Rick L

Coolants such as soap, wax or even water help prolong the life of cutting tools, especially when using power drills on plastic. All cutting tools get dull eventually and higher speeds of turning can create galling of the hole.

You can work up to as many grits as you want but the most important component of mirror type paint jobs is making sure your previous grit is complete. The only way to be sure of that is to sand in alternating directions between grits. If you didn’t sand out that 400 grit scratch that’s running vertically on the your horizontal 800 grit sanding you’re not done sanding with 800. So don’t be surprised when you’ve sanded all the way with 1,000,000 grit sandpaper and see a scratch.

I think the problem started when Pete thought Bill was talking about Pete. Not polyethylene terephthalate (PETE).🤣

It’s funny how the subject went from clamps to verniers so quickly.🙃

Just a word of caution: Novus polish may work fine on BMF but not on the manufacturers chromed plastic parts.

Test! Test! Test! a quick shot of paint on a plastic spoon before you dive into painting the model is always easier than stripping the paint after.

If you ask nice, any granite countertop installer could supply you a one inch thick cutoff for free.

I agree with Steve. There are more uses to WD40 than naphtha. As a matter of fact I think there’s a can in MY mothers basement also.😆

Ooooooouch! That is a bummer! You did such a great job to that point.

Testing it out first is the only way you can truly be satisfied with the results.

I’d say it depends on the year of the car you’re modeling. Undercoating was an available option in the 50’s to prevent rust. So a black coating would be appropriate. If you were too cheap to buy that option ( like my dad) the wheel wells were either the same color of the body or primer.🤣

Kamoi tape 40mm

Staples is a stationary store. The product is called foamboard. It an extruded polystyrene board laminated with paper. You can buy a 20”x30” board for $7.00.

Staples.

Soaking is not a good method to clean parts. Soapy water or alcohol is used as a medium to wipe or scrub the parts.

You can safely use any paints or solvents made for styrene based plastics interchangeably.

Most resin castings are cast with silicone based release agents. Soapy water or isopropyl alcohol works fine for most.

Sounds like a tape problem to me. Some masking tapes are too aggressive. Especially when left on too long. Tamiya tape burnished on the edges works very well.

Naphtha and toluene on the msds. It’s hot.

A few tips on reducing bubbles Stir slowly and don’t use popsicle sticks. They are too porous and will introduce bubbles. Use a mini plastic spatula or plastic sprue. If it has a long working time, warm the two parts in a water bath this will make the plastic less viscous. The lower the viscosity the easier bubbles rise. If using the “squish” method, don’t pour in the middle of the mold and slap the cap on. Pour it down the side wall of the mold until you have the desired amount. An ultrasonic cleaner will also help bring bubbles up on less viscous plastics. Place the cup with plastic into the cleaner tray and surround the cup with water. You can buy an inexpensive cleaner at Harbor Freight. When you wind up with micro bubbles at the top of the plastic, wave a bunsen torch or breath heavily over it. The carbon dioxide will break them up. I’ve never tried this myself but am told that a spritz of alcohol on the surface of the plastic will also remove those micro pests.

Bummer. You would think they’d use a more reliable material for fragile parts.

Ditto!

It amazes me what Jim Hall had accomplished by 1966 at 31 years old.

I vote for striations.

The higher the resolution on the printer the better the quality of the surface. Think of it like pixels on your digital camera or your tv screen the more dots per square inch the sharper it will be.