StevenGuthmiller

Nice work Bruce! But, a rust bucket paint job is supposed to look like a rust bucket & will be judged as such. Now, if your beautiful 'Cuda was covered in orange peel & fish eyes, would it have taken second? Doubtful. All the creativity in the world won't bring home a trophy if your paint looks like a bag of boogers. That's why I still stand by my charge that a nice paint job is paramount to getting your model recognized, especially in a contest. Steve

I don't know anything about what "other people" say Jonathan. I don't believe "I" have ever called anything junk. You can call it what you want, I just think that it just diminishes your argument. At least it does in my eyes. Steve

Very good Jonathan! Oops, kind of went off the rails a little at the end! Steve

Yeah, but Orville Redenbacher doesn't have the cool "popping pan"! Steve

some of this might depend a lot on where that speck is Frank. It would be a lot easier to deal with if it's on a ridge or edge somewhere rather than in the center of a door or trunk lid. Steve

That's a thought! Anything is worth a try. Beats the alternative of stripping the entire body! Steve

I don't know, I've always considered anything from Tamiya total garbage! Steve

If it's buried under 3 coats of clear, it may be a little difficult to remove. The only thing I can suggest is to try sanding it out anyway. You're going to have to use a fairly heavy grit to get through 3 coats, but try it with as fine a grit as you can get away with. Possibly start with 2400 grit. The problem will be that by the time you get to the flake & get it removed, you'll be all the way back down to the base. By the time that happens, you'll most likely wind up with a "hollow" in the body. Or, if it's a metallic base, you could open yourself up to "smearing" the metallic particles in that particular spot causing a variation in the color. It's kind of a carp shoot! It might not be a bad option to try Scott's suggestion, maybe with the point of an Exacto blade. In that case, you would want to be extremely careful not to dig through the color coats. Steve

Your assessment that a particular product is "inferior" is pure opinion, and even that term would be more agreeable than using the term "junk" or "garbage". I feel like we should all express our opinions on a forum like this, but there is absolutely no justification for diminishing any thing that another member may find useful by "calling names". I don't think any of us here are 9 years old anymore. Surely we can be a bit more judicious. It all boils down to what your mother taught you. "If you can't say something nice, say nothing at all". We don't need to hold our opinions back, we should just be a bit more prudent if we want to keep these subjects from spiraling into an altercation & having yet another useful, informative thread shut down. Steve

All of that aside, preference as to what type of model we like to build is not really germane to this discussion. The point was supposed to be how important a really nice paint finish is to a build. I'm not sure while you're apologizing JC. I think it's a good topic to discuss. Steve

Had this same sort of thing happen on another forum recently when a member referred to BMF as "Junk". Come on guys, have you ever heard of being tactful? Has it advanced the discussion at all to start using that kind of language? No, it hasn't. Is there something wrong with, "I don't care for it" or even "I hate it"? Just a little bit of prudence can go a long way towards keeping the discussion from turning into a conflict & inevitably getting shut down by the moderators. Steve

You can mix the powders to create new colors as well. I apply it the same way as you apply the flocking, minus the strainer. You can just dump it on, shake it around & pour off the excess to be reused. Steve

Boring is in the eye of the beholder Dale. Nothing bores me more than 1000 32 Ford street rods painted 100 different colors, or 100 '69 Camaros with custom wheels. I'll take a beautifully detailed & expertly executed factory stock vehicle all day long over any of them. It's hard to consider this "boring"! Steve

You might want to be careful about calling anything junk on the forum Jeff. I think you'll find that you will open up a big ol' can o' worms with some members. We all have our biases when it comes to certain products, but you're best off keeping the interjections to yourself. Steve

This is a very common problem. The answer is proper sealing. This can be achieved in a number of different ways. Personally, I never have this problem, just making sure that there is plenty of primer laid down, & the first couple of color coats go on very light with ample time to cure between coats. There are a number of different sealers that you could try as well, but I'm not all that familiar with them. Plenty of primer & a light hand with the color coats will do the same thing. Steve

Which coat of clear did the "flake" appear under? If it was the last coat, no problem. If it was the first, you might have some issues. Steve

That was the first thing that came to my mind. "Refreshing". Simple. Steve

I use the green also, mostly for small things. I'm not sure what the technical term for it would be, but just be aware that it can "raise" the plastic surrounding it. It's lacquer based so it will soften the plastic slightly causing it to swell a bit in the application area. This can cause some trouble because the putty is softer than the plastic so when it's sanded the harder plastic can be swelled a bit around the perimeter of the repair & it may be almost imperceptible until later. I've had some situations where the repair looked good after primer, but once the gloss of the paint was introduced, this phenomena became apparent. Steve

I agree with Dale & Bill. Ditch the flocking & go with embossing powder. Gives a much more realistic appearance. I like the metallic powders myself. Steve

News from Model Roundup is, they now carry all three sizes of pens for $10.90 each. Refills should be available in roughly a months time. Steve

I'm with you Dann. BMF is a known quantity. I'll use the pens for interior details & chrome touch up, & that's about it. Steve

Either that, or just refrain from putting your hands in it. Pour your Super Clean in a plastic tub the size that you need. Drop the parts in & let them soak. I will use a screw driver or other implement to check on parts occasionally, just to move them around to see how they are progressing' When it comes time to remove them, large parts can be removed using some sort of tongs, dropped into a receptacle & taken to the sink for washing. Small parts can be put into a small container to start with & removed when finished with a tweezers. Or you can always strain out the parts by running the contents through a strainer I use it all of the time & I almost never have it come in contact with my hands. If you do get a little on your hands, just wash them promptly. It's not like it's sulfuric acid or anything, you just don't want it sitting on your skin. Steve

Paint is the most important part of a build whether we like it or not. All of the wiring, plumbing & detail work in the world is pointless if the paint looks like you blew it through a straw! I've spent my whole modeling career trying to achieve the perfect paint job, & I know now that I will never get there, but that doesn't stop me from doing the absolute best that I can. I feel like it doesn't have to look like it was "dipped" in paint, but it can't look like the surface of the moon either. Steve

I'm guilty myself, but it didn't take me long to figure out that it's a lot easier to throw away a rubber glove than it is to clean all of that paint off of my hands! I buy boxes of 100 latex gloves at my local grocery store for a few dollars. Steve

It's a degreaser/cleaner sold at most auto parts stores. There's a lot of threads about these cleaners on the forum. They work great for paint removal of all sorts. You could also try "Purple Power", "Simple Green" "Wesley's Bleche White", etc. I like Super Clean myself. Steve