StevenGuthmiller

Nice work Jerry!! Which kit did the tires and wheels come from? Looks like a nice set! Steve

Wow! Someone must have had a sale on AMT '57 Chrysler 300s! I believe this is the third finished build posted in the past couple of weeks! But I have to say, I think this is the best one yet! Mostly because I really like the color! This car looks particularly nice in white. Absolutely beautiful model Anthony!! Steve

It was! Steve

By the way, WD-40's main ingredients are Varsol, (mineral spirits) and mineral oil, which is also the main ingredient in Skin So Soft. Apparently the mineral oil is the ingredient that works so well for removing adhesive residue. Steve

I have used WD for cleaning adhesive residue, cleaned with dish soap and painted again with no issues on several occasions. As "peteski" stated, it's just a lubricant. It's not some kind of nuclear waste. Make sure the parts are well scrubbed and cleaned and give it another shot of paint Lee, and let us know the results. Let's put the WD-40 myth to bed once and for all. Steve

Absolutely. Washing in a good degreasing dish liquid like Dawn will remove the WD. But yes, if you are concerned about leaving any residue from the WD, use something else.......if you can find a good alternative. Steve

WD-40 should do the trick nicely. I use it all of the time for foil and tape residues. Won't damage the paint, but be certain to wash the model in soap and water after treating with the WD, especially if you plan on doing any more painting or foiling or anything else that you want to stick. If you happen to have access to an old Avon stash, look for "Skin So Soft". It's the best thing that I have ever used for removing tape residues. It works great for taking warning labels and bumper stickers off of your vehicles as well. Steve

Agreed! Very nicely done! It "should" have come in this color! Steve

Exceptionally well done Ludwig, as always! Steve

Very nicely done! Looks terrific sitting next to the '63. Steve

Thanks guys! While the clear coats cure, it's time to move on to some other items. I sprayed the chassis plate several days ago, so I finished it up today by masking and spraying the fuel tank with some Alclad aluminum. I then masked the tank and sprayed the straps with Alclad dark aluminum. Steve

Some of the best white walls that I've ever encountered were the old Satco whitewalls. Not available anymore except through Modelhaus tires as a resin copy. The main features that I really like about them are the fact that the whitewall insert is not just a flat piece of white plastic. It has depth, which helps the wheel seat deeper into the tire as it should. In addition to that, the insert also has a recessed lip for the wheel to seat into making the wheel appear flush with the sidewall, also more realistically than most kit tires. They are lower profile and much wider than the typical Firestone Deluxe type tires that are found in the Revell kits and available in the AMT parts packs. Steve

Mine is pretty old too! When you think about it, how much of this can you really use. Steve

Nice work Al! I've had the aerosedan and sedan delivery in my stash for many years. They appear to be great kits and I think that it would be fun to build them, but sadly, I have far too many other projects that take precedence. Steve

Thanks fellas for all of your well wishes. It appears as though they have worked because the final clear coat went on yesterday evening and I can find no issues with it. At this point, I believe that the body is ready for polishing and foiling. Steve

Took our Honda S-2000 in to a local shop today to have a wheel checked, and while I talked to the mechanic, I turned, and up on a hoist behind me was an original, unrestored 1970 Plymouth Super Bird 440 six pack in Hemi Orange! Fabulous condition, with absolutely no rust, original undercoating and vinyl top. The underside looked like something that might have been less than 10 years old! The mechanic told me that it was all original, with only 1 repaint, and a front seat re-upholstery. Car was supposedly originally sold in Bismark North Dakota. Guess it's not just all about John Deere around here after all! Unfortunately, I had nothing with me to be able to snap a photo. Steve

Agreed. Not to mention that the color availability is virtually endless. Steve

That's what I use, but you need to be aware that many acrylic lacquers, like automotive paints, do not play well with polystyrene plastic. If your surface is not prepared correctly, strong lacquers will craze the plastic. If I had to guess, I would say that a good 75% of automotive modelers today use lacquer in one form or another, whether it's a hobby lacquer such as Testors or Tamiya, an automotive touch-up paint such as Duplicolor, or one of the many aftermarket airbrush lacquers such as MCW or Scale Finishes. Steve

Agreed! Much better control and a finer tool than a Q-Tip. I only use Q-Tips for heavier tasks, like cleaning my air brushes. Steve

I actually use Testors #1529 "Red Metal Flake". Doesn't seem to be a whole lot different from the Stop Light Red that I've used in the past. Steve

That is just plain sweet!!! Steve

Not necessarily. Testors clear enamel will yellow horribly almost the second that you apply it. It is especially noticeable over light colors. Stay away from it unless you are using a very dark color. Testors lacquer clear coats are pretty much only lacquer in name and are very benign. You can use them over enamel with no ill affects. Just be certain that your enamel is completely cured before clear coating. Unfortunately, that can take weeks. In either case, you might need to do some polishing to get a good shiny finish. If your color coats are sufficiently thick, and a solid, non-metallic color, you can polish the color without a clear coat for just as good of result as with clear coats. Steve

That's the best way to do it in my opinion. The type of paint can be anything that will not attack the chrome finish, but to be safe, acrylic craft paints are completely benign. It's really no different than the way that I do a number of these sort of tasks, from body badging, to hubcaps and grilles. Wiping the paint while wet will generally net you nothing more than a smeared mess. Steve

Nice Bill!! I bought the exact same model back when X-EL was still in business, and I don't believe that you spent much more than I did back in the 80s! Great find! Steve

Nice save Ron!! Reminds me a great deal of the beginnings of a particular '58 Ford that I restored some time ago. Might have been the same original builder! Steve