Dave G.

How about just plain old striving for improvement ? Seems to me just out of common decency and self worth one should want to do better than that.

I love the sedans and wish they kitted more of them. I did more than one 32 Vicky into modified stock cars vintage 1960 whatever. The Orange Crate body would be almost ideal IMO, just let the imagination roam. I built an Orange Crate straight up but don't recall if I brought it to absolute full completion or not, I was all of 12-13 yo I suppose.

Hammering out is funny but I used to hammer ( so to speak) dents into circle track models, especially the class B cars that tended to roll over and stuff back in the late 1950's and early 60's. But ya I'd build a model of say a 49 Ford couple and dent it up. My biggest problem in those days was an inline Ford flathead 6, cause class B was for 6 cylinder cars and most kits to rob from had flathead V8. No problem with dents with a little heat applied. And a razor saw cut the fenders away and the hood nose off lol. Fun builds, I built several and several class A coupes and modifieds before there were modified kits that I knew of !

Or cut off, back that section with styrene or even card stock and fill it. Sand smooth. I like two part fillers because they don't shrink or crack. I've even been tempted to try actual auto body filler like Bondo.

Well that's what I'm wondering on this Scale Finishes primer is if it's a two part paint requiring activator.

Cost is a factor especially when adding in shipping. Our local NAPA store will mix enamel touch up paint which is 2oz for $10, fine for the colors I mentioned since they are not metallic. I'm from your camp that the auto touch up paint in metallic is more like metal flake than metallic in 1/25 or even 1/16.

I saw a video stating where Mike from MCW has a spectrometer camera that he can use on a color chip and get a code from that with formula. I want to say it was a Donn Yost video. Mike himself put out a video maybe a year ago saying this was coming. Anyway point is that by now you should be able to get about any color mixed from MCW. That said, for me now and then I get that critical but generally close enough is good enough for me. One tough color to get close enough on is a Ford maroon, it's some wine color they used around 1950 and again in the 60's. That I would get mixed. The Model A's also had a specific green. The cream wheels I have nailed down with craft paints I mix myself.

MCW to my knowledge uses PPG auto paint. But the flakes are finer in the metallic paints than the original 1:1 formulas. More in scale. MCW also now will mix enamels which I believe is acrylic enamel much as most car manufacturers used for a couple of decades or more and I used in my own shops as well. My complaint with MCW lacquer is to me the thinner is a little too fast for bodies. I emailed them because I know they use a slower thinner in the military colors but got no response. Since they mix each color for you I'm sure there would be no issue with subbing in the slower thinner. I have not tried the enamel, that you thin yourself, last I knew anyway the enamel did not come pre thinned ( fine with me). I have no experience with Scale Finishes.

Many many many moons ago I used that burgundy quite a bit. In my experience it goes down best over black. Be that black plastic or primer or whatever but black. Put it over white and you get some muted other color I have no name for. Now I'm working from 72yo memory banks here so don't quiz me on it too hard but that's the experience I seem to recall dating back to about 1961 or so. I had to laugh watching one of the youtube videos of a guy showing people how he was going to spray this Chevy Impala body with the burgundy. After about the 6th coat the video ended and I don't recall any follow up. The body of course was white, the color it was turning into not burgundy.

My latest pin vise is a Zona, very nice, accurate. I lost my original X Acto pin vise in a move back in the 1960's or it's been misplaced since perhaps. The replacement has been ok though it always slipped more than my original. But this Zona is the best at least that I have owned. $9.98, I bought it maybe 4 years ago so inflation may have increased that some..

I think I was 13 when the original came out and well, I figured it out fine. One of the first cars I rattle canned. I never liked the finish but it built ok. I was used to metal axles and all though, just something back then AMT did. Sometimes the axle went right through the oil pan. I can't imagine it being too difficult to figure out where the engine sits.

To me Tip 3 on the H is fine for enamels and acrylic. But for lacquer I like the .25 on my Badger 200. That's not to say I never used the #1 tip on the H or the .5 on the Badger though. Then I have the Ganzton and pretty much just stick with a .3 on that. But I rarely use that on cars, it's more for art work.

I can wait to see the results from the OP or someone who uses it before he gets to. Meanwhile there are folks who probably gain from the general conversation. Even myself, I just assumed Alclad produces a better chrome over gloss black, didn't know any gloss would do. Course personally I've kind of settled on molotow which from personal experience goes well over any smooth gloss finish. But if something better has come along I'll be following this. Molotow can be turned dull with handling so you have to be carful with things like side body chrome etc. I hope no one is offended I shared that lol.?

Windex is only in there for a minute if that to flush out Future, then I follow up with hot water and flush good. I actually think the hot water alone would do it with a good flushing and back flushing. Enamels lacquers I use lacquer thinner, the hardware store variety. Acetone works as well. Acrylic paints I flush with hot water then alcohol followed by more water. My finest spraying airbrush, best atomization etc is the Badger 200 with .25 tip and needle. I was gifted that by my now passed on dear wife back in 1977 or so. Still going strong.

Yes MCW lacquer as a base under clear coat is fine if that's what it is that you want. And the color is sure to be accurate.

I'd like to try MCW enamel along the way I think. I've used their lacquer and to me in 1/16 scale the thinner is too fast. I contacted the company about using the slower thinner in the automotive mixes and got no reply. And you can't retard it yourself really because the paint is already thinned correctly. So now I'm into tons of buffing or clear coating which clear coat I'm not a fan of on classic and antique car bodies at all. Now Tamiya LP I mix myself but of course you can't get all the classic colors. Fine with black though, it goes on smooth and glossy thinned with Mr Leveling Thinner 1-1 or so. Very little work to buff it up. Actually even the Tamiya black acrylic is good thinned with DNA, I've use that on 1/16 classic car fenders and it's an easy buff job, no clear coat, looks convincing. Course not much of what I've said has anything to do with spray cans if that's what's on the OP's heart.

My understanding is that in Ca lacquer thinner from hardware stores is actually nearly 100% acetone. That's just an aside. I clean up Tamiya acrylic with hot water or with IPA 91% . With brushes I think even the 70% would work. Around here I'm finding some 91 here and there finally. For a long time we only had 70 but I had plenty of both IPA and denatured alcohol in my stash anyway. Been about a year now since I looked but Amazon even then had both 91 and 98% in stock. Being a prime member it was with so called free shipping.

I know that if you get dried Stynylrez or some acrylic colors in the air cap of the Paasche H that it can be tough to get out/. So he has two identical nozzle and air cap setups and just swaps them out. The dirty parts goes in the cleaner. He uses many different paints and is an avid participant ( pretty sure it was FSM where I saw this). Best I can tell you. Hey maybe the parts are clean in 10 minutes but I get the sense he is in no rush since he is still up and running either way. And the ultra sonic cleaning method is hands off, he's free to walk away and do his thing. 30 minutes is a mole hill I have no need to level, he's happy with his results. Nuff said.

I would think a baby food jar would be fine. Good question on the lid, I never asked. I think I would use a lid if not put on too tight even. I know he says the parts are clean in about 30 minutes though. He has brought this up two or three times but I don't remember which forum hes in, it may be the FSM airbrush and paint forum.

There is a guy either here or in FSM that puts his parts in a mason jar and the jar in the ultra sonic cleaning machine. Uses whatever chemical he wants but usually mek or acetone in the jar.. I just soak my parts twice a year or so in lacquer thinner. Otherwise it's a flush and back flush day to day. Me airbrushes work fine. But I don't use ultrasonic equipment for the bigger cleaning just a plain overnight soaking. a quick brush /poke at things, blow off , done.

I use Kleen Strip hardware store lacquer thinner for clean up after airbrushing enamels or lacquer paints to include the LP series paints and for Mr Hobby primers and lacquers as well.. Works great. Last I knew it was $8 and change for a quart, with inflation it's probably more now.

Thanks for getting back, puzzle solved !

Add some pipettes to your order, then you won't pour the paint over the crusty edge of the bottle. I buy them by the 100 count from Amazon, last I knew they were around$6- $8 per 100. Then transfer your paint to a mixing jar or your H jar when ready to paint. Thin,stir, spray. If your paint bottle is new you can dump it right into your spray jar. I tend not to store pre thinned paint for more than the length of the project I'm working on. If you do that though, mark the bottle in some way so you know it's pre thinned later on or has some thinner in it so you can more carefully inspect it and treat accordingly. On model cars/trucks for instance there is nothing quite like freshly mixed paint from a known clean source . Or decanted enamel. The H sprays decanted enamels imo, better than from the can. Especially if it's non hobby paint. I decant Rustoleum 2X if I find the color I want you get 12oz for $5ish. Decant, add a touch more lacquer thinner and it comes out every bit as nice as Testors bottle paints. Paasche H #3 needle set @ 35 psi. Beautiful.

OK then I have to let someone else reply to that question since I use both acrylic and lacquer but for airbrushing. So it's the bottled paint not spray cans.

No, Testors is still alive so far. Model Master was dropped. My local hobby store still has good stock of the little square bottles but they did bring in the Tamiya LP line which very good. They now have a more extensive Tamiya line between acrylics, lacquers and rattle cans than they do Testors though. I was in Hobby Lobby a couple of weeks ago and their Testors rack was pretty much full as well. Talking about square bottle enamels here.