StevenGuthmiller

Bingo! I have tires that I painted with enamel 30 years ago that still aren't dry! Steve

That was my first thought. You would have to make sure that you don't have a leaky bottle. Steve

It's not too bad. I can usually get one model painted with about a half an ounce of paint. Sometimes it takes more depending on how well the color covers. Steve

Testors "Clear Parts Cement" for me. Pretty much the same thing as Elmers, it just tacks up faster. Steve

Have yet to find a better way myself, other than to make sure to use acrylic paint rather than enamel. Steve

I just received my "Grandt Line" nuts & washers/ antenna bases today thanks to Nick's suggestion. Because of the ideas on this thread, I think I'll have a pretty good system for making antennas. I'm thinking that an update may be in order. Steve

Got my "Grandt Line" nuts & washers/ antenna bases today thanks to Nick's, (High octane) suggestion. Should be set for antennas for a long time! Steve

No. All of my primer & clear coats are shot straight from the can. The Duplicolor primer & clear dries very thin. You could never get away with this many coats with Testors paints, especially the clear. You would be pretty much maxed out at 2 or 3 coats. I think a big part of it is the spray nozzles. The Duplicolor "fan spray" nozzles make a big difference. Usually I will notice that the Testors primer dries thicker & will many times end up with a little bit of orange peel. Several coats of Duplicolor primer will level that off nicely. By the time I get to the 4th or 5th coat of clear I can begin to see a tiny bit of buildup developing around trim pieces, etc, but by then I'm done. The small scripts get foil before the final color coat, so I never have problems with those. I like to get a good base of primer to prevent any possibility of crazing or related issues, & nice amount of clear guards against any "burn through" problems during polishing. These have been my 2 biggest issues since starting to use lacquer. Now my biggest problem is getting a good even color coat. Hopefully the new airbrush will remedy that. As an example, scripts don't get much finer than the ones on the rear quarters & trunk lid of the AMT '59 Bonneville. After a half dozen coats of primer & a couple of color coats, I was still able to get a good foil finish on them. Steve The "300H" & "Chrysler" scripts on the back of the Johan '62 Chrysler were no better, & this one was painted entirely with Duplicolor rattle cans. Probably as many as 12-14 coats total.

That's quite a transformation! I'm glad that you did it because I would have never even attempted it & now we have a fantastic looking build of one to look at. One of the very few pre-war cars that I've ever really liked. Fantastic work!! Steve

Bill is right, I do build a lot of older kits. But I've built plenty of newer ones using the method that I use now with good results. It took me quite a while to come up with a system that works for me & a lot of guys probably won't like it, but it's been giving me restful nights. I use a "LOT" of paint, including primer, but if it's done correctly, you won't get that "dipped" look or any hide of detail. Here's how I do it. One or two coats of Testors lacquer primer, gray or white. ( I find that it covers better than many other primers) As many as 4 or 5 light coats of Duplicolor sandable primer. (any color) I've also begun using the primer sealer in the same fashion, mostly because the color is a lighter gray than Duplicolor sandable gray primer. I start light & work my way to successively heavier coats with that primer as well as the color coats. About 3 or 4 coats of color as well. Then I follow it up with anywhere between 3 to 5 coats of clear. I use mostly Duplicolor clear in a rattle can. So, as I said, a lot more paint than most guys care to use, but when it works for you, why change it. These Chevies were all done using this method with MCW paints. All new tool kits. Steve

Technically, I don't think that I would call this crazing, but regardless of what you call it, it looks to me like it was caused by insufficient priming/sealing, & the paint burned through the primer to the plastic. I have had similar issues & I believe it was probably a combination of factors that caused it. First, there was probably not enough primer, and, or too heavy of a color coat. These types of paints adhere by dissolving the layer beneath it to bite into it. If there is not enough primer or paint between it & the plastic, you'll get this type of phenomena. Secondly, compatibility between the primer & paint is a factor as well. I decided, when I had this issue, that the cause was most likely a reaction between the Testors lacquer primer I was using at the time & the MCW paint. It almost looked like the paint was dissolving the primer & raising it to the surface. You could see a faint gray hue to the areas where the splotches were, almost like the primer was showing through. Anyway, a good "primer sealer" should help for sealing things up as well. I've started using Duplicolor primer sealer & it seems to help with any of these "crazing" issues. You might want to try a different primer as well. Automotive paint is formulated differently than most model paints & as we all know, compatibility between different paints can be an issue. Just be aware that some automotive primers can be pretty hot as well, so light coats are the key. Steve

I like MCW. Steve

I don't see why not. As far as I know, removing mold lines & painting is wholly acceptable in any box stock category, So I can't see why bumpers would be any different. Steve

You're correct Bill, I'm not all that familiar with the correct terms for types of paints. For the sake of discussion & to keep things less confusing, (at least in my mind) I refer to pretty much any automotive type paint, such as Scale Finishes, MCW, Duplicolor, etc, that the average builder will use, as lacquer. Likewise, I consider Testors lacquer & Tamiya paints as lacquer as well. I'm no chemical engineer, so the technical terms for the makeup of these paints escapes me. I'm thinking more of the properties of the paint. My world basically consists of either lacquer, enamel or acrylic. That's pretty much where my knowledge ends. That being said, any "hot" paint is going to give you trouble on styrene without proper preparation, & while not necessary in all cases, most of these "lacquers" will benefit from clear coats, especially metallic colors. Steve

Great little town! We've settled in nicely. Thank you Wayne! Steve

This is what it looks like to me. Basically, you could call it crazing. The paint is being sprayed too heavily & the solvents are eating through to the plastic. I'm assuming that Scale Finishes paint is the same as MCW paints, which are automotive lacquers. Far too hot to be sprayed over bare plastic. Even with priming you need to be careful. Use plenty of primer & spray several light coats of color. I use as many as 5 or 6 coats of primer. Save your wet coat until the end. Even then, don't expect a shiny finish with an automotive lacquer. They are designed as a 2 part system. Color, followed by clear coats. Steve

I'm not crazy about the contrast between the wheel color & the body. To my eye, the 2 colors don't compliment each other. But I love the body color! Steve

I would fill the depressions on the underside of the hood with plastic first & then sand. Chances are strong that if you don't, at the very least, you will wind up with "ghosting" issues with those voids if you don't. Treat them the same way that you would prepping a hood that has the scoring on the underside for a hood scoop. As you can see in these photos, this '69 Coronet hood had very deeply scored lines for a scoop. I filled them with the black plastic before I did any sanding & shaping on the surface of the hood. You can see by the second photo how thin the plastic was. By the time it was finished, you would never know that they were there. Steve

Nothing wrong with Duplicolor. As far as primers go, I don't care much. Just as long as it "primes" & it's relatively cheap. Steve

Enamel is fine over lacquer, just don't reverse it. Steve

I got mine yesterday as well. Came in the same box! I guess, with a 3 foot long piece of 22 gauge tubing, it's difficult to ship without damage. The last time I ordered some, it came in one of those heavy cardboard tubes. Steve

Just be aware that lacquer doesn't play well with enamel as a rule, so if you plan on spraying lacquer over an enamel painted hood.......don't! Steve

That's part of the problem with enamel. to get a nice smooth, shiney finish, a fairly heavy coat is required leaving you open to runs, sags & bleed under. Lighter coats can sometimes lead to orange peel. I wish you luck though. Steve

That's sweet! Great paint & excellent detail. Love it! Steve

I'll bet you're using enamel paint. Enamel dries much slower giving it a lot more time to seep into all kinds of nooks and crannies, especially if it's sprayed on heavy. If you're going to use enamel, spray the first coat or 2 lightly. That way it won't seep under the tape as easily & it will seal up the tape edges before the final wet coat. I never have any bleed under issues with lacquer paints & Tamiya tape. I painted the fine pinstripes & FORD lettering on the tailgate of my '63 Ford with zero issues using lacquer & Tamiya tape & foil for masking. Steve