peteski

Another idea would be to wrap some 2-part epoxy putty (like Milliput or Tamiya) around the shifter shaft, then sculpt it into a boot shape. Then of course paint it semigloss black.

I have used Floqil Barrier (made for the same purpose) for decades, when it was still available. It was basically another alcohol based shellac-type product similar to BIN. I still have few bottles of it (I stocked up when RPM discontinued Floquil paints.

Easy one!

Sure, we all like shortcuts. But the person who originally posted the question doesn't give any details, and they now have couple dozen of different answers. If they wanted a quick answer, they should have told us what material is the body and what paints were used. Then someone could likely provide an good answer based on their specific hands-on experience. Right now we are just shooting in the dark (basically providing the same barrage of various methods which is already in that stripping thread).

A word of caution. I have seen instances of latex gloves literally melt after few years of being exposed to air (as in taken out of their sealed protective packaging). Latex does not have a long life exposed to air (oxygen). Bu that was standard light colored latex. I never worked with the black stuff.

As pointed out really early in this thread, there is a very long thread about what to use to strip paint of models. Worth reading (or at least skimming over that lengthy thread). The other thing is that there are so many opinions about what works best because there are many different brands and types of paint. There is no single best universal stripper: there are combinations of strippers and paints which work very well, marginally, or not at all. So, there is no single answer - it depends on the paint and the stripper. What we have here is rehashing info in that strippers thread mentioned earlier in this thread.

I usually use thinners which are specifically made for the paint. But for cleaning airbrush I use cheap generic lacquer thinner, but for as little thinner as is needed for thinning the paint for airbrushing, the branded thinner is not *THAT* much of an expense. If you don't want to use Humbrol brand thinner, Testors enamel or Model Master thinner will work (mineral spirits based). Even mineral spirits from the hardware store should work on Humbrol. But always test a new combination of paint/thinner on a scrap piece of the model or on a disposable spoon (made from Polystyrene).

What they said about Ultra Bright - skip it. It is likely just very thin and stiff aluminum foil. The Original and "new" Chrome is not an aluminum foil (you notice that it has a slightly warm yellowish tone, not bluish like aluminum). It is some sort of special alloy which is much softer and pliable/stretchable than Al. foil. That is why it works so well. Easy way to prove it is that you can melt that foil with a soldering iron, where Al. foil will not melt (has a higher melting temperature).

I never heard that "standard" enamels need UV light to cure. Yes the have 2 stages for drying. 1. solvent evaporating leaves the enamel dry but soft. 2.after the solvent evaporates the resin in the paint's binder starts to cure (its chemical properties change). I have heard that oxugen is needed for this process to progress (like Tony states). The curing process can take long time, but heat will accelerate it (heat accelerates lots of reactions). But if there are UV-curable enamels then sure, UV light will be needed for the final cure. However I doubt that any of the hobby enamels are specifically UV-curable. But if some specific information is available to prove otherwise, I'm all eyes.

IIRC, Scalecoat Wash Away Paint Remover is also based on a chemical similar to brake fluid - always be careful using a new type of stripping solution on urethene resin.

Unless you have professional equipment (read: costs thousands of dollars), matching colors on a computer screen or even on a printout is an exercise in futility. In the old days, paint companies sold color charts with color chips painted with the actual paint. Color matching on the computer screen is also useless for metallic colors. As for Tru-Color paints, I do use them and like them very much. They do go on very thin. I use them in my other hobby (model railroading) and haven't yet tried their automotive colors. A word of warning about using generic thinner (like acetone); It might bite you in the butt. While it will work, you might not get the best possible surface finish. Acetone evaporates too fast. Their thinner has other solvents besides acetone, and it evaporates a bit slower (allowing the paint to better level out). For as little as you will use for mixing with the paint, spend the extra money and buy Tru-Color thinner. You can still use cheap acetone for airbrush cleaning and general cleanups.

Not that I have noticed (and some of my setting solutions are around 30 years old)! If the "Sol" smells like vinegar (acetic acid) and "Set:" smells a bit like alcohol, then they are likely good. But there are lots of different decal manufacturers using different formulas of inks and clear film. Even the same kit re-released some years later could have decals made by another company. Some decals are very thin and easily melted by the setting solutions while others are very stubborn and even the Microsol will not affect them much. For those I use Walthers SolvaSet - the strongest setting solution I have encountered. I have at least half a dozen different setting solutions, and sometimes it takes some trial and error to find the one which works the best on certain brand of decals.

While the shine is there on that slick "speed shape", how thick is the paint coat? Like Mike said, if the paint goes on too thick, it will obfuscate small details. If I have some delicate parts, I don't want them to look like they were dipped in pancake syrup.

I can't believe that I just now found this thread - probably because I usually look for stuff like this in the aftermarket section of the forum. I used to own a '77 T-bird and would love to have a model in 1:24/25 scale! Mine was cream/brown. I still have few mementos from it like the hood ornament, and I think I have the Thunderbird script from the trunk lid stashed away too. The only model of it I own is a 1:64 scale diecast. Hopefully this one will be available for sale. As I can tell Paul, your model looks pretty darn good! I hope that you will cast the front directional and the taillights in clear resin (assuming they will remain as separate pieces).. Another model I would love to see is a '79-'85 Caddy Eldorado or a Seville of similar vintage (other than that TKM slush-cast thing). For a bit of history, the body had the same color as this one, but the roof, trim and interior were brown (this one looks almost dark maroon). It has a 351 Windsor engine and it was a very smooth ride. This was the first and last car I owned which rode like a "boat": it floated on the highway. Very comfortable - nothing like today's cars. I bought it from my mom and owned it for few years in the late '80s to early '90s. But the New England weather was not kind to it - rust ate it alive. I remember the rear bumper mounts were rusting off so I had to tie the bumper up with some rope! I drive it to a junk yard and left it there to die. I wish I still had one like it - they are very rare nowadays, even at car shows or cruise nights. My "toy" nowadays is a 1985 Caddy Eldorado Biarritz with just over 43,000 miles. Blue with stainless steel and vinyl top and white leather interior. It is a great ride too, but not quite as smooth as the T-Bird.

I like the effect!

Nice! Hopefully the top half is easily removable to show of that nice interior.

25W is a good wattage for general use. Not sure if you can actually dial up the tip temperature and keep it constant, or if the knob is just like a dimmer switch that simply reduces the power going to the heating element. I rarely set mine over 700 deg. F, and I use 60/40 solder most of the time. These tips have strange coloring. Usually the would be silver color. It is probably just for looks and they are copper under thin layer of brass or gold plating. Unless the literature states that these are iron-clad tips (for long life). Flux is absolutely vital for good solder joints. Even with rosin core flux, it is good to use extra flux. For electrical work I recommend electronic paste flux (non-caustic). My favorite is Radio Shack Rosin Paste Flux . For non-electric soldering (like brass or even steel items) you can use more aggressive acidic fluxes like Tix Flux, or even flux used for soldering copper pipes. Those usually contain Zinc Chloride or even Hydrochloric Acid. Make sure to clean the joints well after soldering to remove all the caustic flux remains. I had been a computer tech for years and had to rework thousands of circuit boards, so soldering is a second nature to me. Not surprisingly I also own a professional rework station. Keeping the tip cleand and tinned is very important, and like I said - if you do it for a while, it shoudl become a reflex action.

That's ok by me. I was replying to Brian's post - should have quoted it. I think for what you want to do, resistance soldering is a good fit.

Did a Google search for 0000-160 screws, and bunch of info showed up. There are links to Amazon listings (I dindn't check them out). But then https://jimorrisco.com/ Have you tried them? no matter where you get them, 0000-160 hardware is quite pricey.

Resistance soldering has its place, but it is not really geared for soldering electronic components. Stick with your wet sponge and standard iron. And you are doing well if you keep your tip tinned. But you also get what you paid for. The iron is probably not temperature controlled and has simple copper tip, and it is running way too hot. You can get a nicer, temperature-controlled soldering station with a pencil irons and a wide selection of iron-clad long lasting tips for less than $80. Keep the temperature under 700 deg. F and the tip will not get gunked-up very much. But you still need to use some sort of tip cleaner (like wet sponge), and keep the tip tinned. It should really become a reflex action you don't even realize that you are doing.

The thread subject line shows 1/6 (1:6) scale - this is the BIG one! Probably over a foot tall.

Remember those 2 keystrokes (I mentioned in my earlier post) that save your typed up text - I use them al the time: Control-A, Control-C, then Control-V to paste it somewhere save locally on your computer. It really is a life saver. Worth using.

Nice!

That is an awesome news, and a very wise decision made by the German owners of Revell. Sounds like they have their act together. Nice to see this in today's world of failed mergers and takeovers.

Brake Fluid (polyglycol-ether-based) can craze, or soften some polystyrene and urethane resins. Be careful! Oven cleaners which are lye-based (Sodium Hydroxide) are also good at stripping paint (and skin from your fingers). But again, careful when using on urethane resins. The Purple stuff also contains Lye (and that is likely the main ingredient in it which strips the model paint). Isopropyl (ISO) alcohol (the strongest solution you can find - preferably 91% or higher) can also strip paint and not affect polystyrene, but might require some elbow-grease (like scrubbing with a stiff brush, or rubbing the surface with a rag) to get the paint off. Again, be careful when using on urethane bodies.