Rick L

The quality assurance inspector at G.M. would be proud.?

Lacquer shrinks. That’s the nature of the beast. Heat the can up for 15 minutes in a hot tap water bath and shake occasionally. This increases the pressure in the can. The paint will come out smoother and create less orange peel. The first coat should be light but even and dry to touch within 5-10 minutes. The second coat should cover completely with as little paint as possible and dry to touch within 15-20 minutes. Put enough paint on the third coat to get the full gloss effect. Don’t add more it won’t get glossier. Don’t sand between coats. It’s a waste of time unless you have an imperfection. If you see an imperfection like dust or hair appear while painting, STOP, let the paint dry, sand it out with 800 grit and continue. Don’t add more paint thinking it will cover. It won’t.

I’ve worked with plenty of people with different “styles” of organization. Some were considered neat freaks and others were considered slobs. The end result was always the same. I came to the conclusion that some people have organized benches and others have organized minds.

Interesting article. I started model making as a hobby when I was 10 years old and began a professional model making career at 25 building engineering models and prototypes. In the beginning the profession was fun and exciting. Always something new and challenging but the hobbyist in me began to wane. Eventually quitting the hobby end for fun. After 40 years, earning a living building to high tolerances and meeting deadlines caused my blood pressure to rise. 65 couldn’t come quick enough. ? Now, I’m finally retired, back to the hobby and off the BP meds. The article is spot on. Thanks for sharing.

I don’t doubt 180 grit is recommended for 1:1 harsh environment but do you really think it applies to scale models?

If concerned about cost, you can Google many videos on building your own. You’ll find multiple heat and vacuum sources that would fit your budget. If you don’t have the resources to build a simple box, a handy man could easily put one together for you for a reasonable price.

It would be easier to label the short list of things that don’t cause cancer in California.

Hi Len PETG is fairly hygroscopic. Meaning it will absorb moisture if not properly stored. If your plastic is old, My guess is that steam is forming between the plastic and buck. Again I will say this is only a guess. I’ve never experienced this problem because I’ve always been supplied with fresh plastic. Good luck my friend and please keep me posted on your results if you find the culprit.

Shake it to get the heavier sediment from the bottom. If you don’t you’ll wind up with just the solvent.

Go outside, shake the can, empty the air, place a nail to the bottom of can and cover with a rag. While holding the rag over the nail, puncture side of can at the bottom, repeat at side top of the can. The leakage is minimal. Drain vented can into glass jar.

The quality of BMF depends on the underlying paint finish. The smoother your paint finish the smoother the BMF will appear. Mig chrome sheets are slightly thicker and look better than BMF (IMO), on straight and subtle curved surfaces only. If you’re looking to get down into ultra fine detail, BMF is the only way to go. There is plenty of debate on this subject and I’m sure you’ll get all of those opinions following this so you’ll have to judge for yourself.

I agree with this method and I would shake it before decanting. That way, you may not have to add anything to the mix.

The reason for cross sanding is just to be sure you have completed the last grit thoroughly. For example if you you want a 6000 finish and you sanded with 4000 right to left in the beginning you would sand the 6000 up and down until all of the right and left scratches are gone.

You should sand the sheen off of the resin body.

Thanks Pete. Much appreciated.

I found this on ebay. It measures .02 dia. which would be 1/2 in real scale but I don’t think it’s too glaring on the model.

Thought I’d try something different to get a spark plug and wire setup. I first dipped the wire into a bottle of flat black lacquer. You can add thickness by adding multiple dips after the previous coat dries. The next step was a dip in gloss white lacquer making sure the black exposed were all the same length. Next I drilled out the heads and pushed the wire through making sure the white exposed was the same length. Then bent the wire inside the head over, added a drop of CA and a quick spray of water to kick it quickly. I used lacquer paint because it can hold up to a little bend when I install the wires into the distributor.

I line my paint booth with a Boston Sunday Globe I bought back in 2005 for a couple of bucks. Still have plenty of pages left.

I agree withJames. They’re made for constantly open hood display.

What kit is it from?

Type site:modelcarsmag.com embossing Into your search engine and it will give you extensive reading on the subject.

If anyone is interested, there’s a huge model railroad auction at Trudels auction house in Bellingham Ma. Saturday 02/18/23. They claim over $250,000 value. You can check out items on Trudels website.

You got a great deal! I had used flocking to recreate a scale model of a 70’s conversion van a friend of mine owned. He had shag rug from walls to ceiling. It was a perfect match. To recreate a tuxedo carpet however, you may have better luck with embossing powder.

Is the green enamel and the clear lacquer by chance?

That is a good question Joe. If painting lacquer You can wait until you are finished with the paint job if your steps are 15 minutes apart. Then you can break down the gun and clean it thoroughly. If longer than 15 minutes I’d run a little lacquer thinner through between steps.