peteski

While I'm mainly a car guy, I sometimes build heavy commercial trucks, so I regularly visited the Truck Talk section. I have to agree that merging it with the Car General section is not a good idea. If you tracked the amount of traffic on the Truck Talk section, it was much less than on the generic General section, and unlike the potpourri of subjects discussed on the generic section, they mostly had truck-specific threads. Even if people are 100% diligent, and include TRUCK in the subject line, those posts will get totally drowned out by the other generic chatter. It would make much more sense to keep trucks separate, and make the trucks guys' life easier.

I used to buy my hypodermic tubing, stainless steel wire, etc. from Small Parts inc. in Florida, but Amazon swallowed them few years ago, and they might as well be gone (can't find anything). But I recently found another company which has an easy to browse site and all the stuff I need. http://compsuco.com/

Kits of more modern cars usually include door mirrors, but they are much sturdier than the old spindly ones.

Remember that basements are where the best and wildest parties are! Plus basements usually have lots of interesting stuff in them, and many modeling workshops are in basements too (that's where mine is). Even here, the most fun section "Off-Topic" is here, and also the "quiz" section. Fun stuff! IMO it is a privilege to be in so called "forum basement". I'm not a diecast collector (as in 1:18 scale assembled models). I do have bunch of Hot Wheels and Matchboxes, and probably about a hundred of 1:43 resin and metal models. I'm still mainly a plastic model builder (although I haven't build a model kit for some time now), so I do peek into this section from time to time.

Looks like you took on a very interesting project David. Unfortunately Harry has past on, but his legacy lives on. We all miss Harry very much. He was the reason I joined this forum years ago. Still, there are plenty of capable modelers here you can bounce ideas of off.

You can do that until you turn blue (or suffocate). Mr. Clean works because it contains Lye (Sodium Chydroxide). Same caustic chemical present in Purple Stuff (Castrol Super Clean) or in the original Easy-Off oven cleaner spray, LA Awesome liquid cleaner, or some other household or industrial cleaners. It's as simple as that. Lye is what strips the metal layer and the underlying clear coat.

Yes, modelers using "acrylic" to mean "water-based" paint is a huge pet-peeve of mine. There are many acrylic-resin-based paints which use organic-solvents.

Their brush-on paints in little metal tins are similar to Testors (little glass bottle) enamels, but I have also never used their spray paint. Hopefully someone here has, and will be able to comment.

Ah, so you simply had to adapt your skills to smaller scale vehicles. Nice! I'll be on a lookout for more of your excellent creations!

But it will not remove the clear coat under the aluminum "chrome". I prefer to strip it all to bare plastic.

You are "just starting scratchbuilding in 1:8 scale"? Come on Charlie, you are pulling our legs! Judging by the photos of your work, you must have been doing this for decades! There is a "work in progress" section of the forum. That would be perfect venue for you to show off your projects, and for others to follow your progress. Like Raymond, I'm curious as to your equipment. Before retirement, were you a professional machinist, or tool/die maker?

Sounds liek a marketign terms. "Acrylic" is likely the acrylic resin used as binder in the clear coat. "Varnish" is then used to indicate that it is a clear coating. And yes, since the reflectivity (glossiness) of any object depend on its surface roughness, by applying a clear topcoat which dries to some specific level of glossiness (or lack of thereof) affects the glossiness level. Did I make it as clear as lacquer now?

Good hint. Hmm, I just go to whatever section of a post I want to quote, then select the text to be quoted. Once I release the mouse button after drag-selecting the text, a little balloon pops up asking if I want to quote. I click on it and there it is: multiquote. I never used the + button. I use a PC (not smart phone).

Yes, everybody's life woudl be much easier if people actually stopped and thought as to which forum is the best fit for their new thread. That is just as bad as people quoting a super-long post with dozens of large photos, just to add "Nice job" as a response. They should be banned for life! Come on people - wake the heck up!

Interesting, but what does it have to do with model cars or trucks? I would expect to see this type of a post in the Off-Topic section.

As I understand Molotow is alcohol based, so I'm not surprised that it gets dulled or even runs when coated with solvent-based clear coat. I would never dream of doing that. Water-based acrylic clear (or Future) would probably not affect it much. Just use Bare Metal Foil my friend! It will never run under any clear coat.

Wow! That's a clean build! I recently noticed you asking about color choice for it, and few days later - WHAM! It is finished! Scratchbuild I assume? Did you have a WIP thread on it? I don't recall seeing it.

I misunderstood your post - I thought you were *NOT* recommending Plastruct Bondene as adhesive for the "engineering grade" ABS. I think we are on the same page now.

Not sure why is it so difficult to multiply millimeters by 25.4 to arrive at inches? Or jut type in "mm to inches" in your favorite search engine for instant conversion utility. With the global economy in full swing we have to adjust and adapt to new measurement units.

Methylene Chloride is a very potent solvent for *ANY* type of Polystyrene and acrylic. I still have *REALLY* hard time believing that it would not instantly melt any formulation of ABS. And my 16-year-old bottle of Plastuct Bondene lists Dichloromethane (not MEK) as it's contents. I can take a photo if you don't believe me. And neither Dichloromethane, nor MEK are anywhere as potent as Methylene Chloride.

The speed depends on many variables: things like Internet traffic congestion between this site and your computer and even how many people are using this site. For example if overnight there are 100 active users and during the day, there is 800, they website will be slower handling all those users. I don't know this website's computing power, but I'm sure is nowhere near what Google or Amazon have for their websites.

Interesting. Thanks Hermann

You are making good progress Hermann! Question: why does black primer give best results with white paint finish? That seems counter-intuitive (and not how I paint my models). I use light color primer (light gray or white) when the final color is light (like white or yellow).

Again, it's the incompatibility between the paint's and the thinner's chemistry. I rather be safe than sorry, and only thin what I will use immediately, or use the thinner dedicated for that paint.

Not necessarily. There are many different lacquer thinner formulas out there (used by different manufacturers). Some might contain some incompatible solvent. It ls always best to use a thinner specifically made for the brand of paint being used. Generic lacquer thinner can be used, but never ever thin the entire bottle - just thin the amount which will be immediately used for the project you are working on (or even just for that specific airbrushing session). I have made a mistake of thinning solvent-based (not water-based acrylic) paint with lacquer thinner and it gelled after few months when I wanted to use it again.