*1966 Chevy Nova Pro Street (amt)*

[Zippi]

21 minutes ago, Snake45 said:

Your door lines look better now. This is how you do it: Blacken the gaps before paint, and then leave them alone. 

For the future: Don't scribe the tulip pane lines (below the backlight) so deep, and don't darken them at all. This is a welded seam, not a movable panel, and should be seen as body color. Maybe you can still get some body color in there with a brush or something. Drive on! 

I knew better.....just wasn't thinking.  Thanks man.  

[Zippi]

Well fellows.....after airbrushing the topcoat on yesterday morning I sprayed the 3 coats of gloss on yesterday afternoon and this morning when I pulled the plastic tub off I was surprised at what I saw.  I'm going to give it a full 48 hrs to cure but I just don't like what I see.  Once I try and wet sand some of the BLAH_BLAH_BLAH_BLAH out and polish it I'm going to take a step back and figure out what I want to do. I have done a lot of testing and I have tried different acrylic paints, rattle can & airbrush, and 3 different gloss finishes and I can't seem to get anything to look good at all.  One thing is for sure.....I'm giving up on the craft paints.  Not sure what to try next if any at all.  At this point I'm just frustrated.  I think I'm doing ok on the detailing and have learned a lot from a lot of fellows on this site but it's the body painting that has always been my downfall.       

[papajohn97]

Hi Bob,

I identify with your car model paint struggles. After years of painting aircraft/ ship/ armor model subjects, I dove into car modeling a few years ago and experienced the steep learning curve of “shiny” - it’s HARD! I’m still learning but have settled in on two methods that seem to work best for me. I prime everything with either Tamiya light grey fine lacquer primer unless the final color is white or light, then I use Tamiya white lacquer primer. If there’s a Tamiya rattle can color that works for the subject In doing, I use that for the base color and clear coat it with Tamiya TS-13 clear coat. If I need a different and/ or accurate original manufacturer’s color, I order the flat base color from Scalefinishes.com (or Zero Paints base color if it’s a contemporary auto or race car) and airbrush it over the primer, then clear coat it with TS-13. I’ve used Testors rattle can lacquers which are pretty good paints but their rattle can nozzles are not as good as Tamiya’s (sometimes the spray is too thick or sprays splatters/ drops). Also, I only use Scalefinishes flat base coats for two-tone paint schemes, rattle can lacquers tend to bleed thru masked edges when you do a heavy/ “wet” final coat. I avoid all the super hard/ non-sticky two-part urethane clear coats such as”2K” because of they are very toxic/ carcinogenic. The few times I’ve tried spraying auto subjects with acrylics, I have found them to be too thick, too soft, too sticky. Also, they are incompatible with any hard lacquer clear coats.
 

These are just my own opinions/ experience, there are others here that do amazing paint jobs using totally different materials and techniques than I describe above. I applaud you for trying different paints and finding your own best methods. 
 

Love your Nova so far! Awesome engine! Body look’s good in grey!

John

Edited May 13, 2021 by papajohn97
Spelling and grammar

[Zippi]

Thanks John, I guess everybody has gone through this but man I just don't have the patients to stick it out.  Came back from the local Hobby Shop earlier and bought some of the Tamiya acrylic gloss and flat along with the TS-13 Gloss.  Just got the 65 Impala test body airbrushed with the Tamiya X-7 Red Gloss paint as the body was already primed with Rust-Oleum gray primer.  I thinned it with Lacquer thinner 50/50 and this paint seem to flow out of the airbrush a lot better than the craft paint and it turned out pretty good.  I'll let it set overnight and shoot it with the TS-13 gloss hoping for better results.   

[Zippi]

Just thought I would post a couple pics of my High end Quality controlled spray area.  My spray area is what I like to call "Sun-Ray Max lighting" with a REAM GRAPHIC PAPER Spray Booth along with a variable wind-speed environment.  Price to fit all.    

[TransAmMike]

The paint as far as I can see looks great.👍

[Zippi]

6 minutes ago, TransAmMike said:

The paint as far as I can see looks great.👍

Yeah buddy.  It went down a lot better than the craft paint.  This is the first time using Tamiya acrylic paint so this was a test.  

[Zippi]

Along with all the paint issues I did manage to get most of the parts murdered out.  I also tried my hand a plumbing the master cylinder.  Turned out ok.  

[TransAmMike]

Wow Bob, yer going all in....how long have you been modelling cars again?🤔😃

[Zippi]

46 minutes ago, TransAmMike said:

Wow Bob, yer going all in....how long have you been modelling cars again?🤔😃

Haha....you've seen my paint jobs right ☺ 

[NOBLNG]

One thing I try to remember to do is use an airhose set at low pressure to blow all the dust off immediately before airbrushing. It is amazing how the paint or primer makes lint or dust specs appear. You can also use a can of compressed air available at any office supply store. 

[Zippi]

Thanks for the tip Greg.  Well.....I wet sanded the Nova with 4000, 6000, and 12,000 then polished it with Novus 2.  It took a lot of the imperfections out but I didn't like the way that it looked so it's in the drink as we speak.  I have the 65 Impala test body curing that I painted yesterday with the Tamiya acrylic paint.  I'll be spraying the Tamita TS-13 this afternoon hoping for some good results.  If this doesn't turn out satisfactory to me then I'm at my wits end and don't know what to try next if anything.   

 

Edited May 14, 2021 by Zippi

[Zippi]

Ok.....I sprayed 5 coats of the Tamiya TS-13 over the Tamiya X-7 Red on the Impala test body.  These pics or roughly 1 hr after I sprayed the TS-13.  What do you fellows think???  The finish still seems a little rough looking to me.  Should I wet sand or just polish with Novus?      

Edited May 14, 2021 by Zippi

[Rick L]

You need to go wetter. 

[Zippi]

3 minutes ago, Rick L said:

You need to go wetter. 

K.  It has been curing for about 1 1/2 hrs.  Can I spray it again wetter???

[Rick L]

Yes

[Zippi]

4 minutes ago, Rick L said:

Yes

You think maybe one good wet coat?

[Rick L]

Yes, keep making passes till it gets that wet uniform look all around. Then stop. There’s a fine line where the paint will stay and when it will run but just be sure to keep the spay can moving. 

[Zippi]

9 minutes ago, Rick L said:

Yes, keep making passes till it gets that wet uniform look all around. Then stop. There’s a fine line where the paint will stay and when it will run but just be sure to keep the spay can moving. 

Ok.  It's good and wet.  I was afraid to spray anymore as it looked like it wan't to run.  Feels like the spray can it getting pretty empty.  Whatya think now???  

[Rick L]

Mucho better! What do you think?

[Zippi]

2 minutes ago, Rick L said:

Mucho better! What do you think?

It looks much better.  If that gloss holds up during the curing process I'll be a happy camper.  I'm sure a lot of the gloss will fade as it cures but at this point I'm satisfied.  Thanks dude.  Does this hold true for the paint as well....get it on wet?  

[Zippi]

2 minutes ago, Zippi said:

It looks much better.  If that gloss holds up during the curing process I'll be a happy camper.  I'm sure a lot of the gloss will fade as it cures but at this point I'm satisfied.  Thanks dude.  Does this hold true for the paint as well....get it on wet?  

If this still looks good in the morning I will repaint my Nova with Tamiya XF-19 Sky Grey and use the TS-13 the same way.  Wife and I are taking our 49 Chevy pickup to a cruise-in tomorrow and there is rain on Sunday so I'll try and paint it on Monday.  I'll need to pick up another can of the TS-13.

[Rick L]

Yes. Starting with light, medium, then full coat. Light sand any dust then the gloss will do the rest. You are correct that the gloss will fade a bit but it will still be smoother and ready for high grit sanding and a Novus 2 buffer. BE SURE IT’S DRY. The longer you wait the harder the paint will get. I’m talking days not hours. Don’t concentrate sanding on high areas like door handles, trim, or hard outside corners. There is less paint in those areas than on the flat surfaces and you will break through. Once you get a uniform flat finish on the flat surfaces the Novus will meld it all in.

[Zippi]

6 minutes ago, Rick L said:

Yes. Starting with light, medium, then full coat. Light sand any dust then the gloss will do the rest. You are correct that the gloss will fade a bit but it will still be smoother and ready for high grit sanding and a Novus 2 buffer. BE SURE IT’S DRY. The longer you wait the harder the paint will get. I’m talking days not hours. Don’t concentrate sanding on high areas like door handles, trim, or hard outside corners. There is less paint in those areas than on the flat surfaces and you will break through. Once you get a uniform flat finish on the flat surfaces the Novus will meld it all in.

Yeah....I think I read somewhere to let is set for a week or more and that's what I plan on doing.  I'll wet sand it EVER SO LIGHTLY with 4000, 6000, 12,000 then polish it with Novus 2.  Fingers crossed on this one.  

Edited May 14, 2021 by Zippi

[gman]

That is part of the beauty of lacquers- later coats physically melt previous layers (where the orange peel was). You may still have some texture once everything cures, but it should be easier to work with come wet sanding/polishing time than the initial coats.