StevenGuthmiller

Thanks guys! Just finished the 5th coat of clear tonight. Looking good, but I may do a little light sanding to remove a few small dust specks and add one more coat before beginning the polishing process. Please excuse the blurry pics. I obviously still need to work on my photography skills! Steve

Correct. Testors has a Grabber Orange in their lacquer line. Steve

Building a lot of vintage kits, I use this technique a lot. I use the "Micro-Mesh" sanding pads instead of sand paper, and Novus polish. Same way I polish paint. Steve

Sorry Paul, but I'm stealing that idea. Steve

If you wait to apply the foil until right before your final coat or 2 of color, you can clean it easily with a tiny bit of lacquer thinner on a conical swab or a sharpened tooth pick. The thinner will not damage the foil. I have done it the same way as snake, but be aware that if you polish too much, you can polish through the foil. You can get lots of nice affects with this technique. You can use paint & thinner to add color to your badges and emblems as well. I use this technique before clear and then just clear coat over them. Steve

Now you're just toying with me! You did do a resin version of this to sell..........right? Steve

Yeah, I kinda like 'em too!! Gorgeous! Steve

I haven't bought a model mag in more than 20 years. All of the information about our hobby that one could ever want can be found on line today. Forums like this are much more valuable to us hobbyists than a magazine will ever be in my opinion. Now the question arises, without the magazines, would sites like this exist? Probably not, but I personally would be willing to pay a fee to belong to a forum such as this one, magazine or no magazine. There is no interaction with a magazine. If I have a question about something, I can find opinions and answers in minutes on the forum. I have no interest in any magazine, but I would be lost without the help of my fellow members of this site. Thank you Gregg and all of my fellow members! You are all very valuable to me. Steve

I believe that the color is on all of the interior components except for the arm rests. The overall color is actually a very light green/gold, although it looks very gold in the photos. There is just a touch of green. Steve

Started adding a little color to the interior today. Decided on a color change for the darkest color of the three. I just wasn't seeing enough contrast between the darker and medium green so I pulled out an old can of Duplicolor touch-up paint and shot the dash pad, interior tub and inserts in the door panels and seats a dark green. Steve

Thanks bluenote. As a general rule, at least with MCW paints, they will tend to darken slightly after a couple of coats. The colors can be a little on the transparent side. One trick that I like to do is to shoot a color base with a can of Duplicolor paint that is close in color to my finish color before spraying the MCW paint. This not only will give you a good impervious base, but it will also save on the MCW paint. Most times I can get buy with 2 or 3 coats of MCW this way & save myself a half of an ounce of the "good" paint. Spraying over the Model Master should give you the same effect. You will notice that with any paint there can be rather large variations when compared to photos on line. Even photos of different cars on the net will often show quite a bit of variation. I am currently working on a '67 Ford Galaxie in "Lime Gold" and the photos I see on line are very little help when it comes to finding the exact correct color. Steve

I would never deny anybody's right to use whatever materials that they see fit, but in this case, the OP asked for our opinion on this subject. I am just offering my opinion. As far as the particle size goes, it may be difficult to measure particle size differences with a micrometer, but it is not hard to discern the difference with the naked eye. These examples are typical of the distinctions between a common rattle can metallic paint as apposed to an air brush paint formulated for 1/25th scale. While using MCW or Scale Finishes paints may not be for everyone, in general, you will achieve a much more realistic looking paint job with them than with the majority of Testors or Duplicolor metallics. Not to say that there are not some other good metallic paints available, but I believe that you will experience much greater uniformity in the particle size and greater realism with the airbrush colors. I apologize to Tom Andrukaitis for using his '64 Ford photo in this comparison. I would be interested to see a side by side comparison of the Model Master and Scale Finishes colors "bluenote". I have not used Scale Finishes colors, but might like to give them a try in the future. Steve

Very nice rendition of the "upside down bath tub" Rich! Steve

That is true. Whatever you find acceptable is good. But it is not entirely subjective. If you're building anything that is supposed to replicate 1:1 in 1/25th scale, scale is exceedingly important. It would not be convincing to put a 1/12 engine in a 1/32 car. Unless you're dealing in fantasy subjects. Steve

Give it a shot or two of Testors or other hobby primer first and then a very light coat followed by progressively heavier coats of Duplicolor primer & see what you get. I have pretty much stopped contemplating painting techniques since I fell on this regimen. It gives me generally very consistent results. Steve

The Duplicolor sandable gray primer is very dark. This is part of the reason that many times I will opt for the "primer sealer" instead. Unless I'm using a very dark color over it. I have had mixed results with using Testors primer under Duplicolor or MCW paint in the past as well. Sometimes it worked, sometimes not. It was unreliable to the point that I didn't trust using it any more. The affect that I was seeing in the instances where it gave me trouble were a little strange and hard to describe. It looked almost as if the paint was dissolving the primer in spots to the point that the primer was actually rising up to the surface and peeking through the color, if that makes any sense. Anyway, I attributed it to the fact that the Testors primer and automotive lacquers are not entirely compatible and it wasn't worth the risk of using it any more. Steve

Yes, I understand which paints you are referring too, and while some of them are closer to scale than others, a good majority of them are still way too large. You have to remember that anything over 1/25th the size of the 1:1 is out of scale. Examine a 1:1 automobile with metallic paint up close and see if you can pick out individual flakes of metallic. Now imagine those particles 1/25th that size. They would be nearly imperceptible. As a matter of fact, when I look at the size of the particles in the paint of the 1:1 cars sitting in my garage, it is obvious to me that the particles in that paint are even smaller than what you see coming out of most model paint cans. I realize the difficulty with replicating particles that small, but if you can even make out individual particles of metallic, they're too large. Even a lot of paints like MCW, which are formulated to combat this issue, will still have particles which are too large. I like to use the example of the MCW "Cay Coral" paint that I used on this 1958 Impala as an illustration of what 1/25th scale metallic paint should look like. Even up close, it is nearly impossible to pick out individual metallic particles, yet it has a nice metallic "sheen". This is what I measure all others by. Steve

That's why I shoot something more benign under it first. Steve

Duplicolor "Perfect Match". Steve

I have used them and in general, they work okay. My biggest gripe is the size of the metallic particles in the paint. They are generally far too large for 1/25th scale. Now I use MCW paints almost exclusively for that reason. Testors has discontinued far more colors than they have added in recent years. Steve

Those are exactly the types of primers that I use. You could also add the red oxide primer. Just remember Tom, these primers are also formulated for real cars and not for plastic, so they are hotter than hobby primers. This is the technique that I use and it works well for me. I shoot a coat of hobby primer such as Testors or Tamiya for the first coat. Duplicolor primers are quite thin and do not cover all that well, but they level extremely well & create a great barrier. Shooting a coat of Testors first gives me total coverage & a slight barrier to the Duplicolor primer. Then it's just a matter of continuing with coats of the Duplicolor primer, starting with light coats and becoming increasingly heavier with each coat. I use a coat of Testors followed by as many as 4 or 5 more coats of Duplicolor without suffering any detail hide. When it is time for color, the same technique of starting with light coats followed by successively heavier ones will guard against any possible crazing. Once you have a few color coats on, you can go nuts with clear coats if you desire. By the time you get to that point, the plastic is entirely sealed. Steve

Now that's just plain beautiful!! Perfect color combo on an almost non-existent kit! Fantastic job! Steve

If it's not blushing, this would be my guess. You need a highly impenetrable barrier before spraying a hot paint like this. If the primer is too thin, the paint will eat right through it down to the plastic. Also, some hobby primers can be a little troublesome with automotive lacquers. I have had Testors primer problems under hot paints. I use predominantly Duplicolor primer now, and lots of it! Steve

Put together my color combination for the interior today. Still need to finish up a few small things and then I'll be ready to start air brushing. The medium green on the left will be for the lower half of the dash & the steering wheel. Darker green in the middle will be the dash pad and inserts in the seats and door panels. The light "gold green" on the right will be the overall upholstery color on the seats, console & door panels. Steve

It sure makes it a lot easier! But you might be surprised what can be done, even with faint badges and scripts. They don't get a lot more faint than the trunk badge on the AMT '61 Buick annual. Steve