Pete J.

Yup, you can do it yourself. Here is all you need. http://alsacorp.com/shop/chrome-products/30-chromefx-spray-systems.html#/chromefx-pump_system Which explains why the average hobbyist isn't doing it.

There are four generally used paint strippers out there that every one seems to use. Each works on a specific paint. None works on all paints. You have to experiment and see what is going to work, but there is a high probability that one will do the job. You've already tried oven cleaner. The other three are 91% alcohol, Castol Super clean(aka automotive engine degreaser) and DOT 3 brake fluid. All of these require care in handling with eye protection and a good set of chemical gloves. I use all three depending on the paint I am trying to strip. Good luck

You might want to look at these. http://www.uschivdr.com/ They are a wood grain printed on a clear carrier, much like some carbon fiber decals. You lay down you base color and then put these over the top. They are available here in the states form Last Cavalry. http://shop.lastcavalry.com/brands/Uschi-van-der-Rosten.htm I got a set for another project I am working on and think they will work out really well. You can vary the base coat to get what ever type of wood you would like to replicate.

It's about a 25 minute drive east in Escondido but Stone brewery http://www.stonebrewing.com/ is a place I always take guests from out of town. It's not cheap but they have a great restaurant and a bazillion beers on tap from many micro breweries including their own. A really amazing place if you like craft beer and SoCal food. If you are into craft beer, there are in the neighbor hood of a dozen well respected micro breweries within 20 minutes. If you want pizza then Lucadia Pizza in Carlsbad is one of the best old style pizzas in town. East to San Marcos and you can find Sammy's Wood Fired Pizza which is SoCal style. If you are looking for breakfast than the must go to place in Mama Katz in San Marcos. They figging chop their own corn beef for their hash and have 6 or 7 types of eggs benedict. The place is crazy busy so it is not a zip in and out place. Well, that covers my favorites.

Pure speculation but I don't see that scenario. There is some cell phone video and the aircraft looked like it was moving well. You never see the actual event. We will know what happened though. There was a chase Helo airborne doing video of the flight, so there will be no doubt once they release it. If I were to guess it would be one of two things. Catastrophic airframe failure or more likely asymmetric flap retraction and I tend to favor that. The information on the original aircraft stated that it had automatic flaps and gear retraction. I know for a fact that they changed the gear to hydraulic but if the flaps were replicated, they were independent of each other. If one stuck I doubt there would be enough aileron authority to counteract the roll. I'm with you. It would be great to go quickly doing something you love.

I talked with Scotty several times about the aircraft. He was very kind and shared a lot of information with me. Come to find out we graduated from Air Force Pilot training about a month apart. Great guy. I will be finishing my P100 and show it as a tribute to him. I am going to miss him and his project very much. We lost a great pilot and person yesterday! God's Speed Scotty!

Yummm, New York cheese cakes! I don't know if it is something about the air or what but it is the best hands down. I have three cheesecake cook books and still can't make it quite the same. I can get close and make a great one, but any deli in New York is just that much better! Oh and for you guys who don't like green on your sandwich, come on. Nothing goes better on any sandwich and a nice ripe slice of avocado, but you really have to get in season avo's in Cali before it is quite right. So Cal is to avo's what NY is to cheesecake. Best BBQ? Phil's in San Diego! https://www.philsbbq.net/ Adam Richmond(Man v Food) rated his El Toro tri-tip sandwich one of the top ten sandwiches in America. It was the west coast winner. Good stuff! Phil makes great ribs too! However for baked good I got to go with Fenwicks in Baltimore. http://www.fenwickbakery.com/ Anytime any of my wife's family come to visit, you don't get in the front door without an offering of Fenwick's stickybuns. I remember driving from Baltimore to Ocean City and taking a box with us. I thought that they would be good in the morning with coffee. Darned things barely made it to the outskirts of Ocean City!

If you go to Granger you can get it as thin as .063" which is really easy to manipulate. It is also cheaper, $3.10 for a square foot. than what you get at the hobby shop. You can buy as little as 1 12" X 12" sheet. With shipping you may want to get 3 or 4 which would be a lifetime supply. Here is the web site. Oh, and Granger is a very well know and respected commercial tool and material supply house. https://www.grainger.com/product/GRAINGER-APPROVED-PETG-Sheet-Stock-WP143606/_/N-c1p?s_pp=false&picUrl=//static.grainger.com/rp/s/is/image/Grainger/1UNK3_AS01?$smthumb$#nav=%2Fproduct%2FGRAINGER-APPROVED-PETG-Sheet-Stock-WP143606%2F_%2FN-c1pZ1z0nsqj%3FR%3D1UTJ7%26_%3D1470421618139%26picUrl%3D%2F%2Fstatic.grainger.com%2Frp%2Fs%2Fis%2Fimage%2FGrainger%2F1UNK3_AS01%3F%24smthumb%24%26s_pp%3Dfalse

Google PETG sheets for sale. This is true thermoform clear plastic. If I have a piece that I want to make. I cut it to size and the use a heat gun to shape it over the original piece. As it cools, it will set to the shape you have given it. Once done, I give it a coat of Future(now Pledge with Future shine) to take care of any small scratches.

Or you could just make your own out of brass.

Ok, it has been a while since I posted anything and I have been busy. Finally decided on a paint scheme for the Chevy. I decided to make it a Red Bull promotional car. I need a couple of more coats of clear and then sand and polish it out and do the bright work and work on the interior. You can see the Mexican blanket front seat. It needs some ageing and a flat coat. It is moving along.

Ok, I had to repair one decal and sand it down and fix a couple of other issues. The deal is drying and some brush paint touch up is curing. It will sit overnight and then we can respray the clear coat and get it right this time.

I get the same looks when I explain drilling out the rotors on photoetched disks. The holes were etched less then half way through, so a pin vise with the correct bit. 125 holes per disk, two per rotor(front and back with vent sandwiched in between time four corners. about 1,000 holes drilled by hand.

If I have to do one more trip to the strip tank, I will take you up on it. How much it is to ship a body to Ireland??

Kind of funny, but being in SoCal I never even considered a place closing for the winter, but I grew up in Nebraska and a lot of places did that. As a kid I remember one of our favorite places to go for BBQ was in Denver and it was only open in the summer because they had patio seating. The place was called the Apple Tree Shanty. Anyone else remember it?

Not yet. I will get some up once I get the thing resanded to smooth. It does look good though, it just won't photograph well at the moment. Thanks for asking.

This isn't the first time I have done this but it has been a while. The real problem is that I have repainted this one at least 5 times and gone through 6 sets of decals. I have had to purchase 2 additional kits just for the decals and was lucky last time in that I found someone here on the board(thank Dublin Boy) who was willing to part with a set. I have been very careful with this build, but I swear this one is cursed. First problem was the panel lines didn't fill with Mica Blue so I had very pale blue lines. Repainted preshading the panel lines. Did that and then sanded through the clear and ruined a set of decals. Next time something happened with the last coat of clear and another set of decals shot. Decided that a black base coat worked best with Mica Blue to get the right panel lines. Dropped the body on concrete floor and cracked the front fascia. Another set of decals wasted and now this. This kit is cursed I say, cursed. I am going to have to bring in an exorcist.

I am actually quite shocked. While it was still wet, I decided I had nothing to loose and sprayed it with a heavy coat of HOK clear lacquer thinned to 50/50. It turned out to be a horrible orange peel finish, but after it had a couple of hours to dry, I sanded it down and it looks like that saved it. I have a ton of carful sanding to do, but I think I am ok! Dodged a bullet on that one.

Nobody said anything a about a Philly Cheesesteak either! It has to be a similar thing where everyone has a favorite place. I am partial to Pat's but then every neighborhood in Philly has a local dive or sandwich shop that is "the best". Personally I like mine with grilled peppers, mushrooms, onions with white American. My roommate in the Air Force introduced them to me that way and I am stuck with it. The other "fast food" is a crab cake or soft shell crab sandwich in Baltimore. Local places are the best!

Oh, and one other thing I thought of the other night. When I store my rattle cans, I always store them upside down. This does a couple of things. One of the issues with getting the paint mixed is the dip tube(the tube that runs from the spout to the bottom) is in the bottom and it gets in the way of the glass balls when you swirl it to mix the paint. By storing it upside down if you swirl the can inverted the balls go around the can without bumping into the dip tube and mix it better. Also as the solids settle out in storage, your dip tube in down in that muck at the bottom. By storing it upside down the dip tube stays clear of the settled paint and is always clear when you go to use it again.

Invert the can and spray until there is no more propellant coming out and then use and old fashion can opener on the side. Also a screwdriver will do it. The metal on the sides is not to strong.

I have been working on a WRC Ford Focus for it seems like years now. I have repainted it I don't know how many times now. It is a very complex decal design and I finally got them all on to my satisfaction and let it sit for a couple of weeks to make sure the decals are dry. I decided that I was going to clear coat it today and had just finished clearing another model and cleaned the air brush out by blowing some Lacquer thinner through it. I went over to grab the body and mount it. Came back and hit is with a full on coat of pure Lacquer thinner!!! Not sure if I have ruined it yet again or not. I will let it sit and see what it looks like.

Interesting! I just searched and there 4 in south San Diego, none and north San Diego and 4 in all of Pennsylvania. No wonder you can't find one! My nearest one is a 30 minute drive.

When I make Runza it is with sauerkraut and good ground chuck and sweet Vidalia onions. My mom called them Kraut burgers so I was never aware of the origin of the name. Every Nebraska Football game I have ever been to(including away games) some one will have a Runza stand setup in the parking lot selling them. Ya, it a Husker thing. Go Big Red!

I know you don't get them in Florida, but that is how In-n-Out does it. I suspect they may have been one of the originators of the "Fresh" burger movement. As to Fries, you can watch them cut the potatoes up just before they go in the fryer. I actually had some one once tell me they didn't like In-N-Out fries because they tasted like potatoes! Oh, and Fuddruckers is the same, except you can watch them grind the beef and bake the buns. Crazy how good fresh ingredients beat the other stuff every time.