Dave G.

Over water based acrylic paints, to include Vallejo, Craft Paints and Createx paints, I've settled on Createx 4050 thinned a bit with Createx 4021 reducer, which has a little retarder in it. In my experience this buffs up quicker and easier than some others and it's UVLS protective. But note that it does not dry with full gloss, you have to polish it. Not really wet sand but buffed and polished. For Tamiya or alcohol acrylics, I use Tamiya X-22 thinned with Mr Leveling Thinner. That's if I use clear at all on the glossy X series. Because the paint itself buffs up pretty well right in the color coat. Both color and X-22 level well using Mr Leveling thinner. If it's an auto/car I'm finishing, pretty much I only use clear if base coating flat colors. Or if there is a decal situation, but that's a little bit rare in the classic and antique era I build. Edit: by the way, half the time I don't use acrylic, water or alcohol borne. LP lacquer by Tamiya comes out gorgeous if sprayed right, to the point that to me, polishing is an option. Then there are enamels, which come out right up there in terms of finish as well. But that wasn't the thread question.

On a completely different note but still enamel. A couple of weeks ago I had decanted some Rustoleum 2x semigloss black into one of my mixing jars to store and have on hand. Today I put some of that in my Paasche VL metal side cup and sprayed the loose chassis parts to my 34 Ford pickup build. Along with the interior floor. The difference between airbrushing this stuff and using straight from the can is phenomenal, in terms of over spray, even application. Usually I add a slight bit more thinner to 2x, with this I did not, but the .5 tip handled it. That semigloss is pretty loose to begin with. In the mixing cup after all settles, the layer of pigment on the bottom isn't a whole lot. But it still could have stood an extra bit of lacquer thinner. It was fine for what I was doing though. It sprayed great through the airbrush and cleaned up super easy with hardware store lacquer thinner Anyway, little Testors bottles aren't the only way lol. I had that can of black semigloss left over from a couple of summers ago, when I repainted a metal patio table and chairs.

You bring up a good point, re tip size and thinning. When I used automotive enamel reducer in Testors paints, it was back when Dupont was producing 3812 reducer, which I stocked for 1:1 painting before moving to acrylic enamel.. I thinned with that back then, and every paint I ever shot in an airbrush went through my Badger 200, which was either lacquer or enamel. Lacquer being thinned with Dupont 3661 LT.. My favorite tip was/is the Fine tip which is .25 on that brush. Lacquer and enamel got thinned so it flowed right through that tip. You just got to know the consistency, it wasn't even a ratio thing in my head at that time. Flowquil paints got their own thinner. Later, with years moving along, in fact decades, I got on to using acrylics, I then used the medium .5 tip in the 200 but quickly changed to a Paasche H.. Lately now, if I shoot Testors enamels I use the Paasche VL with #1 tip, which is also .5. My H is relegated to acrylics now using the #5 tip.The Badger stays with the .25 tip for lacquers. Between the three airbrushes I no longer change tips or needles, I just plug in a different airbrush using the quick connects I installed at the end of the hose.. Understand that this didn't all happen over night ! It's morphed into this over the last 50 years or so, maybe 55.

The only paint confirmed by the makers, I know of that promotes lacquer thinner causing a harder shell finish, is Tamiya.. That's concerning their acrylic line of paints. I don't know, nor have I heard that thinning Testors enamels with lacquer thinner causes a harder finish. It may be cured a little sooner but to me that's surface cure. Deep curing still takes time. You definitately can handle it sooner, but that doesn't mean it's deep cured. My own results regarding using lacquer thinner in Testors enamels has given me super level and high gloss results. Thinning 1-1.. Also to mix odorless mineral spirits and hardware paint thinner together and thinning with that gives awesome results. Curing time is much the same as using the Testors thinner in that case. I haven't bought Testors thinners in decades. Maybe since around 1970.

Have a look at this video, not that I condone his whole practice, just look see ( edit, click the youtube link)

Thinning 1 to 1 with Hardware store lacquer thinner works for me. Ultra smooth and glossy if put down right. And putting it down right is basically a no brainer to many of us here..

Wimbledon white was basically the standard white for Fords over many years. I used it for pin striping many types of cars besides Ford in 1:1. Great color. I'm just putting up the duplicolor can photo so you can have sample goal to match your Tamiya mix to..

Mr Hobby, is the line of paints. These are divided into Mr Hobby Aqueous, as mentioned above. And Mr Color. Mr Color being lacquers ( the stinky kind, though relatively speaking, on the mild side) and Mr Hobby Aqueous being alcohol based acrylics. Mr Color is cleaned up with solvents like lacquer thinner or acetone.. And Aqueous with water based products, water itself or Fantastik, Media airbrush cleaner, acrylic paint cleaners etc. That's in terms of paints, colors, clears. Then you have the primers, mainly Mr Surfacer. It's all very comparable to Tamiya products. Though they do have a Mr Hobby Metals line too.

My only true hobby shop 20 or so miles away, never had any Mr products at all. So I've always ordered online the leveling thinner. Course I don't always need it either. There is always a way, it's not the end of the world to not have it.

Last I knew Tamiya dropped their retarding lacquer thinner. You can buy their retarder I suppose, then make your own from the standard lacquer thinner. But, ya, if the retarder type is available, it should work great. Mr Leveling Thinner seems perfectly formulated is all I really know. And it does a good job leveling Tamiya lacquers and their acrylic line.

I haven't tossed the toothpaste out of my potential routine either. Never thought of it for primer but still use it to cut the final coat in my polishing process at times. Pretty often actually. It works great as the first step substance in polishing Createx 4050 UVLS clear. I'm thinking I've used it on 6mo cured Testors enamel paint too.

One category I've noticed it best to not sand the primer. Unlike in 1:1, where typically a clear sealer coat goes over scuffed primer before a hot color coat. In models we tend to put hot lacquers directly over the primer. I've seen in this case, even if sanded with say 1200 micro pads, sand scratch swelling in the color coat driven up from the primer below.. So for me, if to use hot lacquers ( rare for me), Id rather not scuff my primer final coat. So happens, if put down right, Mr Surfacer 1000 goes on baby but* smooth, but being 1000, has a slight tooth, probably microscopic. Never has adhesion problems at any rate. Another one that lays down that smooth is Stynylrez thinned a little with Createx 4021 reducer. Here I use acrylic or enamels over that unscuffed, except for dust specs. Speaking of dust specs, I don't sand those but rather use OOO steel wool, which is said to more scrape the surface than sand scratch the surface.. You can actually buff the primer coat up with OOOO steel wool, thus why I use OOO.. Just my .02 cents worth added to the thread..

You're putting out attracting scent for a lot of personal preferences. I can already see the replies in my head from various individuals. I'm going to give just one little piece of advice, that's to resist the urge to buy Chinese knock offs. Most need needle and tip polishing, and many have inferior rubber seals that solvent paints and thinners will eat alive. By the way, I wouldn't put the Neo made for Iwata in that classification. But it has limited tip selection, and they may be the tiny little screw in type ( I don't fully recall). Next, take a look at Don Wheeler's airbrush review site. Easily found in a general browser search. It's not exhaustive but it is pretty full of selections to consider.

50/50 ( so one part enamel to one part thinner) hardware store lacquer thinner here. Not the new green friendly stuff but the medium dry real thing. It really works the best, IMO.

Now see, I didn't know that 59 was a curbside. I'd like the kit just for the real estate to be painted. Because honestly, I've gotten to the stage where I enjoy paint and airbrushing more than building power trains. Not that I don't build full models, but I like a curb side sometimes. I learned something here today, that's always good.

I think you could live with the exhaust manifolds without too much surgery. The dual thermostat housing could be scratch built. Look online to see if you can get a decent photo of that, it's a chunky bit.. You would need to do some scratch built mods and putty on the oil pan. The hitch to me would be the pulley setup with dual belts, off the top of my head. You certainly could start with a far worse rendition of an FE though, not a bad start with the Mobius.

The differences on a truck FE are mostly internal. One thing that stands out externally is the oil pan. The truck pans I worked on anyway, were one depth over the entire length of the pan and full depth. I'm thinking 12 qts or so, maybe 10. Also looking to the external, exhaust manifolds are different from say a 390 car engine.The intake has a big Boss off the front with with dual thermostats and a heavy duty curved hose to the water pump. The 330-391 HD fe has a dual belt system as well. I'm sure all this can be found online someplace. Edit: The front balancer is different too, the HD truck engines were externally balanced. So it's a much heavier looking piece of cast.

If you switch to Tamiya lacquers, then you can use their milder clear lacquer. It won't hurt the color coat and shouldn't hurt the decals either ( I say shouldn't because I don't know what decals you have. And I say milder, in terms of milder than hardware store spray can clear).. Also, Future is no longer made. There are similar products but I have no idea how they do in terms of long term yellowing. FWIW, I have an old bottle of Pledge Floor care, who took over Future, and it has yellowed in the bottle, stored in a cabinet. It still works fine over colors, but I wouldn't put it over white. Sometimes I like to build a curb side 1/32 kit, and may choose that as the clear.

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Hmmm, I find myself wondering if the OP is going to use the dented can of paint or not ?

If you're gonna spray all that paint through the nozzle anyway, might as well just paint the model, if that was your original intent.

If there is no sign of weeping/leaking now after shipping and getting tossed around, Enjoy your free can of paint. It's not gonna blow up if that's what you're thinking.

Half my problem these days is just simply remembering to strain the paint. Just yesterday, I worked up a color, straining it. It was a small amount that just got dumped. Later in the day in a test shoot with the same formula, here comes a piece of booger, I forgot to strain, duh. But that was the Paasche H with #5 tip, that thing will pass sludge I think. That blop yesterday would have clogged my Ganzton right up with it's mini tips.. Anyway, you will never regret straining your paint.

That helps, there is a lot of grill valance and air dam area.

I thought of this as well. It looks too long for the body and too deep in the fender (in terms of height) well department, even if it got in there. But I'd have to see it for real. And I'm probably wrong. For me, if something's going to be tough fitting, I usually find it's from Revell, I don't know why people love Revell kits so.