StevenGuthmiller

I've had my share of trial & error. This system works pretty well for me anyway. Steve

Glad that I could help.....lighten your wallet! Steve

Looks like a nice one Bill! Steve

On occasion, I use a combination of Testors & Duplicolor "sandable" primer. The Testors covers really well but also doesn't seem to level as well & can have a tendency to go on too heavy & obscure detail if too many coats are applied. The Duplicolor is thinner & levels better, but it's hotter & will craze if applied too heavily. I really don't trust the Testors alone to act as a barrier with Automotive lacquers, (I've had issues with it in the past) so I shoot a coat or 2 of the Testors to get good coverage & then several coats of Duplicolor to give a good barrier for the lacquer. Works pretty well. Steve

Who's the happiest in the bunch? Steve

Welcome Frank! Always room for more! Steve

Welcome Chris. Very nice truck! Steve

Very nice Ron! My 1:1 '69 GP comes home this Saturday! I'll get my first look at it in a long time. Wish me luck!

Beautiful Hans!! Steve

That really didn't come out the way I meant it to Bill. My point was directed at the Testors clear lacquer. I've sprayed this stuff over almost everything, from enamels to acrylics with no adverse affects. A cured automotive lacquer base should have no problems handling a mild clear lacquer like Testors. I've had no problems with the Testors clear except this cracking thing & I don't know what to do different to prevent it from happening again. That is, short of going back to the old days of Testors clear enamel & letting it cure for a month between coats, & I surely won't be doing that. And I'm not going to give up my MCW paints & start using only Testors primers, color & clear. I will find ways to use it, I just no longer will use it for multiple coats on bodies any more. I just don't trust it. Steve

Yeah, with these old annuals, I usually try not to pay much attention to things like that on the interiors. Something tells me with the lack of detail in them, accuracy was probably not high on the list either. Steve Thanks John!! Steve

This looks to me like a problem I had a couple of times when I was spraying MCW lacquers over Testors lacquer primers. The surface is smooth, but it's almost as if you can see the primer through the paint. kind of a white blotchy background in spots. I finally attributed it to incompatible primer & paint. It seemed as if the paint was too hot for the primer & was "dissolving" the primer, & drawing it up to the surface. The answer for me was to use several coats of Duplicolor primer over the Testors. The Duplicolor primer is more "impervious" to the lacquer paint. I've only used Tamiya primer a couple of times, & personally, I wasn't really impressed, especially for the price. Just my opinion. Steve

Actually Bill, they're pretty close to where they should be. Remember, there is an "offset" between length of the inside door panel, & the door itself. Any further forward & it would have been in the middle of the door. I've learned to check these ahead of time before I drill the holes. Steve

Thanks guys! Steve

Ok. But does it really matter what your undercoat is as long as it's cured? Something makes me think if it's a curing time issue, that the Testors base coats would be even worse. The MCW & Duplicolor paints dry much faster than the Testors. The main thing is, I can't figure it out. I do one build with no issues, & then the next one, done identically except for the color itself, will be a problem. The inconsistency has driven me away from their products. I understand that the Testors lacquers were developed as a system, but if that limits me to using only their line, I'll pass. Steve

Finished up the interior tonight, which tells me I'm getting close! Glad I decided to cast some window cranks. This one was very bad in the door panel detail department. Steve

The only problem is, What's patience? How long do you let things cure before you re-coat. The directions on these Testors cans say any where between 20 minutes & 2 hours. Is that rushing it? Is 24 hours rushing it? Two days? A week? A month? Should I follow the manufacturers recommendations, or should I figure it out for them? This is part of the reason I've stopped using most Testors products. If they can't even give accurate instructions on how to use their products, I'm certainly not going to research it for them. Steve

This is where a "hobby" comes into play. That way you're not sitting in your mother's basement in your under wear trying to think of ways to disrupt other peoples lives so that you can feel powerful & not like the complete loser that you really are! Steve

Or maybe this Del Rio?

I don't know if I'd go that far guys. I just work with what I'm given. But thank you for the compliment! Steve

The two colors I used were MCW & Duplicolor lacquer. I would usually give the paint about 1/2 hour, & the clear coats about 24 hours between coats. 95% of the time with no issues. But that 5% was enough to put the brakes on it for me. At least for multiple coats on bodies. I still use either the Testors "Ultra Gloss" or the "Wet Look" clear When I'm just shooting one coat on interior parts, etc. The rest of the time I use Duplicolor. Not quite as shiney on the finish, but I do like the fact that it sprays much thinner coats so there's no problem with detail hide even with 5 or 6 coats, plus it seems to dry harder & more durable than the Testors. On my next project, I'm going to shoot several coats of Duplicolor, then sand & shoot one coat of Testors to see if it will give me a little more shine without the possibility of cracking. Steve

Or you could just do like I do & don't use it. I built a '59 Ford a while back that has a 2-tone paint job. Coral & white. I sprayed it with several coats of Testors clear & everything looked fine.....for about 2 weeks. Then the cracking began. But, only on the coral color, not on the white. I'm pretty sure I clear coated the whole thing at the same time. Most of the time, I had absolutely no issue with it. But it's given me enough problems where I'm just not going to deal with it anymore. Steve

This isn't my car, but it is the correct color. You'll have to picture it minus the vinyl top & with a white & black interior & the rally II wheels. I may be biased, but I think it's the nicest color combo I've seen on a '69 Grand Prix. Steve

I probably would have sold this one many years ago if it weren't for the sentimental back story. This was my first really nice car out of high school. My wife & I dated in it & used it as our "get away car" at our wedding. Heck, even my wifes little brother used it for his senior prom! So it has a lot of history in my family & it'll be really nice to bring it back home where it belongs. I really don't have any photos of it, that is, nothing digital. Maybe I'll scan an old wedding photo sometime. Steve

I just like to read threads about "model cars". when it becomes a bomb throwing contest, I just fail to see the point in continuing with it. All it does is make enemies. As far as commenting on an "unworthy" thread goes, it was worthy.....until it became not! Steve