ScaleDale

I got a bit sidetracked by this Pro Stock idea I've got going, but I should get the fine points of the fairlane wrapped up in a day or so. I wanted to use an airbrush stencil I had from Coast Airbrush but the idea didn't work out on my test body, so I painted it black, acanned it and made a decal out of it. It's from a collection called Steam Punk. Dr. Cranky used one on a build of his. A '49 Merc, no doubt... Dale

Here are the pics I took while I was building my booth. The fans are 60 cfm brushless 120 volt from Radio Shack that were around $30 each. The wiring isn't super neat but it's all soldered and sealed up tight so I'm not worried about sparks. It uses a 16X20 furnace filter that is good for around three or five projects before I change it. It isnt vented because it's in the garage on my other workbench for building wood stuff. I put a high velocity fan in the window to vent the paint fumes when I paint and the combination seems to work well enough for me. I'd like to vent it to the outside but that won't work now. It's adapted from the one in that link I posted in the other thread. I was about to go looney from watching YouTube videos of people talking about spray booths when I found it. Solid info. Dale Pics:

This isn't really designed to be directly mounted to the paint booth. It would go in a duct leading out to a window or something. I looked at something like this to vent my garage where my booth is. For a booth fan to be safe it needs to have a brushless motor so that it won't generate sparks. Mine uses four computer fans. There are "squirrel cage" blowers that are commonly used with home paint booths. I can't recall the name, but searching Amazon or Ebay for that term will show you what I mean. Find the other recent paint booth thread and read the link I posted to the best article on the subject. Dale

Here is the definitive guide to model spray booths: http://modelpaint.tripod.com/booth2.htm Dale

I would build a Pro Mod style car from an available kit first to get a grasp of what is involved with these cars. Revell has several Sportsman class cars, two '55 or '56 Chevy "shoebox" racers and a new release Jukebox Ford. These have the big engines, tube chassis and full roll cages that you would wind up having to scratch build with your resin project. The builders here who are doing this level of work look to me to be using 1:1 examples from the Internet. The chassis they build resemble the ones from pro racing shops like Jerry Bickel Racing and Chassis Works. ChassisWorks.com has a good on-line catalogue of chassis to look at. Resin is a different animal if you've never worked with it. You have to use either Super Glue (ca) or epoxy. Plastic glue won't stick to it. By the way, the folks on this board doing this level of construction with plastic are only a welders certificate away from building real race cars. Good luck and I don't mean to discourage you. Dale

Just to clarify, I spray Future before taping. This provides a very smooth surface for the tape to seal to and allows it to peel of cleanly. Nothing goes over the tape but the second color of paint. Dale

I have printed decals on an Epson 1400 at 300 and 600 dpi with good results at max quality settings on Testers decal paper that is available from the local shop. You need to let it dry thoroughly and spray it with a fixative before applying it or the ink will wash off. It's a two day process for me. Inkjet decals work best over light paint jobs. Even dark colors like black will vanish into a blue paint job. And remember you can't print white ink, but designers know that. Dale

Man (unfortunately)needed ramp. Man got ramp. The end. OP: This isn't about you. Dale

I've pulled a couple of tips from Dr. Cranky that have worked well. One is to use 3M automotive masking tape. It's tan and available from Auto Zone in my area. The other is to clear the first coat with Future before masking. This seems to do a good job of sealing the edge between the tape and paint. It's not super glossy, either. Dale

I do the toothpick and tweezers thing too. I also keep a spray bottle of water on my bench and mist the body before applying the decals. Then they don't stick right away and I can easily slide them around into place. You have to be prepared for this, though and not panic if they run around and flip over or what ever. A Q Tip will suck up the extra water in the end. Dale

Thanks. I just finished cutting a helpless little 2010 Mustang into 8 pieces to build a Pro Stocker. Maybe this will help me put her back together again. Dale

I was able to get very dry lacquer off a model with that hardware grade alcohol. Got it in the paint section of Lowes. I knew it was good from all the warnings on the can. BTW, DO wear gloves and a mask and keep away from flame. It will freeze your fingers off, too. Great stuff.

Here's one on Amazon for $17 http://www.amazon.com/Paasche-R-75-Regulator-Moisture-Trap/dp/B000BR2STI/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1371153606&sr=8-3&keywords=airbrush+regulator If you mean the kind that fits to the handle of the AB itself, I only know of the one from Iwata. I use both a tank combo and brush filter. Dale

I'm on a Windows machine right now and don't know how to copy a link, but try ModelCars.com They have a page of engine kits. Dale

Seals are a big issue. I have used "paint jars" from Michaels for decanting lacquer and I have to remember to remove the seal from inside the cap first. It's a foam material and will dissolve into the paint. I have to wrap it in a rag to shake it and wear gloves. But it seems to store OK. Dale

Make sure it's this stuff. I use it to undercoat Alclad and it works OK. http://www.krylon.com/products/fusion_for_plastic/ Dale

It's hard to tell when you're serious or not, so... Actually, they were looking for Richard III himself. His grave site had been previously unknown. It was really quite the big deal over on the other side of the Pond. On Topic: I'm 65. I built in the '60s and decided to take the hobby back up recently as something to keep me busy during the winters here in Washington State. Havent been outside since... Dale

I have several of those and use them for everything except lacquer thinner. Won't that stuff eat the plastic over the long run? It eats my plastic pipett things. Dale

Looks to me like the sources for the Revell decal pages. The cost converts to around $16 USD for the 2010 Camero. It would be nice to have a vector file to play with, though. It would make chassis design and fitting easier. Dale

I think the key word in his statement is "portable". If you can pick it up and move it around then it's not vented to the outside and that's what's important in a spray booth used indoors. The ones I've seen hook up to exhaust vents that run to the outside like a dryer does. That moves the paint fumes out of the house. Mine is home made and used in the garage. It's not vented to the outside itself, but does have fans and a filter. I have a high velocity fan in the garage window and I run it to clear the fumes out of the work area. Dale

Interesting timing. After becoming buried under build clutter for the umteenth time I spent the weekend beating the thing into submission, Dale

Thanks for the comment! It took forever and I learned a lot about building with purpose and forethought from the project. Dale

Try going to ChassisWorks.com and looking at the chassis kits they build for race cars. It will give you a good idea of what to do. It's a complicated process to get this done in styrene rod. To get the bends you need either a match or a heat gun and it's easy to make it go all strange. This is the second or third one I did for my Pro Stock Mustang project. The grey stuff is Mr. Surfacer liquid body putty that I added to the joints so that I could sand them a little more round. Dale

Here are some pages from the current NHRA rulebook that pertain to rollcages and contain diagrams and measurments. It should help you in your design process. Nice seat, BTW. Dale Pages from 2013_NHRA_rulebook_rev1.pdf

Thanks. That would be around a year or two after my last visit to a drag strip. Gotta get out to the track now that I have the time. And hello from Tacoma/Lakewood, Dale