below is brighter than the decals will be due to the transparency of the inkjet printing on the clear decal stock I’ll be using.

I’ve run in to some incompatibility between the Krylon color coat and the Krylon gloss clear I’m using as a sealer. It causes crazing, much in the way a lacquer would when sprayed over an enamel. This was totally unexpected. Fortunately I had only sprayed the hood and grill shell when I ran into the problem. The hood has had to be stripped but the grill shell can be rubbed out to save it. I’ll try some Testors enamel clear in the hopes that it will solve my problem.

Thanx for lookin’,
B.

[dimebolt]

Lookin really sharp Bernard.
Corey

[Bernard Kron]

Thanx Corey!

Progress on this build is slow be steady. I got some Testors Modelmaster No. 2936 Clear Top Coat which is Testors’ only true enamel clear in a rattle can. It seems to have solved the crazing problem I had. I generally use lacquers so I’m unaccustomed to the slow cure time for enamels. I tried polishing an area of my test panel after 24 hours and the paint, while hard enough to stand up to a light polishing , seemed a bit soft so the result was somewhat milky. I’ll give the final coats a good 5 to 7 days before polishing. I created final decal art which required modification of the “Avalon Spcl.” logo to fit properly on the rear panel below the trunk. Otherwise the proof pieces laid out properly. I’ll probably print and apply the decals tomorrow, which means the final clear should go on Tuesday. Final polish and assembly should happen in about a week to 10 days.

Meanwhile most of the sub-assemblies have been painted. I decided to give the belly pan a polished aluminum finish. I scored some panel lines into the pan to represent the three panels that would be removable on the 1:1. During final assembly I’ll apply some Dzus fasteners in appropriate places to “secure”” them. I also cut some relief holes along the sides of the bellypan for the exhaust pipes which exit in front of the rear wheels.



I bought some transparent red acetate for the windows and decided to make a matching see-through grill panel as well. This was a popular thing to do in the late 50’s and early 60’s. Hopefully the front of the blown Nailhead will be visible through the panel on the finished model. (and yes, I will strip and re-finish the grill shell…)



And lastly, most of the interior panels are painted in Metalizer Aluminum Plate with the roll bar done in black semi-gloss. I still have to apply p/e gauges to the dash and fabricate a steering system. Along with some engine wiring and plumbing, this is the only mechanical work left to do on the car.



I hope to have this project wound up in about two weeks, barring any late-stage disasters…

Thanx for lookin’,
B.

Edited by Bernard Kron, 28 October 2012 - 04:55 PM.

[H.A.K]

Such a good lookin pic.

Edited by H.A.K, 29 October 2012 - 02:56 AM.

[Bernard Kron]

Thanx!

I got the decals and clear succesfully applied. After a few days to cure I'll start final assembly. I'm really looking forward to seeing the impact on the appearance of the red plexiglas windows and grill.
Thanx for lookin',
B.

[Dr. Cranky]

Great work on the paint and graphics.

[bryan_m]

oh yea! im agreein with cranky.............that looks great!

cheers
bryan

[mrm]

This thing will be awesome when done.

[Bernard Kron]

Thanx guys!

The interior is completed and installed. In order to get that done the red Plexiglas windows had to be installed as well. There was a very specific sequence in order to get everything squeezed in. Once the floor is glued in place the interior will largely be invisible due to the mail slot windows and the fairly dark red Plexiglas. The steering wheel is from an AMT ’37 Chevy. Here’s a composite picture of the interior details during final assembly including the firewall which had to be glued in position in order to locate the kick panel.

Next stop, final engine detailing and installation, then steering and suspension details. Shouldn’t be too long now…

Thanx for lookin’,
B.

P.S. As I look at this I notice I’ve omitted the shift lever. I’ll install it now since I actually haven’t glued the floor assembly in place. Phew!...

Edited by Bernard Kron, 04 November 2012 - 11:17 AM.

[doggie427]

Beautiful work Bernard.

[jbwelda]

excellent and isnt it funny how looking at a photo can reveal something you just dont even see sitting there staring at it in real life!

[crazyrichard]

omg i just love his build , coming together now and that bare interiour looks so cool

[Ace-Garageguy]

This is so cool. Beautiful work on the graphics, as usual, and I'm loving your color use. Really looking forward to seeing it up on its feet in all its glory.

[curt raitz]

Moocho Goodo!

[Bernard Kron]

Thanks to everyone for the kind words!

I’ve gotten the motor completed and installed and the interior and bellypan installed. The bellypan required some internal bracing to be fabbed to provide adequate glue points so it would sit properly in place. Left still to do prior to final assembly are fabricating and mounting the front suspension and steering details. Below are pictures of the bellypan and motor.

Thanx for lookin’,
B.

[H.A.K]

Man this is kool. Looks great.

[Dr. Cranky]

More, more, more . . .

[Dogfish_7]

Almost there on a fantastic build!