ChrisBcritter Posted April 24, 2018 Share Posted April 24, 2018 I recently got an aqua '65 Continental promo that had been repainted orange. Several days in the purple pond took care of that, but it also removed the metallic finish the car originally had. What's a good way to bring it back? I was thinking of giving it a coat of Tamiya clear pearl; any other ideas? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snake45 Posted April 24, 2018 Share Posted April 24, 2018 I don't think it can be restored, as I think it was a thin coat of colored metallic lacquer. I have a '65 Pontiac promo that had a light scuff on the roof. I tried to polish it out and was surprised when the metallic color (turquoise) polished off almost immediately and with little effort. Underneath the plastic was the same color but of course not metallic. Not sure how I'm going to proceed with it. I might give it a vinyl top, or maybe just give up and repaint it completely. Got plenty of other things to work on till a solution presents itself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Posted April 24, 2018 Share Posted April 24, 2018 I'd just repaint it in whatever color you want it. Its value is diminished to a promo collector, a repaint won't affect that very much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisBcritter Posted April 25, 2018 Author Share Posted April 25, 2018 Snake, that's what I was wondering about - how the finish was done by AMT and if a clear pearl over the aqua plastic would duplicate the original look. I've got '64 Cadillac and '65 Chevy promos in metallic brown, and their finishes have a gold tint to the 'flake, but the aqua promos look more like silver tint. Guess my point is, would the clear pearl give it a metallic aqua look or is there a better way? I've never used it before. Mark, no worries about collector value - this is a keeper. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Posted April 25, 2018 Share Posted April 25, 2018 I'd test the clear pearl over a similar solid color, to see if it gives the desired effect. The "gold tint" on the original promos might just be yellowing of the original clearcoat. If you have absolutely all of the orange off, maybe just polish the solid color plastic and leave it at that? I did just that with a '62 Tempest convertible friction that was discolored, probably from being in a "smoking area" for a long time. Looks decent, probably not worth much but then again I've got a negative investment in it after selling the other three cars I got along with it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snake45 Posted April 25, 2018 Share Posted April 25, 2018 My Pontiac wasn't a clearcoat with flakes in it, it was definitely metallic turquoise paint of some kind because it came off on the polishing rag. Which surprised me because other than the scuffs, it was so smooth I'd assumed it was molded in metallic turquoise plastic. Only then did I notice that the chassis/interior were molded in the same color, but solid, not metallic. Will be interesting to see if a "clear pearl" will give a metallic effect to solid color. I'm skeptical but am willing to be convinced. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisBcritter Posted April 30, 2018 Author Share Posted April 30, 2018 Well, I chickened out - after the purple pond got the orange paint and primer off, there was residue of the AMT finish left that I ended up scrubbing off with 91% iso alcohol. Once I did that, the plastic was so clean and shiny that I decided to quit while I was ahead! If nothing more, at least now we know AMT must have used some kind of tinted clear metallic lacquer on their promos. Once I get the missing hood ornament and taillight replaced I'll post a photo. In the meantime I'll try the pearl on something else... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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