atomicholiday

I'm leaning pretty hard towards refinishing. After reading all your responses and thinking about it, it makes more sense to me. If this was a completed build that I was restoring, I could totally see leaving the finish as is. But since it never actually made it that far, it's still just a work in progress. It should be finished to my current abilities. Thanks everyone for your opinions. I truly value the insight I gain from this forum.

I got the paint on it today. I’m really happy with the way it came out. I’ll definitely be using Dupli color again. Hopefully later this weekend I can get some clear on it. And then again maybe not. If it still looks this glossy after it’s cured, I might just skip that step.

That’s really cool.

Looks good David. That interior is really nice.

Sorry to hear about the decals, but other than that, what an amazing build. Love the idea with the safety glasses. I'll never look at them the same way again.

Great looking car. That grill is awesome.

Really nice job. That's gorgeous.

Those both look great just as they are. I wouldn't change a thing. It’s kind of a testament to the engineering and thought that went into the design of these old kits that they can look this good with minimal tools and a few jars of paint.

Wet sanded and ready for clear coat (if I can ever find the time). Actually, it’s still wet in this pic!

Haven’t seen this kit. Is it new tooling?

Wow that looks great! Really nice paint work.

That is an exceptional build. A true work of art. Were these kits originally intended to be slot cars?

Very cool! Those rims are perfect for that car.?

Looks really good. That engine especially looks great.

Great job on this. These always take me back. I ran around with a guy who drove one daily. Loved cruising in that thing!

Really nice interior. Looking good!

I found new decals at Indycals, so that solves that problem. Still need to decide if I want to strip everything or not...

Wow. Amazing job. How hard was the rigging? Looks like that would have taken some patience.

Great job on this old kit. I have one about half finished somewhere.

Yup, it’s perfect match. The first two coats came out very smooth, but not glossy. I expected that. So for the third coat I went a little heavier and that’s when I got the orange peel. Maybe I should have kept going with the lighter coats? Will it eventually gloss up if you keep applying light coats?

You and me both. I'm ready to be done with this one.

Got a coat of primer on it today. And it looks like just a very little bit of sand on the rear quarter and it’ll be ready for a final primer coat and then finally some color. I did a test shot of Dupli Color forest green pearl with Rustolium clear lacquer on a spoon. That’s what I’m going with now. The other spoons are various experiments for other projects.

Been pretty busy today. It was a day of many firsts. Lots of experimenting going on. This morning I started off by experimenting with some Rustolium clear lacquer over various paints to see how compatible it is and how it would lay down. Not too shabby I think. It sprays really nice. This is before polishing. Next, I shot this Porsche body with Tamiya TS-26 pure white. I’ve never used Tamiya spray cans s before, and I’m very impressed. I’ll definitely be using them again soon. Next up, got my Pintera back in primer again. And finally, I shot this Camaro body with Dupli-Color GM torch red. I’ve only sprayed this stuff on spoons before. First time trying it for real. It orange peeled a little, but I think I can buff it out and then clear coat it. Going to try anyway. Whew! I think that’s about it for today.

I need some opinions about this project. I started this kit sometime in the mid to late 80’s. At that time it was hands down the best work I’d ever done, but I ran into a snag. I screwed up and peeled off some of the decals on the side panels after a botched masking job. That was enough for me to stick it back on the shelf. Of course back then, “on the shelf” was under the bed. About a year ago I dug it out and stripped the paint from the side panels. My plan was to just redo them and finish the model without going back and redoing anything else, preserving that little slice of my model building history. Here’s my dilemma. Originally it was sprayed with all model master enamel, and MM clear coat. Over the years it’s yellowed some. My other possible issue is the replacement decal sheet (from the 80’s). It’s yellowed and has a black stain on part of it. So, do I bite the bullet and strip the other body parts and start over? I doubt I’d be able to match the yellowing. Also, are these decals salvageable, or should I start looking for a new set? Here’s what everything looks like today. Thanks for your input.

No relation. He’s taller and I’m better looking.