StevenGuthmiller

By the way Bill, I came across this photo on the forum today from a recent show, and it's a classic example of what I mean by the "hard candy look". Steve

That's never a good sign. Steve

I've learned to absolutely HATE this shade of green. I always thought it was kind of cool on a '70 Challenger or 'Cuda, but once it started showing up on everything from a '55 Chevy to your model-T example, it was over for me. Old cars have a uniqueness in style that doesn't require a "look at me" paint job. Whenever I come across pictures of an antique or classic car model in a variation of this color, I instantly pass it by, no matter how well it's done. It's an unmitigated offense to my eyes! ? Steve

You traded away the best stuff!!! ? Steve

I like this one too. All too often, I believe that people over think their custom color combinations and often wind up with some heinous combination that looks like it belongs in a jar of jaw breakers rather than their car. I guess I’m just old fashioned, but bright and gaudy has never been much of a fashion statement to me. ? Steve

I love it! So much more tasteful than the nauseating day-glo green that everybody uses on everything these days. ? Steve

Who knows. But in the end, I’m confident that Jame’s paint will arrive in relatively short order. There are a handful of aftermarket providers that I get my materials from that I always have absolute confidence in. Among them, Fireball Modelworks, M.A.D. and MCW. Steve

Hmmm, I don’t remember ever getting anything from them through FedEx, and I’m almost certain never through UPS. Pretty sure my orders always came regular USPS. Steve

I can’t imagine that it would be too difficult to find a good substitute from a modern kit. Most top boots are pretty universal, so maybe check out the boot from the Revell ‘65/‘66 Impala kit for starters. I used a boot from the Revellogram ‘59 Impala for my ‘64 Bonneville, and after a little adjustment I think it fits, and looks better than the original. Steve

Well, if it was more than a few years ago, you couldn't even order on line. You had to print an order form from the site and mail it in. I don't even know how they could have gotten a tracking number to you, unless it was via email. I don't recall ever getting an email from MCW. Maybe I've just been unlucky.....or lucky, depending on how you look at it. Steve

Just as a “for instance” I ordered a bottle of Alclad paint through Amazon about a week ago, that’s shipping from Hobbylinc, and it hasn’t even shipped yet. And that is a “pull it off the shelf and ship it” situation. Even Amazon and Hobbylinc can be a little slow sometimes. ? Steve

Look at it this way. Every minute that they spend on the computer sending out confirmations and emails, is one less minute that they have to fill orders, and it only makes sense that if they're behind on resin, that they would be behind on paint orders. (the bulk of their business) As I said, I have never received a confirmation of any kind from MCW. But I have always been confident, (and have always been correct in my assumption) that my order is on it's way. That said, I've ordered frequently from MCW over the years, and have never once received my order in a week. It'll get there. By the way, you have to remember as well that this is a custom service. They’re not just pulling a can of Tamiya off of the shelf and shipping it. At the very least, (if the paint color, or colors that you ordered don’t need to be mixed from scratch), they have to be prepared for use, (reduced) bottled, labeled, packaged and shipped, and all most likely being done by a couple of guys, dealing with hundreds of orders. All takes time. Steve

Well, 9 business days, (to ship, not for you to receive it) s basically 2 weeks. Add another week for shipping, and your now closer to three weeks than one. And that's under normal circumstances, and not when they have a backlog due to a tear down, a move, and setting back up again in a new facility. You won't get any notice or tracking information. I never have. It'll just show up. In this instance, I don't think I would start to get worried unless more than 3 weeks has gone by. MCW is a reputable business. They'll take care of you, no doubt. It's just going to take a little longer due to the circumstances. Steve

It's gonna take longer than a week dude. Be patient, they're not Amazon. This is a cottage industry and they have a lot of orders to fill. Plus, if you read the first thing that pops up on the screen on they're website, you'll see that there was a recent move from I believe Ohio, to North Carolina. It takes time to get everything moved and set up, and during the process, they've become backed up. Seriously, I wouldn't expect to see your order until the middle of May. I can tell you personally, that in the past, (I believe before the current proprietors took over), 3 weeks was the normal turn around time. Since the new owners took over, I still would never see my order any earlier than a couple of weeks out. Steve

I agree with the "no lacquer over enamel" philosophy, but it's not the be all, end all. You should absolutely be able to use Testors clear lacquer over enamel. I do it all of the time, on virtually every project. To be clear, I don't use enamels on the bodies, but I use enamels throughout the rest of the build, and seal the enamel painted parts with Testors clear lacquer on virtually every other surface on the model. Testors clear lacquers are very benign and shouldn't damage enamel paint in the least, as long as the enamel was applied correctly in the first place. With that said Eric, I have to wonder why you would use enamel for the color coats on the body if you're using lacquer for a top coat anyway. Lacquer is going to give you a better result anyway if you use it throughout, especially if we're talking spray cans, and I have to tell you, if my memory serves me correctly, Testors white spray enamel was one of the worst paints I had ever used. Basically orange peel in a can!! Steve

Quite probably......if I ever get to it. ? Steve

Before you commit to adding more clear coats, be sure that the clear that you are using is capable of being applied that heavily without covering all of the detail. All clears are not created equal, and the manor in which you are applying them generally makes a big difference as well. (Rattle can or airbrush) As an example, If I were using 2K clear or Testors clear lacquer, I probably wouldn’t use any more than 3 coats, especially if sprayed from a can. The Duplicolor clear that I use shrinks up very tight once it’s completely cured, so even though I spray it from a can, you can use multiple coats. As far as color coats go, Just enough coats to get a good uniform color is all that I worry about, but depending on the color, and what you’re spraying it over, that can take anywhere from 3 to 5 coats. And of course, as with most of these things, a lot depends on the type of paint you’re using, and how you’re applying it. Steve

I tried "flattening" tires with heat many years ago. Never had any luck with it whatsoever. Never looked right. Kind of like melting fenders, hoods or other parts to simulate accident damage. Always just looks like melted plastic to me. Keep in mind, the tires above are solid resin tires. I'm sure that trying to heat them would produce a mess, if anything. But it makes them quite easy to sand a small flat spot into them to help produce the weighted appearance. I'm sure that a hollow vinyl tire would not be anywhere near as easy as this to "weight". Steve

My observation Bill is that the "dipped in syrup" and "hard candy" look are entirely different things. When the clear has been applied so heavily that it literally looks as if it was dipped in the paint rather than being sprayed on, that is what I would consider "dipped in syrup". The "hard candy" phenomenon is a little harder to explain, but to my eye, it's when a finish has a generally "toy like" appearance. I very often see models with plenty of orange peel that also have that hard candy appearance. It just looks unfinished in my opinion. I agree with you that laying down a good smooth base is absolutely far more desirable than otherwise, but it's not always possible, and very often unobtainable for some, so rather than just accepting what you get, polishing is an avenue to advancing an average paint job into an exceptional one. Granted, the smoother you get the paint initially, the easier the polishing process will be, and it might just be my individual expectation, but my sentiment is that ANY orange peel whatsoever is unacceptable. (for me anyway) I know, I've heard the argument, as I'm sure that you have as well, that orange peel, especially on a factory stock paint job, is more typical than not. My opinion on that has always been that it's nothing more than a justification for taking short cuts. I believe that we should all be aware, and there is no confusion in my mind at all, that any amount of "normal" orange peel present on a 1:1 vehicle would be completely and entirely imperceptible when reduced to 1/25th scale. You would never be able to see it. I'm fairly confident that it would be exceedingly more difficult to produce an in scale orange peeled finish, than it would be to produce a perfectly smooth, shiny and blemish free one. Steve

MPC 1966 Dodge Monaco. This one will take a little work to bring it back, but all in all, a pretty solid candidate for a restoration. Steve

I will never go so far as to say that polishing is one of my favorite parts of a build, but it's my opinion that it is a necessary step if you want a flawless finish. I understand that there are those that can somehow achieve that perfect finish without, (and of course those that are fine with skipping the polishing and telling themselves it looks good) but I'm not one of them on either account, and I think that most of us strive to be able to produce as close to an ideal paint finish as possible. Cutting and polishing is going to almost certainly be the most successful alternative for a good majority of us to being able to lay down perfect paint straight away. It's been my opinion for a long time that even a great paint job will benefit from polishing. I feel that it creates a more realistic looking finish, and serves to eliminate that super shiny "hard candy" look that you can often see with raw, unpolished paint. Steve

Of course sanding through the paint during the cutting and polishing process, (for those of us that do it) has always been an issue. My method for avoiding this problem is probably a little more unorthodox than many, but instead of the usual taping method, or just trying to avoid the body ridges, I accomplish it by adequate paint, (clear) thickness. It doesn't surprise me at all that a lot of people have this problem when they are using only a coat or two of clear, or eliminating it altogether and sanding and polishing the paint color itself. I began using as many as 5 coats of clear on my projects some years ago, (good, solid automotive clear lacquer) and I haven't experienced any significant burn through since. Of course I still try to be careful on the high points, but with adequate clear coat depth, it's really not something that appears on my radar anymore, and as a bonus, it's my opinion that the added layers of clear can only act to add more depth to the paint job as well. Granted, using this much clear is only possible if you're using the right materials and techniques. Some paints and clears dry much tighter and thinner than others, so multiple coats will not hide any detail. As I'm sure many of you have heard from me before, I use as many as a total of 14 or 15 coats of primer, paint and clear combined, yet I have zero issues with detail hide, and my models are able to be polished rather aggressively with almost no issues whatsoever. Steve

Perfectly stated Mike! Steve

So my take away from all of this is that Alclad is not going anywhere in the US, and the same product is available in the UK, just under a different name. Anyone, feel free to correct me if this is not the case. Steve

The problem is not so much the finish, but the durability. I agree that some of these paints produce acceptable chrome like finishes if applied correctly. (personally, I use any black paint, followed by Testors gloss enamel, and then Alclad) but the problem is how fragile the majority of them are afterwards. My ultimate goal is a chrome finish that can be treated exactly like kit chrome for detailing and can be handled as such. If I'm ever going to use a chrome paint for grilles, bumpers, etc, it has to be able to accept washes, be polished, etc, just like chrome parts, or I'm not interested. I detailed this hubcap today with an acrylic wash, followed by wiping the excess paint away with swabs and some scraping in select areas with tooth picks. You do that with Molotow or Alclad and you've got a mess. Steve