Enamels WIN!

[Guest G Holding]

mixing clear in with the color is a favorite blending trick in 1:1. by progressivly adding more clear vs color you can blend different panels together without repainting the whole vehicle. harder to do in scale, but the clear will make the color more "transparent"

[Dr. Cranky]

Doc:

Is this the body you used during your vid on how to use Novus ?

Yes, it is.

[Jdurg]

Amazing work with the enamel paint guys. I just don't have the patience to wait for enamels to fully cure, and am also not very comfortable with the softness of enamel paints. Any time I've used them when building model cars, I always wind up with a fingerprint mark in them from handling the parts when I am applying detail work, or from assembling the body onto the chassis. I paint strictly with lacquer based products now as they dry super fast and I haven't had any issues at all with the lacquer eating the plastic as long as I put a good primer coat on.

Later today I will be able to put rubbing compound and then polishing compound on my '67 Vette body and get ready to do final assembly. (Once I figure out what to do for windshield/rear window glass as the clear plastic in the kit is waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay to thick and out of scale).

[CadillacPat]

Amazing work with the enamel paint guys. I just don't have the patience to wait for enamels to fully cure, and am also not very comfortable with the softness of enamel paints. Any time I've used them when building model cars, I always wind up with a fingerprint mark in them from handling the parts when I am applying detail work, or from assembling the body onto the chassis.

J, what kind of enamels are you having problems with? Soft Enamels???

Are you mixing your own paints and AirBRushing or using Rattlecans??

Have you tried better automotive grade urethane enamels?

CadillacPat

I paint strictly with lacquer based products now as they dry super fast and I haven't had any issues at all with the lacquer eating the plastic as long as I put a good primer coat on.

Later today I will be able to put rubbing compound and then polishing compound on my '67 Vette body and get ready to do final assembly. (Once I figure out what to do for windshield/rear window glass as the clear plastic in the kit is waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay to thick and out of scale).

[Jdurg]

The

J, what kind of enamels are you having problems with? Soft Enamels???

Are you mixing your own paints and AirBRushing or using Rattlecans??

Have you tried better automotive grade urethane enamels?

CadillacPat

The enamels I was using, back when I first started building model cars in the 1990's, were the Testors Model Master enamels. Didn't/don't have an airbrush so they were just applied with a good ol' rattlecan. I would let them "cure" for at least a week after applying the final color coat, yet I would still wind up with a noticeable fingerprint in the places where I held onto the body while joining it to the chassis, or while holding it to carefully detail parts of the exterior.

I've found that automotive grade enamels cure a bit harder, but I still end up with fingerprints or ding marks showing through after handling the parts for a while. (Mostly on the engines as I use the engine enamel paints to get the proper color).

As stated earlier, I now just use automotive touch-up lacquers from an online site that has every color for every make and model of car out there. I LOVE how quickly they dry, how hard they cure, and how amazing they look on the finished model.

[mredzadventure]

What a great thread. Very helpful indeed A few pages ago the topic of safety was brought up. If you use a respirator Here are a few tips . I am in the hazardous waste industry and here is what we do.

Your cartridges do not have an off and on button they are always working. When your done put the cartridges in a freezer bag to stop them from absorbing everything in the atmosphere. Clean it after every use. Alcohol swaps work fine. If you have a beard or mustache that is around the seal your respirator will not work right. At work we must be clean shaven. A bit extreme for a hobby but I thought you should know. If you can smell the solvents there in your bloodstream that is the bottom line. Make sure you have the correct cartridges they make different ones for different applications. Your paint supplier will have them. We use MSA brand they work good. Also check to make sure it works. Cover the cartridges with both hands and breath in you should feel the mask suck to your face. Cover the valve in the middle of the mask it should puff out as you breath out. Now your sealed and safe.

Edited October 20, 2012 by mredzadventure