Michael jones

Great info guys thanks.

I keep it much simpler than most here. All I do is get a straw, place it up against the nozzle and spray from the can into my airbrush cup. No need to hold any paint anywhere - that is just a pain. No need to wait for any reason either. Works amazing with Tamiya paints. This is a 5 second process. Sometimes I don't even use a Straw like Art said above!

Looks cool. How do you clean off the paint without damaging the foil? Thanks. On another note - as far as I know there is still no really good clear for Molotow. I tried 2k clear and when wet it stayed good, but once it dried, it wrecked the molotow.

I think it is the sun that is the real reason for using clear (2k rules). There is a good chance of sun attacking the models in a display cabinet in a living room etc. Who really leaves there models outside anway?! I had one car which faded with no clear, it was painted with Tamiya Fluro Red. It was obvious the fade started at the point of the car that was mostly in the sun, and slowly the whole paint job degraded to the same colour. BTW if you think the result is too glossy with 2k clear, why not use matt clear (once again 2k)? I also notice decal edges disappear mostly and it also seems to suck the decals down better, if there are any not so well seated ones on compound curves. I believe you can mix the 2k clear gloss and matt to get the correct balance for those really worried about the correct shine. Mike

Beemax has one coming up.

Ops sorry

The answer for future over molotow is yes it can cover molotow, but does take away the reflectivity quite a bit.

Wow looks amazing

This is quite a good report on molotow chrome:

Mr Levelling Thinner. I haven't tested any others. Regular lacquer thinner would probably work well, just not quite as self levelling, but would dry quicker. This maybe no problem as it self levels anyway as is. There's still a lot to learn about Molotow chrome I believe. Of course it can be applied without thinning as well. I guess it probably just depends on what you are doing with it.

You can thin down to about 3:1 and get great results. Just remember to turn your psi right down otherwise it will run. This will make the chrome last way longer! I don't see any purpose in Alclad Chrome or Spazstix Chrome now. These are redundant. Especially considering you don't need gloss black underneath the molotow.

Molotow can be thinned down about 3 or 4:1 with lacquer thinner for airbrushing. I'd say a lot more cost effective than alclad and easier to get a good result. The more layers you have to add to a paint job, the more chance of failure. That is where Molotow wins. However the downside is Molotow is quite fragile without a clear coat.

Aoshima makes the Beemax kits. Not sure about the others.

The Asian companies are thriving at the moment. Probably because they focus on say 1980's and later cars which still has some major gaps. American cars from the 70's and earlier are well over done.

Use mr levelling thinner to make it dry slower and therefore flow better. I have never painted by hand brush, but this works great for airbrushing. Even the clear nail polish is great for those who don't want to use 2K clear, as long as there are no decals to cover.

Looks great. I took a picture of this car at Ruapuna this year. Is this the one you modelled?

I've just used a cheap ebay airbrush for about 4 years now. Still goes great. I think the most important thing is the type of paint you use and adding mr levelling thinner to stop tip dry and rough finishes during hot weather. Mike

Gidday, I used Gaianotes fluro orange (basecoat was Tamiya Orange - cant remember the number), Tamiya light green TS22, Tamiya black and Alclad ALC101 aluminium. Then 2k clear, decals and then 2k clear again. The colours suggested in the instructions are way off BTW. Regards Mike

Thanks for all the comments.

Gidday, Thanks for the comments. The decals were not so bad (a couple I had trouble with). All the colours were painted on btw. The main issue is getting the body onto the chassis at the front (warped), and also the wheelbase or gap between wheel arches are different on each side which was tricky to fix.

Tamiya Mazda 787B - done. It was a big challenge, but I enjoyed the build. Mike

Gidday vintagerpm, I think you are referring to Alclad chrome or polished aluminium. ALC101 aluminium does not require a gloss black base, and if done over a gloss black base, will come out darker - more like steel.

Hi Guys, I recently laid down some Alclad ALC101 aluminium over Tamiya fine white primer on a spoon. The Alclad attacked the primer and wrinkled up giving a rough finish, however the colour was exactly what I was after. I had another spoon which had Tamiya fine white primer and on top of that, a coat of shiny black nail polish. The Alclad did not attack the black nail polish, and gave an almost mirror finish that was a bit darker (more like steel colour) I believe using white nail polish (or any white lacquer maybe) as a base coat, will come out great. Has anyone had trouble with ALC101 attacking the Tamiya fine white primer before? As an upside, I think I may only need to buy ALC101 to achieve both aluminium and steel looks now, just depending on the base coat used. Mike

Thanks Steve

Hi guys, During one of my recent builds (Tamiya Ford Sierra RS500), I found after painting the primer/basecoat/decals/2k clear, that the head light and tail light lenses did not fit easily. What is the best way to combat this situation, without spraying a few less coats? Thanks Mike