StevenGuthmiller

That's what the "burnishing" process is for. It really makes no difference if you do it before, or after application. I burnish the snot out of my foil after I apply it. the more you polish, the brighter it gets. Steve

Styling! Chrysler was never afraid to push the envelope in the styling department, especially in the late 50s & early 60s. Sometimes they missed the mark on that, but they weren't afraid to let it all hang out! By the time the muscle car era rolled around, they were no longer "funky", they were just down right beautiful!! I've just grown to really love some of the "ugly duckling" styling that Mopar did back in the early 60s. Compared to this in 1960, I just get the feeling that Ford & GM weren't quite trying hard enough! Steve

I've found the thinner the better for the top seams. Too thick & they stand up too high, looking out of scale. I cut very thin strips of .007 clear film that I picked up at Hobby Lobby for the top on my '69 Coronet. The scale looks about right to me. Steve

I have cleared over foil a few times thinking that it may improve the shine. It really doesn't. As a matter of fact, I've found that if anything it kills it a little. Not much, but in my experience the "bare" foil looks better than the cleared foil. I clear coated over the foil on my '58 Buick & a '61 Chrysler, and while they look ok, I don't like the affect as well as bare. The biggest issue to be cognoscente about is the fact that paint does not adhere well to foil. I found that the clear coat began to flake off of the foil on these during the polishing process. Steve

Thanks Kevin. It turned out pretty well but I still have the hood to polish. I hope at this point I don't wind up with any issues with that! Steve

Oh, sure! I've been looking for one of these at a decent price for quite a while now. Now I come to find out that I'm having difficulty finding one because they're all crammed into one box! What else is included for parts Jesse? I would surely be interested in one if you have 3 that are mostly complete. Steve

Progress is still very slow, but it's beginning to take shape. I have to admit, nothing looks better than black & chrome! Steve

What are you going to do with all of these '68-'69 Coronets Bill? Better get busy building! Another nice score! Steve

Looks great John! Steve

Couldn't have said it better myself Steve. In the modeling world the old phrase, "there's more than one way to skin a cat" is more true than nearly anywhere else. The biggest problem you may have is weeding through the myriad of different techniques that achieve a single goal to find one that works best for you. Just the "foil" question is a good example. There is good old fashioned silver paint, BMF, Sharpies, Alclad, the kitchen foil technique, silver leaf, & now the Molotow pens. I'm sure there are others that I have missed. Seven different ways of doing a door handle! Steve

Piece of cake! Try it with an '84 Honda Prelude! Steve

That in itself scares me a little. If it comes off of glossy areas that easily, I would absolutely not use it on a body. Especially if it's an area that can get regular handling like drip rail moldings. I'm hoping that it will be long lasting enough, as far as the finish, to use for interior parts & the like at least. I will stay away from it for body trim. Steve

I just ordered a pair of the pens myself. The 1mm & 2mm just for the purpose you mention. I've been foiling dash boards & horn rings for a long time & I absolutely hate it! I've started using silver paint again on some of them & this should be a very nice alternative. You're right Steve, if you're just starting out with foil, a dashboard or two would surely sour you on it's use! I look forward to trying the pens for small details. Steve

Thanks Tulio. I have no experience with Hendrix kits, but from what I've heard, they're a little touch & go. I've always had relatively good luck with Modelhaus kits in the past & the Jimmy Flintstone '61 Olds 88 kit that I picked up several months ago, is near perfect. The casting is a little thick, but the body is straight as an arrow, & smooth as a babies butt! I found one tiny pin hole in a rear fender, but other than that, not a single blemish anywhere. I would not hesitate to purchase another Flintstone resin. Steve

That's one of my reasons why I'm reluctant to use them too extensively. Being brand new to our hobby, nobody really has any idea how well this stuff will stand up over time. I would really like my builds to hold up for a lifetime if possible. I'll stick with my foil & let everyone else be my guinea pigs. Steve

Nice! I may have to look into one of these Hendrix '55 kits. I've always liked the '55 over the '56 & the skirts & correct rear fender trim for the Crown Victoria version are a plus. How is the casting? Steve

I plan on getting a couple of the Molotow pens for certain applications where foil is difficult or impractical like dash parts, steering wheel horns, etc, but I will never stop using foil for body trim. Does anybody really know how durable the finish will be with these pens yet? I'm not too keen on the thought of possibly having paint wore off of trim pieces over time from simple handling. been there, done that, years ago with silver painted trim. Once the foil is applied, it's there to stay. These pens sound like a great alternative for certain things Steve, but just remember, as with any pen or brush work, either masking or a very steady hand will be required to get a perfectly straight line. Personally, I would never attempt to do a body length side molding with a pen or brush without masking first, especially at my age. Foil, like everything else, requires patience & practice, but once you get the hang of it, it's a pretty simple operation as well as a forgiving one. It's easy to remove a piece that you don't like & replace it. Does anybody know a sure fire way to correct mistakes with the Molotow pens? That's not a smart remark, I really would be interested to know. Steve

My second experiment with the sprue melting theory didn't go as well as expected, but it did reveal an interesting phenomenon. I first tried just cutting a piece of sprue with a sprue cutter & laying the pieces in the mold. Even at 500 degrees I couldn't get it to flow into the mold, it would be difficult to determine the exact amount of plastic to use & I wound up with a lot of air bubbles. So then, I first heated a piece of sprue to the melting point, pressed it into the mold to get a uniform shape & size & then cut it & set it in the mold for reheating in the oven. The problem seems to be that the plastic never really "flows" into the mold. It beads up much like a drop of water. But, this gave me an idea! If I made a reversed mold, in other words using a lens with the ridge detail on the back side, the plastic will melt enough to give you the ridge detail & when it beads up, it hardens with a perfect shiny smooth surface. Now, if I can solve the plastic amount issue & resolve the bubble problem, I may have something that works! I'll get back to you. Steve

That's basically what I'm doing. Only I'm using mold putty instead of foil or clay. The high temp seemed to have no affect on the cured putty in my first trial. The lenses pop right out of the putty mold. Steve

Alclad makes a "Polished Brass" as well as a "Pale Gold". I've used the pale gold many times for items like carbs or '60s Mopar air cleaners, but I've never worried much about a super shiny base coat. This is the Alclad PolIshed Brass. Steve Am I going to wind up in prison for "copying without permission"? Steve

I appreciate the input Michael. I have not taken the leap yet & am still shopping around for possibly a little "higher end" product. Like say.......$25.00! Steve

Thanks for all of the input guys. I think I might give it a shot. I get your drift Michael, but I just want to take this idea for coffee, I don't want to marry it! There's no way that I'm going to jump right in with a $300.00 investment on something that I may not even like. If this $17.00 gun bites the dust after a week, I'm only out $17.00. Steve

Yes, the lenses that I have experimented with have the texture on the face. I really haven't been able to figure out a scenario in my brain where something like this could work with the texture on the back side. Steve

I tried a different brand of clear resin that I picked up at Hobby Lobby a while back. It proved itself to be absolutely useless. I tried varying the mix ratio about a half dozen times & was never able to get it to harden. Steve

Does anyone have any experience with this type of spray gun? I'm considering purchasing one for painting bodies. The larger fan spray pattern seems like it might be a nice option over the narrow round pattern that you get with an air brush. At less than $20.00 I thought it might be worth a shot. Steve