peteski

Since I already participated in this thread earlier and saw your advice, I simply gave my opinion, based on my experience.

I've been dealing with my mom for the last 3 years. There are no meds which will cure this - only possibly slow down its progress. There are some stories I could tell you about what she does. The fact that she is also paranoid doesn't help any. All I can say that her problem is likely harder on my mental well-being than it is on hers.

True, it will remove water-based acrylics, but it will also attack the paint on the outside of the model. The question asked seemed to indicate that they want to selectively remove any overspray of the interior acrylic paint, without affecting the outside finish. Also the person asking this question is in Poland. Not sure if LA Awesome is available there.

Yes, that has been covered. LA Awesome contains Lye, which is the chemical that actually "eats" aluminum "chrome" and can also soften the clear undercoat.

Anybody remember Rusty Jones or Ziebart rustproofing systems? They were quite popular in the New England area in the '70s and '80s. I remember stickers on cars showing that they were rustproofed. But today's cars seem to be quite more rust resistant, even in the salty New England, even without any additional rustproofing applied. Whatever they do at the factory seems to work well.

Yes, there is a concurrent thread about it with a more descriptive (than Huh?) subject line.

Excellent!

Looks good, but there is a possibility if that is an oil-based pant pen that the paint will never truly dry on a vinyl tire. Some sort of chemical incompatibility. That was a problem with (oil based) Testors enamels.

Jürgen, most mobile devices will likely not let you resize a picture to something small enough for an avatar photo. Like Dave mentioned, you will likely have to send the picture to a PC, then use one of the graphic editor apps to resize it. Or maybe you mobile device can resize to a custom size? If yes, try using a value of something like 300 pixels wide. Or maybe you can download some graphic app to your device which will allow you to resize the photo? Another option is to do a Internet search for "photo resizer",and use one of the online ones.

Well, if the model will be entered into box stock category, then just use those tires as they are. After all, they came with the kit, and getting replacements is practically impossible. If you noticed, my tires have rather dull surface (as a rubber tire should have). I assembled those wheels about 25 years ago (still haven't finished the kit), but if I recall correctly I rubbed them with a toothbrush and some household scouring powder. It took some elbow grease, but I think they came out looking pretty good. Maybe if you did something similar, the flaws would not be as apparent.

Just be very careful with lye as it is very caustic. Remember, in some old crime drama movies it was used to dissolve dead bodies. Not sure how true that is, but it will attack your skin. Also pay attention to the instructions on the container regarding how to mix it with water. And don't use metal containers to hold the solution. Just for fun, drop a apiece of aluminum foil in the lye solution to see what happens, and as I mentioned, the kit's "chrome" is actually a very thin layer of aluminum (much much thinner than aluminum foil).

Yes, those Gunze tires can be problematic. I have seen this problem in the past. And I'm not sure what material they are made of, but it is not the standard rubber often used in Japanese kit tires. It seems like some sort of vinyl/rubber hybrid, but not the same vinyl most American manufacturers use. I have the Gunze Ferrari 250 SWB kit which I believe uses the same wheels and tires, and mine does not have those flaws. If the flaws are visible on both sides I don't really have any good suggestions on how to repair them, other than replacing them with some other tires.

It is different than the anti-pee spray, but the principal is the same - discourage the activity. I think the anti-pee spray is based on a scent, while bitter apple works through taste. If you get some, try it yourself and see how bitter it tastes. When a dog bites something where the bitter liquid was applied, it will taste so bitter, that most dogs will cease the biting. Most dogs are very smart and they learn quickly.

I was following this thread and have to say that you did a superb job on this model. I also really appreciate describing your build experience. I have that kit and what you mentioned will be very helpful to me. Thanks!

I don't think it is strange. There are different formulations (or grades) of polystyrene, and types or brands of the dyes added to it, so different results are not unexpected. What was used to make models 40 years ago in USA, can be different from a model made 20 years ago on USA. Then plastic mused in USA can be different a model molded in China, Poland, or Mexico. Then of course the plastic can be different even between different manufacturers (Revell, Monogram, AMT, etc.)

I wonder if applying some bitter apple or orange spray to the objects not to be chewed would take care of the problem. My GF's had to do that when her new puppy was chewing things she wasn't supposed to. Since it would be difficult to neatly spray cords or laces, I would take a piece of rag, soak it in the bitter liquid, and rub the power cord with it.

I love those vague and ambiguous product names. I suspect that this stuff does not seal to prevent from dye bleed through, but it is just making the primer surface smoother for the subsequent color coat application. After all, real cars (which is the intended use for this sealer) aren't made of red plastic but from metal. There is nothing to bleed through. For our purposes, some modelers use silver paint as a barrier/sealer, others use Zinsser BIN primer sealer specifically designed for prevention of bleed through.

Not a news to me - it's been like that for over a year (or longer). They also reshuffled many categories. It is really useless. We have discussed this on the forum in the past (maybe even in this thread).

The truly toughest chrome to remove is on Trumpeter model car kits. Those are actually electroplated with a fairly thick metal coating. Other kit's chrome is just a couple of atoms thick layer of aluminum deposited in a vacuum chamber (process is called "vacuum metalizing") Before metalizing the parts are sprayed with a high gloss clear (to provide a smooth surface for the metalization). Not very often, there is also a top clear coat applied to protect the rather fragile thin aluminum coat. While some of the methods you mentioned are used by some modelers, the indisputably best way to remove the "chrome" is a solution of Sodium Hydroxide (aka. Lye, or caustic soda). It will both, quickly remove the thin layer of metal, and also because it also is good for stripping paint, it will also strip the clear coating, leaving just the bare plastic. It will also eat human skin so rubber gloves are highly recommend (most of lye containing liquids have warning labels on their containers). Many household cleaning fluids contain lye. Drain cleaners, oven cleaners, degreasers, all contain lye. The Purple Degreaser (Often called "Purple Pond") is very popular in modeling circles for stripping paint and "chrome". it contains lye. Another hint: warming the solution slightly (to around 90-90 deg. F) will increase the potency and speed up the stripping action). And yes, this subject comes up here from time to time. So far I have not seen any better methods than the old standby: Lye.

Your explanation makes perfect sense. I usually treat the kit's instructions as a mere suggestion of the assembly sequence.

No point of dragging this out.

The "Countessa" is looking great David. I have looked through this entire thread and I have a question: Why didn't you attach the bare plastic flares and chin spoiler to the bare plastic body, and then painted the whole assembly?

Well as I see it, he was called out because his excuse was "I’m new to all this muscle car stuff!", yet as you pointed out that he actually wrote a book about muscle car models. Seems like a bad excuse to me, and you posting that info about his book made him look even worse. At least that was how I interpreted things (which seems opposite from your goal). This is a common problem when communicating in messages posted online. Lots of important cues of a face-to-face conversations are not there to better interpret what someone is really trying to say.

"Special paper" is still vague. Does the sheet you bought have any labeling (like a UPC barcode , part #,, and a name of the product or manufacturer)? It has to have some sort if identification for the cashier to use.

Yes, in some seasons Perry Mason drove GM vehicles (Caddys).