StevenGuthmiller

That's true, but at a certain age those "swivel" bearings begin to fail. I can't count how many times I've been nearly run off of the road by some old fart who can no longer look over his shoulder while changing lanes! Steve

The scariest part is that some people will find it perfectly acceptable to re-elect this dweeb! Steve

I drive for a living & believe me, I see these idiots all day long, every day. In some intersections where there is no left turn signal, some of these idiots will sit at the cross walk instead of moving out into the intersection when the light turns green! There are intersections in town that are busy enough where you could easily sit for literally hours without being able to turn left. Sometimes they just need a gentle "nudge". Like a full blown laying on of the horn!! Steve

Everyone has their own experiences Nick. I'm just speaking from over 25 years of experience in the drywall & painting trade. I've dealt with almost every type of all purpose masking tape there is & I've had problems with just about all of them. From the blue tapes falling off of the walls overnight as we were readying for painting ceilings after texturing, to regular tape pulling off wallpaper, paint or not coming off at all. I recall having to scrape masking tape off of painted surfaces & tub surrounds because it had "fused" to them overnight after being wet from paint & then drying. I've had similar experiences with both of them with modeling, which is why I only use them for limited applications. Steve

There are circumstances where you should be careful with regular masking tape. Moisture is a big problem with the adhesive. If you've ever had a roll that has gotten damp & then dried, you'll know what I mean. The adhesive becomes the worlds best super glue. You'll never get a piece of tape off of the roll again. Heat is another issue. If you use it to mask & then use some sort of heat to speed drying, be cognoscente that the moisture from the paint followed by application of heat can have the same affect on your model as the wet roll. You may never get it off. There is also the possibility of the tape leaving it's impression in the paint. I've also had circumstances where regular masking tape has stuck so well, it has peeled paint off of bodies. These things I'm sure can happen with other tapes, but after many years of negative experiences with regular masking tape, it no longer touches any of my paint jobs. Steve

Looks like you've got it under control! All great choices! The wheels are a terrific choice, but I personally might opt for something with a little wider white wall. Steve

I've never had any trouble with it. But I would use it sparingly anyway. It doesn't stick well enough to be reliable. After all, it is "low tack" for a reason. I would never try to use it for a color separation. Steve

This is sort of the way I do it too. I use very thin strips of blue painters tape to lay along the edge of the foil "after" it's applied to give an edge to run your blade against. The contrasting blue color against the foil helps as well. This also works great for straight pieces where the trim is not well defined. Works especially well for curved areas. But it does take a little fussing to get it curved around something tight like fender well trim. Works nicely though. Steve

I know Harry, wrong bracket for a Chrysler. It was just a last minute thing on the Chrysler. I got a little closer to correct on the '65 Dodge. Steve

The good news is, that is "lifting" not "crazing", so the plastic is undamaged. Bad news is, Hugh is right. I see some blistering, so I'm afraid a stripping is in your future. More good news. Enamel is very easy to strip. So look at the bright side. You have more good news than bad. Steve

I did mine as a mild custom too. I used the engine with the tri-power from the original kit, removed the chrome spear & the hood badges & added a pin stripe, and rounded it out with steel wheels, wide whites, side dump exhaust & a wood bed. Still one of my favorite pieces. Steve

If it was enamel paint, it most likely would not be crazing. Crazing is when the paint is too hot & attacks the plastic itself, usually with lacquers. What you have is more likely "lifting" which is a reaction between layers of paint. Not exactly sure what the cause is or how to fix it. Steve

I usually just make my own with sheet styrene. It's a little "fiddly" but it gets the job done. Steve

If it's something you're not comfortable with, I wouldn't do it. All I can tell you is that I have probably 30 built kits sitting on my shelf all done the same way, & they all worked fine. I did have some issues in the past with spraying automotive lacquers over Testors primers directly, but since I started using the Duplicolor over it, I've had good luck. Mind you, I only use the Testors primer to get good coverage to start. The Duplicolor sandable primers are quite thin & do not cover very well, but they do provide a good smooth barrier for the lacquer paints that I use. If you have another primer that covers well, (especially with colored plastic) & acts as a good sealer to any hot paint that you may use, by all means, I would use it. But if you're having crazing issues, obviously, something needs to be done differently. I build a lot of vintage kits & rarely have any major problems with crazing, but I am of the understanding that the newer kit plastic is much more prone to that particular issue than the old kits. You'll most likely have to just keep experimenting until you find a system that works for you. Every guy on this forum probably has their own method & I'll guarantee you, they're all born of experimentation. Steve

I built a '63 Ford a few years ago. One of my very few custom builds. I enjoyed it a lot. How are you planning on doing yours? Steve

You may be closer than you think. I've settled on a priming technique that works pretty well for me & I've never had this "bleed through" problem that everyone talks about. I use primarily Duplicolor sandable primer over a coat of Testors lacquer primer. The Testors covers better than the Duplicolor, but the Duplicolor gives a superior barrier & a smoother finish. You're correct, the Duplicolor primers will craze the plastic if laid on too heavy. Light coats are your best friend. I start with a coat or two of Testors gray primer to cover the body well, & then I use up to 5 coats of Duplicolor. I start with light "mist" coats & get progressively heavier with each successive coat. I also let them cure, or "gas out" for an hour or so between coats. In a nutshell, more primer is your friend. I've never had any bleed as long as there was plenty of primer involved. Steve I don't have a before pic, but this '59 Edsel started the same color as the above '59 Ford.

I had this same problem early on shortly after buying a new Badger air brush. I believe Snake may be right about the needle not being "concentric" with the tip because it's seemed to have corrected itself over time. When it was doing it, I thought it was either pressure being too low, too much paint flow or a combo of the two. A split tip did cross my mind, but I ruled that out after a very close inspection. You could give this a try. Screw your needle all the way down so that it seats completely into the tip. Not too tight or you could split it, but just snug it in a little. This might help get the needle & tip working together. It seems to have worked with mine. Steve

I agree. It's some fantastic stuff! Steve

Exactly. I don't begrudge anyone for building something from scratch, but ugly is ugly. And as they say, "Beauty is only skin deep, but ugly goes clear to the bone"! Steve

Agreed! Brings to mind another exercise in pure ugly! Whatever happened to flowing lines & elegant design. Now it seems they have to make everything look like a "Transformer"! I just can't imagine who finds these chopped up things appealing. I don't care how much power it has, If I had it, I would spend my mega bucks on an original Hemi Cuda convertible before I would even consider dropping a dime on this mess! Steve

You could be right. It sounds a little high to me too. I thought he said no higher than 180, but I was having a little trouble hearing him on my phone. I would probably keep it lower than that myself. But a slow cooker would be kind of a moot point if you're only going to 90. I agree, I would never go that high with resin, but he was talking about stripping chrome & paint from styrene parts for re-plating. I may include a note with my order to clarify that suggestion. Steve

I'll have to try this. I usually don't have a lot of trouble when using Super Clean, but my soaking tub sits on my concrete basement floor. Not exactly a warm place to do it. Steve

Most of these guys are middle men. Your average Joe Schmo model car enthusiast, like us, is not going to have the resources to be able to afford the hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of equipment that this process requires. The actual companies who do these model parts for us contract with our "middle men" who get us a reasonable price through volume. Chrome tech does not do their own plating either. I did a little research a couple years ago to see if I could work with a "vacuum metallizing" company directly to cut out the middle man. Believe me, the cost is prohibitive. By the way, Bob is the co-owner of Kustom Khrome. Steve

The current batch of parts that I'm getting ready to ship for re-chroming includes a pair of resin bumpers for a '61 Olds. When they come back, I'll try to remember to post photos to show how they came out. According to Bob, the plater he uses is the same company who did chrome trees for AMT & Johan for many years. They have been in business for 70 plus years & apparently are currently doing plating for some of the more prominent resin casters. Steve

Great looking old Pontiacs! I spent a good portion of my day getting parts ready to ship to the chromers. Among them were parts from a pair of old MPC Bonnevilles. A '66 & a '67, The '67 will be done in a dark purple called "Plum Mist". Steve