Jamese30

Any spray oven cleaner works really well. I used to use Mr Muscle but now use any cheap and cheerful foam oven cleaner with success. A good coat of primer on the cleaned and washed part and you are away.

Hi Chappy, You've got several options here. You could go force transformer to take a mains supply down to 12v (might be over kill) or what I would do is go for a 9v battery and switch hidden either under the diorama or in something like a chest or behind a wall. That way you can swap or remove the matter easily. Good luck James

Thanks Bob Appreciate the positive words. I will do a search as well and have a look! Thanks again James

Thansk guys, Definitely something to think about. I'm in UK and sadly we don't have the selection you guys in the US have in your DIY stores. I do like the inconsistency of the tile adhesive was just wondering if there is anything better or easier to apply. I haven't tried painting lines on it yet but will give it a go to see whether it works or not. Thanks James

Hi All I'm looking for some advice here on what people use on their dioramas for tarmac. I've heard people using 120grit sand paper, and aware there are some model railway tarmac options and even AK do a two paint tarmac kit but not heard of what success people have. I have tried tile adhesive/grout as the colour is really close (image attached) but it is hard to get a consistent finish. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated. Thanks James

OK so a while on but I promised an update. I tried a couple of mild cleaners to get the paint off the camaro but with it being car paint it wouldn't budge. Sanding it highlighted that the cracks were deep, and we'll into the base coat so sadly I played around with some weathering techniques for a bit then advertised the kit on ebay as part built and weathered, ironically where I initially bought it!! I will scratch it off as experience and be a lot more careful next time i paint a body I spent so long customising!! Happy modelling

Peteski It's definitely held up well on the Hurricane. Next step will be to try it in a car build. Cheers James

Peteski Like water in consistency and very milky in colour. Smells like cotton fresh fabric softener and a bit lemony. Like you I'm pretty sure the resin acids actually refer to some acrylic substance. Thanks Geebee and Matt Bacon for the alternative suggestions too.

Peteski Yes, read that website in great detail several times but never anything clear on what there is available in UK now and what it looks like (due to relabelling/brand changes etc. - this is not branded as Pledge multi surface wax that swannysmodels refers to - unfortunately after trips to many different shops I couldn't find anything of that description so assume that has now been rebranded?? ). I hope my post on findings will be useful to other UK modellers. Was interested to test it to see if this particular chemical formula produced similar results to those I've read about from US readers. Looks positive so far ?

Hi All I continue to read about the wonder of Future floor polish as a clearcoat and easy availability in the US. However, over the pond here in the UK its impossible to find. I went on a mission to find what I think is the closest possible and try it out... "Pledge Floor Polish". It's around £6 a bottle but should last a while. The ingredients list doesnt give much away in terms of acrylic content... (see image) However, on my test subject it worked remarkably well. I hand painted the Hurricane (apologies it is not a car!) in Tamiya acrylics then hand painted the Pledge over the top a day later, doing a Vallejo paints wash 2 hours later to bring out the panel lines. It worked a treat allowing relatively easy wiping off of excess panel wash and also gave the plane a high gloss finish. After a panel wash application a matt clear coat could dumb this down (yet to try). What I would say is it made negligible difference applying onto an Oldsmobile body I painted with Halford car paint 20 years ago. Please let me know your thoughts. Happy building James

OK, here is my offering. Hardly going to win a show and shine here but after years of trying to get a perfect paint finish with every model I opted to do a bruised and battered VW. I thoroughly loved it and I think spent ten times longer on the paintwork than any model ever before, getting the rust just right!!!!

Oh no..... I might opt for hand sanding the camaro then and try on the other body.

Thanks stitchdup I will try dettol - worst thing about the simoniz lacquer was it wasn't even that cheap - I was away on holiday and wanted to finish the paint on a model so bought it from a garage (ironically I never used it until I got home!!) Steve it looks like ELO isn't available over here either. So it is dettol or I might try IPA 99.9%. I've heard mixed reviews that brake fluid embrittles plastic so won't try that for the moment. I'm hoping none react with the revell filler as most of the camaro speedster shaping was done with that ?

Thanks Steve. Sounds like I need to get some. I am in UK so may be a problem as only Super Clean available over here is a car cleaner. Is there anything else you know works or would recommend?

I assume as it is proper car paint I won't be able to strip it but will have to sand it??

Thanks Steve That is exactly what has happened here. The only common paint in all cases was the SIMONIZ lacquer and the autotek plastic primers. I have since used the primer on another car without issues but I used a different lacquer. I also baked that paint (first attempt) in my home modified food dehydrator. Thanks James

Thanks 64ss350 On retrospect I think I clear coated too quick although on the rc I clear coated about a day later. On the rc car the paint can still be indetented with a finger nail 2 months after painting.

Hi All I'm hoping someone can help here. I think I know what's going on but need some pointers. I have painted loads of cars over many years and never had this issue but recently on two kits and 1 rc car body I have had cracks or crazing in the paint appear a couple of weeks after finishing painting. The cracks gradually get worse and worse. On the two cars I used Halfords paint (same can and colour) over autotek plastic primer then a Simoniz lacquer. All were acrylics. The rc beetle had different paints but still the same Simoniz acrylic lacquer. I gave a good 15-20mins between colour coats and the primer had been applied days before. The lacquer was applied about 2 hours after the paint. It was a very hot day and the camaro was left to cure outside. The rc beetle body had about an hour between coats. Same cracking appeared on all. I'm thinking that this is obviously a sign of paint being applied over paint that hasn't fully cured and therefore lower coats aregassing and moving under dry top coats. I am also wondering whether the lacquer is destroying the paints by eating into them..??? Any advice would be greatly appreciated and how to fix(which I think is sand and restart?) IMG_20190828_172910 by j p, on Flickr Camaro cracks 2 by j p, on Flickr IMG_20190828_172935 by j p, on Flickr Thanks James

Amazing job! It's hard to believe it's not the real thing! A really clean build well done.