E St. Kruiser50

YIKES That must be for a gallon. I pay about $15.00 a quart and the hardener is included.

Yeah, from me to. Many blessings and HAVE A GREAT BIRT-DAY John

I agree with Mike here. I always reinforce my work and make sure glued in pieces are completely dry before adding filler or doing any finish work. I use a lot of filler at times and build it up pretty thick, even cast some pretty large whole parts with it, and never had any problems you mention. EverCoat Rage is what I've used for ten years, and I've has no problems with it. Doesn't even shrink.

WELCOME TO THE FAMILY SAM You do beautiful work. The teardrop is beautiful and so are your models. You'll fit real well here. We're all pretty much friends and enjoy sharing, helping and learning. Glad you've come back to modeling. I hope you enjoy our little piece of heaven - dave

Really good questions mike There are three components always used, but differently in single stage than in two stage urethanes. In single stage urethanes you mix all three components together at the same time - paint, reducer and catalyst - then spray. This comes out glossy and there is no need for a clear coat - Single stage. Two stage is where you mix the paint and reducer together, spray it and it comes out flat. NO CATALYST. Then you mix your clear gloss top coat with reducer and catalyst and spray that over your color base coat, and this 2nd stage gives you your gloss and added protection for the paint. Single stage is usually a cheaper way to go because of way less paint and labor, but is more suceptable to oxidation and damage that can't be repaired as easily as a clear coat. Hope this helps - dave

E-checks can take the longest to clear . I use PayPal and for some reason one purchase was paid with an E-check instead of the instant money transfer, and it took a week to clear. It's like "Snail-mail" . Be patient, it'll clear.

Glat to see so many people discussing this, and a lot of good feedback . Here's my feedback on your three questions. 1) I'm assuming you're asking about lacquer thinner. First it give's unpredictable results. People who say they have gotten good results with lacquer thinner, use the word"GOOD" as a relative term, and DO have problems from time to time. Second, good reducers come with different number ratings for different temperature needs, and it does also make a difference as too predictability for results and a high quality finish. That's how the real time car painters do it, and it works. Thirdly, why take a chance of messing up a whole project, all that time and expense, to save a few dollars and have to start over and then have to get the right reducer after all. Why not just do it the way it was meant to be used. If you can' afford it, just buy the paint supplies a little at a time until you have everything you need to do it right, and then you can do the job properly and feel good about it. Even with the right materials you'll make mistakes learning, so why complicate an already complicated process even more, by using the wrong materials, and then having no idea at all what went wrong, if it does, and how to adjust to do it properly? 2)I had to learn the hard way about using the right primers under the urethane color coat. Urethane paints are not compatible with lacquer primers, anymore than lacquer thinners are with urethane paints. There will always be very unpredictable results not using the proper materials, that's why urethane primers are part of the "Urethane system". Urethane primers act as a barrier coat so the urethane color top coat won't penetrate the lacquer primer, which it will, and attack the plastic and or the lacquer primer, which it will - TRUST ME. I primer the body first with lacquer primer while doing body work, and when done lay down the urethane primer to seal the body work and prep the body properly for the color coat to adhere properly. SEE THE RETRO-VETTE ARTICLE in this Julys issue, there is a complete tutorial on the whole urethane process, step by step. 3)Urethane has a 24 hour window to paint in. When you go past that, bad things start to happen. Paint attacking itself, aligatoring, and so on Once your into it, you stay there. PERIOD. Painting urethane has to be premeditated, not done as an after thought or on the "FLY" between other things. You need to dedicate s specific amount of time for that particular project, because it's intense and needs your full attention to succeed .

This is more of a topic and coversation starter than a tutorial. I've read enough posts here on the subject to know there are different opinions, like most everything we talk about here, so if what I do differs from anyone else, it's just about how I do it, and hopefully it may help others, and maybe someone will have suggestions and help for me get better too . Remember, this is not a dissagreement with anyone elses techniques or choice of materials to use. Most of my builds I like to use rattle-can lacquers like Tamiya, dupliColor and plastiCote. I hear Testors lacquers are good too, but haven't used them. But for my high-end stuff with a lot of work in them, I usually choose urethane, because of the extra depth and brillance I get. I sprayed my first catalyzed urethane paint job back in around 1974 or '75, on my 1 to 1 '57 Pontiac Safari Wagon I had resto-rodded. On model cars I've been spraying urethanes about 10 years. I took the plunge right off using HOK candies, pearls and metalflake. I used their reducers, catalyst, SG 100 inter-coat clear, and the UC 35 clear that get's catalyzed with KU 150. The other brands like Dupont and PPG are pretty much the same, and work well also. I just like HOK's selection, quality, availability, and the over-all way they have created a huge compatible paint system that works so well. Also, a nearby auto paint store specializes in all the HOK paints and supplies that are available. They also carry the two different urethane primers I use as a base. There are different opinions about what to use, like using lacquer thinner instead of reducer, which I don't recommend and neither does the manufacturer. For me I have too much time and money invested in a build to take a short-cut on the last stage of a build, and take a chance of ruining it for the sake of a few dollars. When it comes to painting I do everything by the book, and the manufacturers recommendations, and it's never let me down. So that's what I recommend to everyone else. WHY PAINT WITH URETHANE AUTO PAINTS?? When it's done right on a model car, it'll always give you the best finish IMHO, and stand out at any event. Under the scrutiny of car show lighting, swirl marks always show up in any other type of paint - lacquers or enamels- it's the nature of the paints. Urethanes on the other hand are a different breed of animal, and finished properly, have no swirl marks under any type of lighting. Also, the depth and brillance of urethanes has no match by any other paint IMHO. When I take a model to an event, be it model club meeting or contest, one of the first things commented on is the "Brillance" of the paint, and the high lustre of the finish, when finished in urethane. That's not about me, but about the effect of the materials used. DRAW-BACKS There are sevaral draw backs to using urethanes. COST , when done right with quality materials, cost can be excessive for some. SKILL LEVEL - If you aren't an accomplished painter with other types of paints, like lacquers, you may find urethanes to be way over your head, and may be a goal to use sometime down the road when you have more successful experience. LABOR INTENSIVE - Compared to lacquers, whether rattle-canned or air-brushed, urethane is intense. Each coat has a "window" of 16 to 24 hours for re-coat and finishing, with 15 minutes recommended between each coat according to the manufacturers. Once you're in it , you stay there until your done. The RETRO-VETTE took me 4 to 5 hours to paint, with all the different paints mixed ahead of time. The white base color, the yellow, the natural pearl mixed into the SG100, and then lastly the catalyzed clear. 3 coats of each of the colors, and then 6 coats of the clear. 15 coats of paint sprayed 15 minutes apart, plus spray time, and that doesn't count the urethane primer used before hand for prep. Add 4 to 5 more hours for prep work. Each piece had to be sprayed separately on the jams, the edges, and the interior of the body for each color. Then the car was totally assembled for painting so there'd be no variation in color. Every color change the car was disassembled sprayed the next color, and then re-assembled for spraying the entire assembly - taping off the inside of the window and hatch area each time, so there'd be no color change or over-spray on the interior, after it had been sprayed. Once the last coat of pearl was applied to the entire assembly, it was allowed to dry for a half hour, then the car was un-taped, disassembled, and each piece was set on it's own holder, and then sprayed with 6 coats of catalyzed clear - 2 sets of being sprayed 3 times. SPRAYED WITH THE CLEAR WITH THE PARTS SEPARATED because I didn't want the clear to "BRIDGE" across moving features, like the doors, hatch or hood, and I could spray all the jams and other body features and details at the same time. That's a good 10 to 12 hour day, figuring in mixing the paints and a few other steps. LASTLY THERE'S NO PURPLE POND - If you screw up any of these mentioned steps , you better know how to fix it. If there's moving feature's like opening hood and doors and such, you've probably blown it, because any gap built in for paint will disappear on a redo, unless you're prepared for a lot of sanding and completely starting over . But when it's done right, and I messed up sevaral in the beginning, you'll have a model to be proud of, and you'll have learned a major new stage in your building techniques and skills, and you'll be able to help others ready to move up into that next stage where you are. In my WATER-BASED CHROME SYSTEM there are 5 separate catalyzed urethane systems. It's an, 8 stage, 4 step system, that has 17 chemicals and takes four days of spraying to complete. That's the level a person can go to if they desire, OR ARE CRAZY ENOUGH . So now, let's hopefully hear from some of you. Any advise or questions gladly welcome, or if I've left something out .

HEY DUDE HAPPY BIRTHDAY. YOUR JUST A KID LIKE THE REST OF US, WHO LOVE OUR TOYZZZZ HOPE YOU HAVE A GOOD ONE MY FRIEND - dave ( 106 DEGREES HERE IN PORTLAND - )

HERE WE GO - MAN I LOVE TELLIN' STORIES WHEN I WAS A KID ( BEFORE THE DINASAUR'S ) we'd get these cheapie full build-up kit's of balsa airplanes, that were rubberband powered ( The parts were printed on a sheet of balsa wood and you had to cut them out) - build um up, then climb on the roof of our shed out in the country, wind up the rubber band, and then while one guy held the airplane, the other guy would squirt the rest of the wood glue out of the tube we used to build it, all over the tail-end of the plane, light it with a match, and let 'er go, just like in the black 'N' white WW1 movies of ariel dog-fights we used to watch at the saturday matinee down at the local theatre. MAN THAT WAS KOOL .

AWWWW HARRY, YOUR NO FUN . Seein' if you can melt the plastic is the whole idea

This was a great tip that I read on the "Scribing Lines" thread under "TIPS" link. I went down today and got a three pack of the "DYMO TAPE" and used it for a guide scribing door lines on my '33 WILLY"S VICTORIA. I used two thicknesses so the blade would track better. Gotta say it worked great - I LOVE THIS PLACE. The #11 blade thing is always a good stand-by for detail stuff, but for "HACKIN" AND SPEED THERE'S NOTHIN' LIKE THE WHEEL . I'ma hackin junkie .

I'm sort of a "Putty-throwing Junkie" and a "Slice and Dice" kinda builder . I get these idea's and mental pictures, and like the old man said in the movie The Karate Kid, I "makka da piture" . Anyway, the blue van donor body lost more pieces today as I trimmed off the fenders and part of the body for the "Wedge shape" to be grafted on with the fenders simultaneously. I lengthened the rear fenders also to match up to the running boards. Got the fenders on the other side all trimmed to fit also, and will probably be added tomorrow - FUN. Here's how she looks so far.

It's been a long time since I posted anything on the forum.... (Quote) Yeah - NO KIDDING. GLAD TO SEE YOU'RE BACK MY FRIEND . I like both your 1 to 1 project and the little guy. This'll be fun to watch - dave .

FYI The shaft is a seperate piece that you have to purchase seperately. I have several that I use, but they came included as an accessory with my Dremel tool sets.

Hey Red I don't like the saw blades - too dangerous . I use a 1" diameter cut-off wheel made by Dremel that comes in packs of around 25. It's a fibre/abrasive wheel that you mount with a screw onto a shaft. Only .025" thick - less than 1/32, which is .032" thick - very thin and will only break when put into a bind. I use safety glasses with mine. I use mine almost everyday when working on cutting up plastic bodies and such. It's fast and accurate. Because I'm a scratch-builder and customizer, nearly everything you've seen me post has had this handy tool used on it. Been using it for decades, and consider it one of my main Dremel tools. Home Depoe usually has them in stock, and the're cheap. Hope this helps - dave

INSANE

Been a while, so thought I'd post some update pic's. The blue donor van in the background is a snap kit but has some pretty kool features that the full van kit by MPC doesn't offer, like a chrome grill, instead of decals. I used the grill surround, and I'll use the hood side panels and the fenders and the running boards also from the blue snap kit. This is fun . Any comments welcome - thanks.

You're in good company. I don't know how many times I felt just like you, and was ready many times to just give up and try something else. It was so frustrating. It took me years to get over being in a hurry, and learning to relax, and just enjoy it as a leisure past-time. Painting was extremely difficult for me too, and I destroyed a lot of perfectly good models because I didn't know what I was doing. My chrome system took me over two years to get right - GRRRRRRR , but I stayed with it and now enjoy all of it. I hope you stay with it and don't give up - dave

I think this answer's Harry's question on another thread he started about "money for awards at contests". SOME PEOPLE WILL CHEAT ANY WAY THEY CAN TO WIN. NO INTEGRITY AT ALL!!!!

I'll try to answer your question Harry, but this is just my take on it. I'm not offended by prize money or anything else. But this is just a hobby for me, and that's where I personally want to keep my focus. People's attitudes can get ugly enough just over a trophy at times, and for more than that it can be "Major Dramatic". I've seen guy's "GO TOTALLY POSTAL" man, and just go off the deep end screemin and yellin at everyone - IT'S NOT A PRETTY SITE. We're talking about the "Male Gender" here Harry and BUCKET LOADS OF MALE TESTESTERONE at these events and all the BIGGIES especially think THEY SHOUD WIN. IT'S LIKE KING ATHUR'S COURT, AND THE KNIGHT'S OF THE ROUND TABLE, BUT THERE'S NO CHIVALRY. THEIR ALL JOSTING TO WIN, BUT AT CONTESTS LIKE YOUR TALKING ABOUT, THEY'LL STAB YOU IN THE BACK, OR FRIENDLY UP ANY WAY THEY THEY CAN SO THEY CAN WIN. Awards and money can bring out the very worst in people and you can see it first hand at events likE your suggesting. I BEEN DOIN THIS FOR 50 + YEARS AND SEEN IT ALL. I think possibly the biggest quandry for you Harry, is that you haven't competed over a period of time, and especially at the level your talking about, to get the "Flavor" of competing at the level your talking about. You say you haven't even been to a contest, so I think going and watching the people and their reactions and how they interact can tell you a lot. It sure has for me. Personally I don't see a problem with giving away money or anything else, for those who want to particapate and can put up with the drama that usually follow's. For me life is too short to put up with the same "Whinners" and "Drama Kings" that show up with the same bad attitudes. The quality of the event, the people and the judging ( Not just for me, but for everyone ) is what's most important to me. But that's just me. I have my own list of events that I'll go to , and some that I just don't bother with anymore. There are gigantic ego's out there, from not only the participants, but also the promotors who run the shows and strut around and act like Peacocks - MAKES ME LAUGH - GREAT FREE ENTERTAINMENT . Usually the bigger the show the worse it is . Well, gotta go Harry. Headin down I5 to Eugene this morning to go to a B-B-Q with the LAMA Club. Nice 100 mile drive with beautiful green rolling hills and lush green pasture land all the way down there, beautiful drive. No awards either - just my best bud's, cammadrie, and plastic - EEEEHAH Oh yeah - FOOOOOOOD and SCHMOOOOOZING (TELLING STORIES AND LIES) Forget the money Harry and have a Bar-B-Que - LOL EAT, RELAX, AND DON'T TAKE LIFE TOO SERIOUSLY MY FRIENDS

WOW CRAZY GOOD as usual Wayne. I always enjoy your builds and the insane details. I miss seeing them upclose at our meetings and contests. Glad you pulled 'er outta the box and decided to finish her. All the best - dave

YOW My stomach just did a 'FLIP" thinkin about 'um drillin' them holes in the bone - YIKES

For me personally, I have always built first for the pure joy of it, and for my own artistic expression - I love to use my imagination to "What-if" and then create. For me, the point of building solely to win money would cheapen and violate the whole purpose and intent of what I'm passionate about, as well as change my focus about being there to answer questions and help encourage newer modelers to the hobby.