StevenGuthmiller

That’s the one that I use almost exclusively. Steve

You can use basically anything. This is Testors flat black enamel thinned with mineral spirits. Steve

Thanks guys! Just finishing up the basic layout for a removable air cleaner, as I've done with my most recent projects. Still some refinements to do, and of course some more details need to be added to the intake manifold, but it's beginning to take shape. Still trying to determine if there's an option for an air filter element, or if I'll just go without. I'll have to see if I can dream something up. Steve

Part of it is just the "good old boy" mentality, which I was somewhat aware of from my last visit there some years ago. But the biggest problem was the fact that it was quite obvious that some of the judging was done on pure emotion rather than the overall quality, or complexity of the models. By that I mean that as is the standard practice in any contest, judging is done using a number of factors to determine which models are "the best", whether that be per category, or overall. It appeared to me that the judging (in some cases), was essentially done on a single appearance feature rather than the technical ingenuity required to complete the model to the highest overall quality possible. I never enter a contest with the expectation of winning any awards, but I do expect that the judges will be professional in their approach to picking "The Best" models to receive whatever awards are being given. I get the feeling that the judges in this circumstance were either not aware of what was required to build each model, or were just not very good at judging in general. Forgive me, but I don't think that they really knew what they were looking at. At least I like to think that that was the case. Otherwise, there were more nefarious reasons for some of their decisions. Another turn off came at the end of the show as I was packing up to leave when I heard one of the area club leaders/judges discussing gleefully with a patron about how they "recycled" their awards from year to year, by collecting medals and trophies won by, I assume club members, and reissuing them again at the following year's show. I suppose that you could call that being frugal, but I found the practice of recycling awards to be quite tacky. And, if they were able to collect and recycle awards among club members from year to year, that speaks to the "good old boy" issue that I opened with. Anyway, the whole situation just seemed a bit "seedy" in my estimation. I believe that in the future, I'll just stick with the shows where I know that the organizers, and when applicable, the judges, have the utmost integrity, which is the rule rather than the exception. Steve

Thanks so much fellas! It's your encouragement that keeps me going! Thanks to the generosity of Gerry Paquette, (Exotics_Builder) the conversion of the 4 bbl intake that he was so courteous to send to me, is taking shape as a 2 bbl intake. I'll likely be doing a bit more detail work on it, but it appears that it will do the trick very nicely! Thanks again Gerry! The generosity of many of the members here never ceases to amaze me! Steve

Thanks to the generosity of Gerry Paquette, (Exotics_Builder) the conversion of the 4 bbl intake that he was so courtesy to send to me, is taking shape as a 2 bbl intake. I'll likely be doing a bot more detail work on it, but it appears that it will do the trick very nicely! Thanks again Gerry! The generosity of many of the members here never ceases to amaze me! Steve

Looking at the one on the left tells me that there's really nothing wrong with the primer. That's exactly how it should look. Duplicolor white is a bit on the transparent side, so it's good to use several light coats versus one heavy one, and doing so is advantageous for plastic protection anyway. It's actually difficult to obscure detail with all of the Duplicolor primers, regardless of how much you use. I routinely use as many as 5 coats, and I never have issues with detail hide, even after covering it with 4 or 5 coats of lacquer color, and another 5 coats of Duplicolor clear lacquer. I know that most people would consider as many as 15 coats of primer, color and clear overkill, and would conclude that that process would cover all of the fine detail, but with the right materials, it's absolutely not the case. There is a method to my madness, and to date it has served me extremely well. Multiple primer coats serves to ensure total protection against hot solvents in subsequent coats of paint, and while it's very possible that this many coats might not be required in every case, It's my view that it's better to be safe than sorry, and short of the extra time required to apply that many coats, I have never been able to find any down side, and using this procedure has assured me that I will never have any solvent issues down the line. Multiple color coats of course ensures uniformity and color depth, which is the reasoning for 4-5 coats of color. Multiple coats of clear adds depth to the clear, which ensures that there is sufficient material to prevent burn through during the polishing process, which is always a part of my paint process, regardless of how shiny the clear ends up straight out of the can or airbrush. I feel that polishing creates a more realistic finish than "spray and walk away". In any case, as an example, this '64 GP has the aforementioned 5 coats of primer, 4 to 5 coats of color, and 5 coats of clear, followed by polishing, and even with extremely fine scripts, such as the "GRAND PRIX" scripts and badges on the lower front quarter panel, there has been no discernible detail hide at all. Steve

And of course, there’s always the possibility that you just got unlucky enough to get a bad can. It happens. Even with the best products. Steve

I agree. Especially with a primer such as this. A dehydrator is absolutely not necessary These primers will dry enough for another coat within a few minutes, and will be completely dry overnight, without a dehydrator. I suppose a dehydrator might be a viable solution when you’re using enamels that take a month to cure without it, but with a lacquer system, it’s completely unnecessary. Steve

Probably one of the nicest examples of this kit that I’ve seen in a while. For some reason, every one seems to want to butcher this kit. It’s weird, but it seems that if it hasn’t been turned into a drag car, gasser, or some sort of street freak, it’s usually painted in some nauseating color. This is very tastefully done!! Steve

Our Christmas meal. Shrimp Cocktail, Shrimp and Corn Chowder, Thai Curry Mussels, Shrimp Scampi, and Broiled Lobster Tails. Steve

For Easter, a Lemon Curd Layer Cake. Steve

Bacon Wrapped Chicken Tenderloins, Homemade French Fries, and Onion Rolls. Steve

Chicken Cordon Blu, Twice Baked Potatoes, and Roasted Veggies. Steve

Our Valentine’s Day dinner. Lobster Thermidor, Steak Diane, Baked Potatoes with Butter, Sour Cream and Bacon, and Roasted, Carrots, Broccoli and Mushrooms. And a Flourless Chocolate Cake with Fresh Raspberry Sauce and Whipped Cream for dessert. Steve

Creamy Cajun sauté, with 2 kinds of sausage, and shrimp, over rice. Steve

Home style pot roast. Steve

Coconut shrimp with sweet chili orange dipping sauce, caramelized onion pilaf, and steamed broccoli. Steve

Boy, I haven’t added anything to this thread in some time, even though I haven’t stopped eating! ? Southern fried catfish and homemade fries. Steve

Nearly all of the trim on this dash board has been foiled, with the exception of a few separate parts which were sprayed with Alclad. It can be done. Steve

The problem with all of these chrome substitutes is that they all have the same basic characteristics. By that I mean none of them are particularly durable, and most will dull with the application of a protective clear coat, so it's pretty much a catch 22. Some seem to be a little more durable than others, and some are just awful in that regard, I don't know how anyone can adequately detail a grille for example, and maybe a grille badge, as the more you handle most of these products, the more messed up they get. The only product that I've heard of that has consistently been touted as durable to the extent of being anything approaching real chrome, is ALSA "Easy Chrome". Of course this product is quite expensive, but I for one will be willing to shell out some cash if a "true" solution for chrome is available, rather than these "half measures" that we have with all of these other products. Steve

I tried to incorporate as many of the small details as I could. Not particularly easy in this scale! ? Steve

That's a given. There are people out there who will screw up Spaghetti-O's. Steve

That was my guess right from the beginning. You're probably more likely to be able to find a chrome shop that does vacuum metalizing on a small scale than you are finding someone who uses ALSA chrome commercially. Steve

On my way to completing the 2-barrel Rochester carb. Just added a little detail to a center carb from the Revell '66 GTO kit. Not perfect, but with some detail painting and a little weathering, it should do pretty well. Steve