StevenGuthmiller

I agree. I always thought that they looked pretty nice in profile, but it's kind of like seeing a beautiful woman in profile & then having her turn & smile & you realize she's cross eyed & has no teeth in the front! Steve

Oh please! I always thought that this was a pretty good place to escape from all of the obligatory racism accusations! I guess you can't get away from that "Bullsquirt" anywhere these days. Steve

I noticed that too. Either that or it was chipped at some point in it's long life. Could have been a factor in why you got it so cheap Al. Steve

You can use pretty much any mild polish on the Duplicolor clear to remove that haze. I use the Perfect Match clear all of the time & I usually don't have much problem with the clear fogging, although the colors haze on me most of the time. The hazing that I've had on the colors almost rubs off with a finger. So Novus will work just fine. I would probably use the #2 "Fine Scratch Remover" first as it has a little more abrasive in it where the #1 "Clean & Shine" has virtually none. Your favorite automotive polish will do the trick as well. I use Turtle Wax "Scratch & Swirl" remover as a final polish on the Duplicolor clear. It will give you a very nice high gloss finish. Steve

I use a lot of the Excel brand blades too. Whatever I happen to find. The Excel ones seem to be every bit as good as Xacto. Steve

Sorry Bill, I didn't really mean that they were "everywhere". But I will bet you dollars to doughnuts that you can find 10 convertibles, or more, for every hard top you find. There's just not a lot of them out there. Steve

Looks terrific Al! These '60 Edsel hardtops are very difficult to find. The convertibles are every where, but the hard tops, not so much. You did well @ $30.00. Looks much better than when you got it, but then again, I'm a factory stock junkie like you! Steve

You're just a regular wrecking machine when it comes to pumping out these kits Al. And nice ones too. I've had a '67 Bonneville sitting on my shelf waiting it's turn for a couple of years now. Wish I had more building time so I could start getting a few more of these done! Steve

To me, the "hash" has always been the "pound symbol", & the asterisk is the "star symbol". How much does that date me? Steve

Sounds strange. I can easily get at least one whole build done with a blade with out the blade becoming dull. That includes the body & interior, & I build a lot of chrome laden barges. Either you're doing something incorrectly, or you've got bad blades. But, that being said, if the scalpel blades work for you, by all means, go with that! There are no rules in this hobby. Steve

Looking good Bill! Steve

I've used #11 Exacto blades virtually since I started using foil probably 30 years ago. Never had a problem with them. I keep 2 Exacto knives on my bench, so every time I get ready to foil a new project, I put a fresh blade in one & graduate the used blade down to my "utility" knife. I think just for the ease of it, I'll stick with the Exacto blades. I can pick them up anywhere when I need them. I really don't want any more supplies that I need to order on line. Steve

Now that's nice! Just one complaint. We need to see some pictures in the sunlight! I'll bet that color will just come alive in natural light. Steve

Thanks Al. I'm still making progress on this one, although slow. I got the top painted the other night & I've been putting in a little time on the interior. The interior in this one is no fun at all! If anyone wants a foiling & flocking challenge, this is a good one! Foiling the center console was just a pain in the behind & flocking the carpet is even worse! The front & rear bucket seats present all kinds of challenges. Got the floor half done in about 2 or 3 hours on Sunday afternoon! Steve

They were a real "bugger" weren't they Emmanuel! I did mine in foil, but they weren't easy. Just a lot of time and more than one piece of foil. This is one of the very few gripes that I have with some of these old Johan kits, molding the bezels to the body. The '60 Dodge was no fun either. I pulled a fast one on the '59 Dodge & actually sawed off the tail light bezels & had them chromed! Steve

Blechhh!! I just threw up in my mouth a little! That is just wrong on so many levels! Steve

A good friend of mine put this photo on their Face Book page for their 30th wedding anniversary today. They used my now long gone '58 Cadillac 62 series coupe for their "get away car" at their wedding. I really miss that car. Steve

Love it! I found one of these as a built up a few years ago & rebuilt it. Still one of my favorite pieces. Steve

Did you prime first? When I strip lacquers with Super Clean, I've found that it is ineffective on the lacquer itself but dissolves the primer making the lacquer come off in sheets. It's my understanding that Purple Power is not as powerful as Super Clean as well. I've found that putting a few scratches in the surface of the paint will allow the Super clean to penetrate to the primer & produces results much faster. Keeping the solution warm is helpful as well. I've stripped multi-coat Duplicolor paint jobs with Super Clean & while it can sometimes take a while to work, it WILL take off the the lacquer. I have had problems with it completely removing the primer at times, but never the paint. And yes, get it in a plastic container. Steve

Meh. I agree that the '58 GM cars were all overly "embellished" but I have to say, I don't like what you did with this one. Granted, part of that might be just the expectation of what a '58 Impala looks like. I don't like the new roof line at all. I've always really liked the forward slanting pillars & the wrap around glass. And the side trim is too '57 Ford to me. I think cleaning up the hood & fenders looks good, but I think a different side treatment would look better. Steve

I like that a lot better! Steve

Nice looking Merc Tulio! Steve

I don't think the roof line itself looks bad & I actually like the little "kick up" at the trailing end of the rear glass. ( kind of reminiscent of the early 60s Dodges & Plymouths) But the wide blacked out B-pillar & the vent pillar before the C-pillar totally kill it for me. The small vent window up front doesn't help it either. Making it a hardtop & eliminating all of those pillars would look much better IMO. The vent window could stay, but making it a little larger & slanted back at the top would be an improvement. Steve

This is a great idea. I'll never be able to do it myself. I'm no design artist. But I will comment on what you did Harry. The GTO is hard to improve upon in my opinion, but I will admit that the changes you made do give it a much "sleeker" look. Although as Craig said, it may be a little too "Mopar-ish". The Cadillac changes also look good, but personally, I like the before picture better. As far as the Marlin goes, well, that's a tough one. The changes take away a little of the boxiness, but I'm not sure if it helps make it "not ugly". I wouldn't call the styling of the original GTO or Cadillac a "snafu", but the Marlin could use more help than you gave it! Steve

Thanks Ken. Not my idea. I believe I stole that from somebody. Steve