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Undiluted automotive urethane touch-up paints (PPG, Dupont, Omni, etc.) are available in virtually any color at automotive paint stores like Finish Masters. A 2 oz. jar costs about $14. You're actually getting four oz. of sprayable paint, because it's intended to be thinned 1:1 with medium-temp reducer, which you can buy at the same store. If you don't know exactly what color you want, you can eyeball their OEM code/swatch books. My store doesn't make up spray cans, but others might. These are gen-u-wine automotive paints for pro use, so you'll need to clear-coat them with 2K urethane or TS-13 or U-POL. BTW, SoCalCarCulture, I go to the Pasadena store. Except for that skinny little rude guy, they're very helpful.

When using Tamiya acrylics for regular brushing, I've found that they flow more smoothly and actually dry slower when thinned with the "official" Tamiya thinner. If I were you I'd break down and try the stuff. You might be pleasantly surprised.

Seems obvious that modelers are free to build their models any way they like. But modelers also have different tastes and different standards. Some people like simple, iconic realism; some like wildly imaginative creations; some like tons of intricate detail; some like low riders; some like cartoon cars; some like European sports racers. So long as we treat our fellow modelers with courtesy and respect, aren't we entitled to state our opinions and preferences in a public forum? If someone doesn't like what others say about his approach, what's to prevent him from presenting his own case? Some car modelers do seem to be trapped in a particular mindset and unwilling to consider other viewpoints - "I've been doing it this way for 40 years, and I don't care what some young whippersnapper thinks." And they even get offended when somebody begs to differ. In any dynamic hobby or art form, there's constant "critique-ing" among those who practice it. There's a non-stop open exchange of opinions about materials, methods and preferences. Sometimes it's a little hard on the ego, but without friendly sharing of ideas and opinions, a pursuit will become stagnant, boring and repetitious.

Obviously, they are different chemicals, and only a chemist could give you a complete answer. I did find a couple of good answers. One was on, believe it or not, http://www.mytractorforum.com/showthread.php?t=107680, "The Friendliest Tractor Forum and the Best Place for Tractor Information." It's from Mark77, one of the MyTractorForum moderators. Mark wrote: Welcome to MTF Parkerco! The paint manufacturers and related chemical industries sure make it complicated, don't they? And I believe they do it intentionally just to discourage anyone from venturing in to the trade without hundreds of hours of training. Thinners and reducers are different at the chemical core. Both solvents are designed to lighten the heavy viscosity of the raw paint you purchase in the can. The ratios (of thinner or reducer) are predetermined and tested at the manufacturers labs under controlled temperatures. Their findings are printed and provided either on the relative chemical cans or with supplemental "Product Sheets". Thinners are more specific to nitrocellulose and acrylic lacquers, alkyd oil base and synthetic petroleum based paints. Petroleum based and Acrylic based chemicals do NOT intermix as they are incompatible (much like oil and water). The amount, or mixing ratios of thinners, typically up to 50% for final coating, control the spray amount and pattern through the spray gun. The amount used to thin the paint is directly related to texture, flow and drying times/temperatures. And most often discovered through trial and error, the finish achieved comes from the thinning, air pressure and gun distance performed by the painter. Reducers act the same as thinners but the similarities end at thinning the paint into spray-able materials. Product branded reducers, normally manufactured to use exclusively for their specific brand line up, not only thin the paint, they are also available to control the paint flow by using temperature controlled chemistry for use in cold, warm and hot weather. They are designed to 'bind' at the molecular level and dilute the paint, hardener (nearly always used) and forcing it to flow, evaporate and cure all at the same rate. Today's reducers are used in base coat, clear coat, polyurethane, urethane, acrylic enamel and several primers and epoxy base/primer/top coatings. Extremely durable and very expensive...but far better with a much longer lifespan then oil based products. Hope this helps a little, Mark Hey, those tractor jocks are pretty impressive! Another good answer was on http://autobodystore.com/forum/showthread.php?2868-Enamel-reducer-or-Urethane-reducer. It's a forum for autobody pros. In answer to a question about enamel reducer (?) vs. urethane reducer, JimmyPtr, a senior member, writes this: Use the urethane reducer. Think of a few things & it should make sense. Reducers are formulated to transfer a specific resin system (enamel, basecoat urethane, etc.) to the vehicle & then evaporate in a uniform way as to let the paint do its job. Enamel reducers are designed to transfer a thick (high build) coating to a surface & let that coating flow on its own. Urethane basecoats are about 1/2 as thick as enamels (hence sanding w/ 600 vs. 320). If you use a fast evaporating enamel reducer in basecoat, the basecoat will dry too fast, resulting in bridging sand scratches & not allowing flakes & micas to seat properly. Then when you clearcoat, the clear will reflow & move the basecoat resulting in mottling & sand scratches. Try this. Tomorrow at noon take 2 ounces (measure) of Enamel reducer & 2 ounces of urethane reducer. Pour them both at the same time on your driveway & watch which one evaporates quicker. Same thing happens w/ your mixed paint. Believe me- if high end body shops could save money by buying cheaper enamel reducers & still deliver quality jobs, they'd be doing it. With the amount of labor & material costs invested in a paint job, spending a few bucks more to produce quality finishes is well worth it. Also urethane basecoats are more chemically related to lacquers, not enamels. Hope this helps. From my own experience, I know that thinning 1K PPG and Dupont urethanes with lacquer thinner is not a good idea, and I'm sure the same applies to HOK, Zero and Scalefinishes paints. Lacquer thinner seemed to work okay, then one day I realized that I was actually spraying curdled paint and didn't know it. I looked in my airbrush cup and the paint looked like a suspension - curdled milk - instead of a solution! Yikes. Even though the result was surprisingly good, I've used reducer ever since, and save the lacquer thinner for clean-up.

You'll be able to control the viscosity. Reducer thins the paint just like lacquer thinner.

Umm... they smell different. So they aren't the same chemicals. And... urethanes should be thinned with reducer; lacquers should be thinned with lacquer thinner.

I think those HOK colors are the same as the automotive urethanes I get at Finishmasters. FM also recommends reducer, and it turns out there's a good reason. I used regular lacquer thinner a few times, but then one time it caused the paint to curdle. It could be something to do with temp or humidity; I don't know. But now I always thin with a medium temp reducer called BASF UR-40, and save the lacquer thinner for clean-up.

You will never regret it. By the way, Tamiya spray cans have excellent nozzles.

2000-grit sandpaper and Coarse, Fine and Finish Tamiya polishing compounds.

He who does not know history is doomed to repeat it. I put a ball bearing in an Alclad bottle and the same thing happened. The glass seemed pretty thin. What a mess!

This might be a case of too much information (or misinformation!), or too obvious, but over-soaking can be a problem. Instead of Microset, I mix a few drops of detergent into the soaking water. Once a decal has been soaking for about 30 seconds, I'll start testing it with a soft tip to see if it slides on the backing. Once it moves (even a smidgen), bath-time is over. At that point, if there's a glob of water on the surface, I use the corner of a tissue to pull the water off. Just touch it to the edge. I've had good luck waiting until the decal is well-fixed in the correct spot and nearly dry before applying a few drops of straight Microset. If you apply MS while it's wet, there's a risk of moving it, and you're back to Square One. Both Microset and Microsol (for curved and uneven surfaces) seem to work just as well if the decal is fairly dry.

I think genuine Tamiya X-20 thinner helps the paint flow better and reduces brush marks. But I still like enamel better for the small bits.

Great idea to do the duo. The Charger looks especially cool. I have trouble with BMF, too, but practice seems to really help. I'm no expert, but I think I'm getting better over time. I think the hardest thing is to get the right angle and pressure. Too much pressure and you get a jerky cut, too little and it won't cut all the way through. For a straight cut, I try to keep the blade angle very low. It helps to go slowly and smoothly. (Most of my smooth went south about 40 years ago. On the other hand, I'm getting a lot better at slow. In every respect.) It helps a lot to use new X-acto blades that are sharper than sharp. After many scrunched edges, now I go on eBay and get a box of 100 genuine X-acto No. 11 blades. When I'm BMF'ing, I change to a new blade every few pieces. Visibility is really, really important, especially if the edge you're following isn't well-defined. Many times I've gotten way off the track before I even realized it! Aaargh! It sees to help to use a goose-neck lamp with a bright bulb so I can see both sides of the blade as I cut. And I keep moving my head to get different angles. Some sort of magnification is good, too, so you can follow the edge precisely. You have to have both hands free, of course. An Opti-Visor (one of those goggle things) can be a big help. Or one of those giant magnifying glasses mounted on a stand. Or even a pair of cheapo reading glasses from the Dollar Store. Another tip is to make sure the surface that you're BMF'ing is clean and smooth before you foil it. BMF is so thin that any chips or specks will show through. As a serious caffeine addict, I'm also aware that too much coffee interferes with my ability to cut a smooth, accurate edge. To burnish the foil after applying it, I use either my finger, or a smooth fingernail edge, or a small crochet hook that I "borrowed" from my wife. It's a thin metal shaft with a small, polished tip that will fit into nooks and crannies. Except for tiny parts, I really like BMF - nothing looks as much like real metal as... real metal. That's everything I know about it. I hope these ideas are helpful.

There's a wide range of opinion about which type of paint is best for any given purpose. I personally like Tamiya synthetic lacquers (TS series) or automotive urethane for bodies and big glossy chassis parts, enamel for small glossy chassis and engine parts, and flat enamel thinned with lacquer thinner for leather and vinyl interiors. I prime all major parts with Tamiya Surface Primer, and I clearcoat bodies with U-POL PowerCan pro clear from Burbank House of Hobbies.

Bare Metal Foil, being metal, looks more like metal than paint looks like metal. But sometimes it's hard to get BMF to conform to small, complicated bits like door handles. For those, I use Spaz Stix or Alclad II. Both are available at your local hobby shop or on-line. Be sure to get one of the "official" black undercoats, too. They dry very, very glossy, and that makes parts look "chromey."

Round colored "party" toothpicks. They don't have splinters like the cheap kind.

For interiors, I thin Testors and Floquil flat enamels with lacquer thinner before spraying. The lacquer thinner makes them dry much faster, and I get a smooth, thin coat that covers well.

That's for sure! White metal polishes up beautifully with silver polish. And the surface is smooth, never ragged or grainy. No other non-chrome chrome comes close, not even BMF. Sure be nice if those jewelery makers got into this.

Norm Veber at Replicas and Miniatures has interior handles, so he might also have exterior ones. The handles are nicely cast, but they are delicate. Call him at 410-768-3648. Nice guy, super helpful.

Buying the Paasche Series H was a good idea. I love mine. I've sprayed 2K urethane clear over Tamiya TS series paints with no problem. The urethane needs to be thinned with medium temp reducer. Regular lacquer thinner can cause curdling.

I had trouble with the Devcon tubes leaking, so I just switched to Harbor Freight Supply Quick Drying epoxy. I like the HFS just fine; a pair of small tubes cost only 99 cents. When I started using Devcon, I had a hard time getting the stuff to harden. Mixed in some Viagra, but that didn't work. Turns out that you need to mix the epoxy and the hardener for AT LEAST a minute, maybe two or three. The manufacturer says that the smaller the quantity, the longer the mixing time. Go figure. I will stick with (heh heh) the separate tubes.

I ordered one yesterday from my LHS, Burbank House of Hobbies. They said we were lucky to get cars from Moebius, since their quality is so good. For a model on that level, the price is very reasonable too. Alas, he said they don't expect product until January. I can't wait, I can't wait!!!!

I think Hudson's only customers were engineers who knew a good thing when they saw it. Hud's sons were the first NASCAR champs, but everybody else thought they looked stodgy. I want a '52 convertible in Symphony Blue Green Dark with a beige interior and wide whitewalls. Did the converts have leather? A junior high school buddy's dad was very proud of his Commodore Eight in metallic brown. It was a real Miss Daisy, but I thought it was way cool because he always kept it sparkling clean and you stepped DOWN when you got in. It was sort of... channeled.

Me too, and it's worked out great. I mask the surrounding area with what I call a "blending mask." It's made of tape with the inner edge folded over, so it doesn't stick to the surface and stays a little above it. I've actually had no problem spraying 1K urethane over my favorite clearcoat, U-POL Power Can Clear. But I have no idea whether that would work with 2K. Usually the tape doesn't sit as high above the surface as in this photo, but you get the idea.

I'm way late getting into this topic, but I'd like to add my 2 cents worth anyway. I use 1K urethane for base (color) coat. It's available in 2 oz. bottles from my local Finish Masters store, and the cost is about $14. The store provides chip books, and will mix any color I want. The paint needs to be thinned at least 2-1 with medium temp reducer, also available from FM. So it's fairly economical. For primer, I use Tamiya Surface Primer. For clearcoat, I use U-POL Power Shot spray cans, available from Ditchek & Sons. It's not as flashy brilliant as 2K urethane, but I it takes a beautiful polish. For depth, I will put it up against anything. When I spray the urethane, I use a professional painter's respirator. I'm very, very pleased with the results I get from this combination.