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Need Hints on Detailing a Molded Chasis


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Newest bench project is reissued '65 Lincoln, Have vision of low down contemporary street cruiser.  As a reissue  the chassis detail is molded. Sprayed satin black and started detailing various parts, i.e. drive shaft, suspension, exhaust.  This is very time consuming, difficult and I a not pleased.  My current thinking is to give it a fresh coat of satin black and forget the detail.  Any suggestions--or encouragement?  Thanks.

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I've done both.

Usually if it's a curbside model, I rarely put much emphasis on the chassis, if any.

If there's a motor involved, I do a little more, but I don't get carried away.

One good trick is to shoot the chassis with primer & then shoot your body color around the edges. A lot of builders use this look. If nothing else, it adds a little interest.

Then just pick out your details with your other colors.

 

Steve   

 photo DSCN3646_zpsk1bgaqh6.jpg

 

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On these old one-piece chassis, I usually just spray them matte/satin black and then pick out the exhaust system and gas tank in Testor Steel (or sometimes, silver Sharpie). If I have a real fit of industry, I might paint the rear axle a slightly shinier shade of black. But that's about it.

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I haven't done one with the primer/body color edges yet; the rattle can overspray sometimes looks out of scale (to me, anyway).  If I were to try doing a chassis that way, I'd probably use a template or mask spaced away from the chassis a bit, to make the overspray line a bit "fuzzy" while keeping it to a minimum.  Two masks might be needed for each side...the outermost couple of inches of the floorpan probably wouldn't have caught any overspray because of the rocker panels, but I don't think that the overspray would reach too far in on the underside of the floorpan either. 

I usually go for the "undercoating" look, because it darkens the underside of the car and (to me) doesn't draw attention away from the exterior of the car when it is sitting on the shelf.  When you turn it over, though, there is at least something to look at.  I paint the exhaust system first (used to use Testor's silver with Dullcote over that; on recent jobs I've used Humbrol silver which dries hard without needing anything applied over it).  I'll paint the molded-in fuel tank a darker metallic gray than the exhaust detail, but not as dark as the cast iron parts.  I then paint the adjacent edges with a fine brush, using an acrylic like Polly Scale Steam Power Black (one of the "blackest" black paints I've seen; not dead flat but not really a semi-gloss either).  Polly Scale isn't being made anymore; I laid in a supply of a few bottles and am keeping an eye open for an equivalent to use in the future.  Don't drag the brush back over work already done; doing that is what usually creates brush marks.  I'll do the areas that look the most difficult first (like where the exhaust goes over the rear axle) leaving the nice, straight, out-in-the-open, easy-to-get-to areas for last.  I clean up the edges as I go, using a pointed toothpick to rub off any black acrylic that strays onto the exhaust or fuel tank.  Every so often, I'll clean the brush and re-mix the paint so everything is consistent. 

I let that dry, then use a bigger brush to get all of the other black areas.  If I need to, I'll apply a second (thinned) coat of the black later to get rid of any brush marks or other inconsistencies.  If there is leaf spring detail on the rear suspension, and it's well-defined, I'll pick that out with some steel gray (darker than the fuel tank but not as dark as cast iron gray).  I'll only paint the very "top" of the leaf spring detail.  I don't try to freehand any part of the chassis that "rises up" to the spring detail from the sides.  Sometimes the rear shock absorber detail is clean enough to pick out...if so, that can be done with some odd color (with those parts, color varies by brand) when the exhaust and fuel tank are done.  If you decide you don't like the way the shocks stand out, you can go over them with the black later while doing the rest of the chassis. 

I don't do anything with the molded-in rear axle...to me, that's probably the worst area of this type of chassis, so painting that with the "undercoating black" makes it fade into the background, because it's not something that you want to stand out in any way.    

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I haven't done one with the primer/body color edges yet; the rattle can overspray sometimes looks out of scale (to me, anyway).  If I were to try doing a chassis that way, I'd probably use a template or mask spaced away from the chassis a bit, to make the overspray line a bit "fuzzy" while keeping it to a minimum.  Two masks might be needed for each side...the outermost couple of inches of the floorpan probably wouldn't have caught any overspray because of the rocker panels, but I don't think that the overspray would reach too far in on the underside of the floorpan either.

 

That's exactly how I did these two ('69 Nova and Camaro in matching Fathom Green):

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One thing I've been doing lately is to cut away the plastic between the molded rear leaf springs and the frame, enough so from the side you can see the gap and the springs look (at least for a moment) separately molded. Sometimes other relief-molded items can be modified this way, like crossmembers and exhausts. This is a '61 Comet:

20426770093_72730b23fe_c.jpg

(The little pieces on the springs above the axle holes are fillers that will be filed down.)

Unfortunately detailing one of these chassis can be like eating potato chips - hard to stop with one item!

20859944308_814a65d844_c.jpg

Still want to add a couple more details before I start hitting it with gloss, semigloss, and flat black and steel and aluminum...

Edited by ChrisBcritter
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One thing I've been doing lately is to cut away the plastic between the molded rear leaf springs and the frame, enough so from the side you can see the gap and the springs look (at least for a moment) separately molded. Sometimes other relief-molded items can be modified this way, like crossmembers and exhausts. This is a '61 Comet:

20426770093_72730b23fe_c.jpg

 

Wow, that really looks great! I've been thinking of trying something somewhat similar on an AMT '66 Mustang, and I think you've just given me the inspiration to drive on with it!

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