StevenGuthmiller

Well, it’s drying VEEEERY slowly, so I might end up picking a few flies out of it later. In any case, as long as it eventually dries, it will be an improvement. Steve

I thought I would try this idea that I saw a guy using on television to try to rejuvenate the tired old oxidized paint on my ‘69 GP, at least a little bit. Of course it’s nothing permanent, but it certainly makes it look a little better for the time being. Just a mixture of boiled linseed oil and mineral spirits wiped on with a rag. Only took maybe a half hour to do the whole car, and it doesn’t look terrible compared to what it was. Before: After: Before: After: Before: After: Before: After: Steve

I understand. Things can get way out of hand, and weeding through all of the suggestions can be a flippin’ nightmare. Try to keep it basic and simple and you’ll be much happier. And once you find a good process and reliable materials, stick with it. Bouncing around with dozens of different materials and procedures is pretty much guaranteed to give you ulcers. Steve

I think we often get way too far into the weeds with topics such as this, and for someone who has little or no experience with a particular subject or procedure, it can be really confusing and off putting. There’s nothing particularly magical about using automotive paint for models. Just a good quality lacquer primer is the only key, and for the purposes of building models, one doesn’t need to go looking for all kinds of obscure, unusual products for this purpose. A simple trip to your local auto parts store where you can pick up a can of Duplicolor lacquer primer of your choice is all that you need to do. Use several light coats of primer, followed by a light coat or two of the lacquer, and then another coat or two sprayed heavier, will suffice. It doesn’t need to be brain surgery. Be aware that many automotive type lacquers are a base coat/clear coat system, so chances are that clear coats will be necessary for a good shine. Luckily, because you’re using lacquer, you can use whatever clear you prefer without having to be concerned about how it will react with the paint. Steve

I have to agree with Steve on this one. To take it a step further, if you should decide to remove the details and replace them, do yourself a great big favor and scrap the whole thing and start fresh with a new piece of styrene sheet plastic. It makes no sense to waste time sanding all of that off only to end up with flat piece of plastic. Some of the sheet metal shapes could be easily recreated with additional layered pieces of styrene strip, half round and sheet. It would certainly give you a much more realistic look in the end. I basically built a brand new firewall for my 1965 Plymouth Fury project using a donor from a Lindberg '64 Dodge piece, and in all honesty, it wasn't that hard, and kind of fun! Steve

I really don’t know the gauge of the wire used in that circumstance. It was just taken from a larger copper strand wire. Steve

The easiest way to paint convincing firewall and fender well detailing without going to the extreme of removing and replacing detail is to pay attention to how you’re painting the model and the materials used. The right combination of materials can make painting small details such as this WAAAAY easier. If you’re painting with lacquer, then it’s just a matter of using enamel or acrylic for the detail paint. This combination will make it much easier to pick out the details as carefully as you can all of the way down to the firewall surface, and if you make a mistake, it’s just a matter of removing the mistake with sharpened tooth picks if the paint is still somewhat wet, or with the same tooth picks moistened with the appropriate thinner for the enamel or acrylic if the paint is dry. This insures that no damage is done to the underlying lacquer. I haven’t always replaced firewall detail, so prior to that, this was the general approach that I used. A few examples. Steve

I get that, and I’m kind of in the same situation. I’ll never be able to build everything that I would like to either, and I’ve resigned myself to that fact. So my approach has morphed into rather than fretting over what will get left unbuilt, which will inevitably be many kits regardless of how I build them, I’ve decided that the process of the build is what is more important to me than populating my shelves. I discovered along the way that I get much more satisfaction out of playing with the little stuff and discovering how to do things that I’ve never tried before than I did when I was putting time constraints on myself. I haven’t spent hardly any time at all in my shop over the past year and a half, but I’m at peace with that. Even if I never build anything ever again, at least I am very satisfied and content with what I have done to this point. I just had to tell myself that I can’t build them all, so build what you can to the best of your ability. I would rather that my legacy be quality rather than quantity. Who knows, maybe when I’m too old and ready to get out, maybe I’ll be able to make a little money back on the ones that I have built to put towards a vacation or something. 😁 Steve

Another one that was done by replacing firewall details. Steve

I’ve come to the conclusion that painting firewall wiring never really looks all that great in most circumstances, and often makes the engine bay look worse than if you just sprayed the entire firewall black, and left it alone. It’s for that reason that I’ve begun to sand nearly all of the firewall detail off and have started replacing it with real wire and more realistic looking parts. Yes, of course it’s more work, and you can’t always see all of the changes, but the modeling journey is far more important to me than the finished product. I build because I love building. Not because I need or even want rows and rows of shelves full of finished models. One model meticulously done gives me much more pleasure and pride than a dozen done quickly to average standards. Steve

Johan for me! Mostly because of the cool and unusual subject matter. (Oldsmobile, Plymouth, Dodge, Chrysler, Desoto, Cadillac, and AMC). Sadly for me, the majority of the really cool “flat box” stuff was long gone before I even began modeling 50+ years ago, and they’ve proven to be much more difficult to find, and much more expensive than most of the vintage AMT stuff. Steve

I kind of prefer my rat liver seared on a hot asphalt highway. Steve

WOW! Excuse me! 😳 Steve

Did I press a button with my playfulness? I detect a little grumpiness. Maybe you’re just hungry. 😉 Steve

Can’t you get takeout on credit now? 😁 Steve

Don’t think I’ve ever heard of anyone eating straight picante sauce! Cupboard must be getting a little bare! 😁 Steve

There are polishes designed for use on models, as there are many that are designed for 1:1 automotive applications. If you use paints that are designed for use on real cars, you can use any type of polish that you wish. Of course my suggestion is to polish the clear coats applied over the color and not the color itself for a number of reasons. Myself, I use polishing pads from Micro-Mesh, followed by liquid polishes from Novus, and finish with a light polish with an automotive scratch and swirl remover, and it never fails me. As I said, I will never consider myself a great painter, possibly not even a very good one, but the results speak for themselves. The final destination is what is important. How you get there is meaningless in my opinion. By the way, the red '62 Chrysler and black '60 Mercury that I posted earlier were both sprayed entirely with spray cans from primer to clear coat, (all Duplicolor) and then cut and polished to perfection. You can spend a number of hours cutting and polishing, but it's up to the individual whether or not they consider it worth the effort, or if they would rather just shoot and hope. A few more examples of models sprayed entirely with Duplicolor lacquers, and then polished. Steve

Lots of variation depending on make, model, year, etc, and depending on whether or not it's stock or otherwise. A lot of Mopars had body color on the fender wells. Most GM cars were likely painted a semi gloss black. Ford I'm not particularly versed in. Some individual models were unusual, such as late '60s-early '70s Olds 442 w-30s, which had red plastic inner fender wells, and some Pontiac GTOs were available around the same time period with red fender well liners front and rear. The best way to find the answer is to do some Google searching for the particular car that you're looking for. Steve

But why not strive to learn how to paint well anyway? Of course! But as I’m sure that we’re all aware that most likely, the vast majority of modelers who get frustrated with building model cars do so due to paint difficulties. There’s more than one way to skin a cat. Steve

You can save yourself a whole bunch of heartache if you approach the possibility of a good paint job from the perspective that a truly “show quality” paint job doesn’t necessarily require you to be a professional painter. You can either commit to the long game, (sometimes a VERY long game) and continue to chase the elusive perfect paint job directly from the airbrush or can, which might take years of experimentation and practice, or you can follow the example of those of us who capitulated years ago, but then realized that you can achieve the same, or often even superior results with nothing more than the right materials and some elbow grease. I don’t even try to get a perfect paint job anymore. It’s not worth the aggravation to me. I would much rather spend a couple of extra hours cutting and polishing and be pretty much assured of a magnificent paint finish, than cross my fingers and pray that everything goes exactly as I had hoped, which it almost never does. If you can spray a mediocre finish, and then operate a sanding pad or paper, along with some liquid polishes, you can be producing superior finishes over many that rely on their spraying expertise straight from the can in a minuscule fraction of the time that it will likely take you to reach that level. You’ll be able to put your paint jobs right next to the best painters out there, and nobody will ever know the difference. Steve

Chicken and Sausage Gumbo. Steve

I’m not a very good painter either. Never have been. But that’s why I eventually settled on a system that doesn’t require being a good painter in order to achieve a show quality paint job. Getting high quality paint results is without a doubt one of the most challenging aspects of model car building for the vast majority of builders. That’s why I repeatedly suggest the type of regimen that I use to people. Because I’ve learned over 50+ years in the hobby that you absolutely do not have to be a professional painter to get results like one. Steve

Shouldn't be difficult to replace the glass with thin clear plastic sheet. Looks way better than the "too thick" kit glass anyway. I use .007 clear "lay film" on pretty much all of my projects now unless the glass is some wild wrap around with compound curves. Anything relatively flat is quite easy to replace with sheet plastic. Couple of examples. Steve

I can't stress enough the importance of a good layer of clear for polishing purposes. If you plan on polishing your paint, the use of a good quality clear in a sufficient amount will not only guard against removing too much color or burning through the paint, but it has the added benefit of enhancing the color and adding depth to the paint finish. I don't even consider polishing my finishes without several coats of clear lacquer. Maybe just me but it's my opinion that clear is an integral part of the painting process and goes a long way towards eliminating any possible problems with the polishing process. I wouldn't attempt to do it any other way. With a good layer of clear, you don't have to rely on you're hopeful ability to be able to lay down a perfectly smooth paint job, and some orange peel quickly becomes a moot point with the ability to remove it without ever touching the underlying color. Steve

If you’re having issues with not being able to remove scratches, you might want to go back and revisit the entire polishing process. Are you starting with too course of a grit? Are you utilizing every grit all of the way to the finest without skipping any? Are you sufficiently utilizing each grit to it’s full measure? Once finished with the pads or paper, are you also using the Novus polish in succession? (Heavy and fine scratch remover) The scratch and swirl remover that I use has very little abrasive ability, so it serves only to enhance the luster and remove very fine surface anomalies. It’s not really going to remedy any problems of any real depth. Just thinking out loud. 😊 Steve