StevenGuthmiller

“She’ll _ _ _ _ you for a chocolate bar.” Steve

I think we’re getting a little ahead of ourselves fellas. You’re beginning to sound like the toilet paper hoarders who flip out every time somebody sneezes. I’m not that type to let my blood pressure get out of control over kit prices anyway, so I’m not loosing any sleep over it. Steve

It’s my understanding that the “Custom Lacquer System” was always intended to be a base coat/clear coat system. Now of course a “fabric” color, while within the same system, wouldn’t be clear coated for obvious reasons. Steve

Same. As. matter of fact, I usually let it sit for much longer. Often several months. One of the many reasons why I stopped using enamel. Steve

You can get virtually any color that exists in lacquer if you’re not limited to spray cans. If you combine the color pallet available from MCW, Scale Finishes, and a number of other aftermarket paint providers, there’s no reason that you shouldn’t be able to find any color that you can think of in lacquer. I would imagine that there are hundreds, if not thousands of choices. Steve

I have to agree. It’s all about the paint. There’s no possible way to offer any sort of definitive spacing without knowing exactly what paint you’re using and how much. This is another good reason to settle upon a definitive set of materials and procedures and stick with it for all projects. jumping back and forth between materials used, and how they’re used is all but guaranteed to produce discrepancies in panel fitment. Once you have settled upon a painting regimen that’s completely consistent time after time, it kind of just happens by sight and feel. You get a pretty accurate feel for how much space you need to allow for paint, because you’re applying almost identical volumes of paint on every project. Steve

Almost all of the chrome moldings, trim, emblems, etc, were done with Bare Metal Foil. There is very little “chrome paint” throughout this model, aside from a small number of interior parts that were done with Alclad Chrome. I have very little faith in the durability or longevity of chrome paint, so I use very little of it. The acrylics used for the weathering are water based craft type acrylics, but for most engine/chassis/interior painting, I still use enamels, mostly flat enamels, and/or enamels thinned with lacquer thinner to expedite curing. As far as body paint, I use nothing but automotive type acrylic lacquer, such as MCW, Scale Finishes, and occasionally Duplicolor, with pretty much nothing but Duplicolor lacquer primers, and Duplicolor lacquer for clear coats. Steve

The model is an AMT 1964 Pontiac Bonneville annual kit that has been highly augmented using an array of different parts from other kits, as well as scratch made and a few aftermarket parts. Almost every part has been either modified or replaced. This is what the kit looked like prior to beginning the project. And the finished piece. Steve

I never pursued a ‘58 Edsel annual due to the new AMT Pacer, but I did build the ‘60 annual hardtop as well. Steve

The MPC ‘65 Dodges are quite rare, and have been for a long time. My guess is that the 880 convertible is considerably more difficult to acquire than the Monaco, and it seems that the MPC ‘66 full sized Dodges even more so. This is the MPC ‘65 Monaco that I built some years back. I have a ‘66 Monaco rebuilder that I would like to restore at some point as well. Steve

My guess would be that it's not terrifically rare, albeit it has certainly become much more difficult to find and exceedingly more expensive in recent years. I'm not entirely certain about the convertible, but the hard top version was re-released in the early 60s as a "Junior", snap style kit, which would cut into the '59 Edsel's overall rarity. This one was built from the "Trophy Series" kit. Steve

I agree 100% The less filler the better. Glue a short section of rod into the hole with a good plastic cement, let it dry thoroughly, and then trim the rod close to the surface and sand level with the surface. After that, a thin layer of glazing putty and some light sanding will do the trick. I use plastic as much as possible for filling holes. The less filler you use, the less you have to worry about shrinkage, cracking, etc. Not only that, but if you glue it in place with a plastic solvent, should you have to strip a paint job for any reason, the plastic won’t be affected, so you won’t have to start the body work all over again. Steve

If your building a ‘32 Ford with a 283, it’s obviously a custom, which means there’s really no “correct” set up. The advantage of building a custom is that you don’t have to follow any play book. You can do it however you want. Steve

I’ve never decanted any of the Duplicolor primers. Maybe the decanting is the issue. Steve

Probably just a bad batch. It happens. I use the exact same primer on pretty much every project, and I've never had any issues with it. I have however had the same sort of issues with the "Perfect Match" clear a couple of times, but even that hardens up eventually. I had the "tacky" issue with the clear on my '69 Coronet, but I was still able to get it cut and polished, and now it's just as hard as any of my other models. Steve

Correct. And we have Round-2 to thank for a large portion of that. You know, the same re-introduced kits that haven’t seen the light of day for 40 or 50 years or more that people on Facebook like to piss and moan about because they’re not brand new tooling throughout! ? Steve

An update from 2018. The Johan 1968 Olds 442 that I was bragging about back then after it’s restoration. Steve

As a rule, most molded in color bodies usually have some issues that make polishing the plastic a problem. Many are so thin as to be somewhat transparent, and there is often swirls in the plastic where it came together in the mold. The only circumstances where I have ever elected to possibly polish the bare plastic is if it’s thick enough to make it completely opaque, if there are no swirls or color blemishes, and if the color is “believable”. Often there’s no possible way to make the surface look as if it’s been painted without actually painting it. The only reason that I did my ‘61 Plymouth in this manner is because it met all of the criteria. I haven’t found another true candidate since. Steve

Just treat it as you would a painted body, but remove all of the mold seams first. I did this Johan ‘61 Fury this way. Sanded off the mold lines and then used a Micro-Mesh polishing kit and Novus liquid polishes to shine it up. Steve

If Easy Off works, Super Clean will work just as well. Both products rely on lye as the active ingredient that is instrumental in the removal of the paint, and they both contain roughly the same amount of that ingredient. There are however advantages in using Super Clean versus Easy Off. Easy Off pumps out a LOT of noxious fumes when sprayed, so I would certainly suggest wearing some form of protection when using it. Super Clean has a fairly pleasant smell, and as you’re soaking and not spraying, you’re not pumping a lot of fumes into the air. Another advantage of Super Clean is that it’s able to be used over and over again, unlike Easy Off which is a one shot deal. I’ve been using the same tub of Super Clean for at least of couple of years, so in the end, although Super Clean is more expensive initially, it’s vastly more economical in the long run. In any case, the two products will perform almost identically, but Super Clean is much less messy, and a lot easier to use. In both cases, skin protection should be used, as lye is very tough on the skin. Steve

Yes, it is in fact a ‘58 Mercury. Unfortunately, the ‘58 Mercury was never produced in kit form, however, it was produced in resin by Modelhaus at one point. Unfortunately, Modelhaus kits have often become even more expensive than some of the originals that they copied, and even more so for kits like this that were never produced in plastic. Steve

It’s good to remember that there are no silver bullets when it comes to stripping paint, (or at least very few) I’ve heard that some products such as Testors ELO and the like will strip virtually everything, but in those circumstances, the products are not designed for a soaking process and can damage the plastic if left on too long. Of course this is second hand information as I don’t use those products. In any event, which products will work is entirely dependent on a number of factors, not the least of which is the type of paint to be stripped, and how it was applied. Your painting procedure and the materials used will determine what will work, and what won’t. What works perfectly for one type, or even brand of paint, might be a complete and utter failure for another. The best approach for settling upon a successful paint removal system is to settle upon a painting regimen that is constant and consistent. In other words, once you find a regimen that gives you the results that you desire, stay within those parameters, and then find the products that work best for removing those materials and you will be successful every time that stripping is necessary. Bouncing back and forth between a number of different types and brands of paint and the procedures for applying them will all but guarantee that you will run into circumstances where your preferred removal process will fail. Steve

Super Clean will work quite well with lacquer as well, as long as the primer used is affected by it. I’ve had very good luck stripping multiple coats of automotive lacquer color and clear with Duplicolor primer underneath. A good soak for a couple of days and it comes right off in sheets. Steve

I’ve heard that as well. I only remember using brake fluid once many years ago, and I wasn’t particularly impressed with it’s performance. Plus, I realized that disposing of it after it’s useful life was over was kind of a PITA. On the same note, I’ve also had concerns about IPA drying out the plastic and making it brittle. I have little experience with that claim though as I’ve only used alcohol on a limited basis as well. (also with very limited success) Steve

That sounds suspect to me. If Moebius uses polystyrene plastic for their models, as I would certainly think that they would, Purple Power should have no adverse affect on it. By the way, I would suggest graduating to Super Clean. It works much better for stripping paint than Purple Power. Steve