StevenGuthmiller

I would use this approach. The acetate or clear styrene would look better, (thinner) anyway. If it were mine, I would add a molding around the perimeter of the window opening, using half round, plastic rod, stretched sprue, whatever you prefer, using a plastic cement, (I like Plastruct "Plastic Weld"), and then make a fresh windshield. Even if you opt to not make a new glass, I would cement the new molding prior to doing anything else to the body. Steve

Agreed! Let the tool do the work, whatever the tool may be. Steve

I'm sorry Len, but you'll never convince me that Molotow stands up to handling better than Alclad. The fragility of Molotow is widely known and has been a major bone of contention pretty much since day one. I've used both as well, and without some sort of protective coat over Molotow, you should basically never touch it again. But, if you're getting a clear over Molotow and it still looks like chrome, more power to you. Not trying to bust your chops or anything Len, but Molotow has left such a bad taste in my mouth that I like to bring alternatives up to people if they're not aware of them. Carry on. Steve

That's the truth! Like many other operations in our hobby, there are really no short cuts. Steve

One of the many reasons why I quit using it. Way more hassle than it's worth. While Alclad chrome requires the extra step of a shiny black, (or other dark color) base, I find it to be a better alternative, (for air brushing) than Molotow. Alclad is actually a lacquer paint, not an ink, so I also find it to be more durable than Molotow. You still don't want to handle it a lot, but it's much more forgiving than Molotow, and it dries MUCH faster. Apparently a lot easier to use as well, as it doesn't require any unusual remixing practices, etc. Just shake up the bottle, dump it in your cup, and spray, just like you would any other ready to spray, pre-mixed air brush paint. I haven't taken the time to really research this fact as I don't know how many ounces there are in a Molotow pen, but I assume that Alclad is more economical as well. $10.00 or $12.00 for a Molotow pen versus $8.00 or $9.00 for a 1 oz bottle of Alclad makes me think that's the case, and looking at larger amounts makes it very evident. A 30ml, (1 oz) refill of Molotow runs around $32.00, while a 4 oz. bottle of Alclad chrome will run around $35.00.......not even close! Steve

I used to use a BMF scribing tool, but I found that I get better results with an old, dull, backwards #11 blade. The BMF scriber is too wide for a convincing panel line. My technique is as follows. Run a sharp #11 blade around the panel lightly a few times to give the dull blade something to dig into. Then I begin using the backwards blade, just a couple of inches at a time until I am about to the depth that I'm shooting for, then move on to the next couple of inches. Rounded corners are the most difficult, but as with any scribing tool, you just have to go slowly and lightly until the depth develops. Once I've finished with the #11 blade, I'll usually get down into the groove a little more with a sharp pointed dental tool, and possibly a pointed round file, just to clean things up a little. Finally, I'll lightly sand the edges of the groove to ease over the sharp edges a little. It's kind of hard to describe some of these steps, but I find that I can get a lot better job, a lot faster with the #11 blade, than I ever could with the scriber. The panel lines on the '64 Bonneville I'm working on were done in this fashion, and if I recall correctly, I don't remember the blade jumping out and scratching the body once. No darkening of the panel lines is required at all if you get them deep enough. I also do all of the body moldings in the same fashion to give them more depth and make them easier to foil. These are the tools that I use in order from left to right, with the second from the left "dull blade" doing the brunt of the work. (By the way, by a "dull blade" I mean that it actually has the very tip broken off) Steve

Fantastic! Glad that you can join in again! Steve

Kind of like Newton's third law, "For every action, there is an equal but opposite reaction", every modification, "usually" requires another. As the chassis needed to be stretched, which required that the transmission cross member be moved forward, (at least as is the case with the way that I stretched it) so therefore the kit exhaust will no longer fit as it should because of interference from the cross member due to it's proximity to the floor pan. Of course the exhaust was designed to fit the Super Duty exhaust manifolds rather than stock manifolds anyway, so in any case, the exhaust pipes required replacement. This just took a length of carefully bent plastic rod to remedy. I'll tackle the other side and add some clamps forthwith. Steve

Moving on with the chassis mods, my first change was re-configuring the front suspension to be steerable. The Moebius front suspension is not steerable, but it has most of the necessary components to be able to convert it relatively simply. First, I needed to find a suitable substitute for the tie rod, which the Revell 1966 GTO kit provided. As an added bonus, the tie rod from the GTO is a better piece than what's molded onto the Moebius suspension as well. Next, I simply needed to add some steering arms to the steering knuckles, which was ultimately accomplished by forming the arms from styrene strip, and then gluing a piece of drilled out plastic rod to the end. These were glued to the existing knuckles. Then the existing tie rod was removed and the new tie rod drilled out on the ends to accept some pins. Looks like it should work pretty well without looking too clunky or contrived. A little extra refining, and I can move on to other things. Steve

If you really want the machined surfaces of the rotor to look used, my suggestion would be to scuff some BMF with a fairly fine sand paper in whatever pattern you would like while it’s still on the backing and then apply the foil to the rotor surface. I’ve used this technique for the brushed stainless steel panels on the roof of a ‘60 Chrysler Imperial and it worked quite well. Steve

And while I’m at it, I just as well add a few shots of the 389 4 barrel going into my current ‘64 Pontiac Bonneville convertible project. Steve

Well, as long as we’re adding new stuff to old threads, I can’t pass this one up without posting a few shots of the Hemi in my ‘68 Coronet. My favorite engine and engine compartment to date. Steve

Sometimes yes. But over time for me it has become evident that it’s better not to paint everything before hand when there’s any possibility whatsoever that there my be more modifications required in order for everything to fit together correctly. It saves me a great deal of time and hassle in the long run. Steve

I think what all of the responses so far demonstrate is that in the end, the actual color used isn’t really of much consequence. A brand new brake rotor is basically silver on the machined portion and usually either black or dark gray in the un-machined areas. The realism will be accomplished by whatever technique you use to give it some life after paint. One thing that I’ve learned in the short time that I’ve been doing any weathering at all is that it’s really hard to screw up. So paint them whatever shade of silver looks good initially, and then have some fun with it. Steve

I don't know exactly what affect you're looking for, but personally, I would use one of the many different metal finishes that Alclad offers if I were looking for a color to paint rotors. If they don't offer an exact shade that you desire, it's very easy to buy several different colors and mix a shade that's acceptable to you. I don't know how you're painting your parts, but in these kinds of situations, you'll almost always get a much better representation of what you want by air brushing rather than brush painting. Another suggestion to add some realism to simulated metal parts is to add some detail in the form of a wash or some other technique to add depth to the parts. Something like the wash and dry brushing added to the transmission on this Pontiac engine. It can go a long way to making a part look more realistic. You probably don't want a brake rotor to look this well used, but it gives you an idea of what I'm talking about. Steve

Of course, it’s always good to improve whenever possible, but if the finished product is satisfactory for you, changing the technique is meaningless. That’s what I meant by the “minutiae of the technique”. How you get there means nothing. The question is are you happy when you do get there. As has been said a million times on this forum, whatever works for you is the correct way to do it. Steve

Alternating the direction that you sand is probably the best approach, although it’s not always possible depending on the shape of the surface that you’re working on. If you’re getting good results sanding in one direction, there’s no reason to change it. I do it that way very often. Some times we have a tendency to get caught up in the minutiae of the suggested technique rather than the end result. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Steve

Now that the engine is done, I can move on to the chassis. First, I needed to move the transmission cross member forward a ways. The lengthening of the chassis and the shorter transmission than the Moebius transmission made it necessary to readjust. Next, the hollow front frame rails have a tendency to really bother me, so I began "boxing" them in. And finally, as I replaced all of the wiring detail on the firewall, so I will do the same for the inner fender wells. Got a start on that by removing most of the molded in detail, and began making a new relay for the fender well. Steve

I don't think it's so much that some of us are "haters". More like "non-believers". If I don't believe in something, I don't promote it, and in some cases, (such as Molotow) I'll go so far as to try to point out it's downfalls and recommend, based on my own experience, that people avoid it's use for those reasons. Now, in the case of Future, I have no personal experience with it, so I have to rely on tidbits of information gained from other people who do. My biggest problem with Future, or any of these other "floor care" products, is that you can't polish them. I'm a strong believer that polishing gives me the best finish that I can produce, and quite frankly, I've not been thoroughly impressed with a good number of the Future finishes that I've seen. Not to say that I have not seen good results that some get when using it, but let's just say that some people's idea of "good" is not always all that great. Kind of like the response I often get when discussing the use of Molotow ink on external chrome trim when I ask people to please produce an example where Molotow has produced a better result than BMF normally does. Honestly, I don't believe that I've ever gotten a real response to that question. Usually just crickets. And if I did, I would definitely consider it more of an anomaly than the norm, because believe me, I've seen hundreds of Molotow jobs that the builder thinks looks good that don't.......to say the least. All that said, I don't have anything against Future per-say, I just don't necessarily believe that it's a good substitute for a clear coat and polish. To be honest, I've always had the mindset that the use of products such as Molotow and Future were basically acceptable "short cuts", and I don't believe that when you're trying to achieve the absolute best results that you possibly can, that short cuts are necessarily a good thing. All of this just my opinion of course, which I'm sure I will catch some heat for. Steve

Yes, most of the metal parts on the engine are painted in various shades of Alclad paints. Steve

Agreed. Regular super glue will not only fog kit glass, but it will fog chrome parts, and even paint in some instances. Steve

Thanks fellas! Well, the 4-speed, 4 barrel, 389 is finally finished and ready to install, (once the chassis is complete) Since the last engine update, I've installed the exhaust manifolds, transmission, fan belt, fan, breather cap and dip stick. I also added a little alternator wiring and some more road grime to the lower half of the engine. Chassis modifications have begun. Steve

Very simple. Put a small dab of clear 2 part epoxy on the roof or glass where you’re putting the mirror and then walk away. Set a timer for about 15 minutes, (for the 5 minute epoxy I use anyway) and then come back and check the tackiness of the glue on your mixing card. If the glue is still semi-liquid, let it set for a while longer, until it’s sticky, but really doesn’t create any strands when you stick in and pull away an instrument. Once it’s at this “just tacky” stage, place your mirror with a tweezers. You should get no glue squeeze out, and the mirror will stick and stay exactly where you put it. It will still take a little while for the glue to set completely, so you’ll still have time to make minor adjustments. I use this technique for a lot of "sensitive" assemblies. As an example, as we speak, I'm installing a piece of wire for a fan belt on my '64 Bonneville project. Rather than try to do it all in one shot and making a mess with CA glue, I'm gluing basically one pulley at a time using this tacky glue technique, letting it set up hard for a couple of hours, and then going around the next pulley. This helps me keep the belt taught, and prevents a glue mess. Steve

I was thinking more along the lines of a tint for the entire glass. Steve

Anybody ever try tinting their Future, or whatever, with transparent green or blue acrylic paint to see how it would work for tinted glass? I've never had much use for Future, but if it could be very lightly tinted, I thought it might work well for this application. Steve