gman

Any 1:1 photos of the type of cap you are looking to replicate?

I have a can I have yet to try- supposedly "hotter" than the regular TS lacquer spray, and matt finish. It was a cool pearlescent colour bot available in the TS line. You'll want to be careful with any masking, as the PS paint is designed to be flexible (which can cause it to string when unmasking tacky paint), and use over a good automotive lacquer primer. Test compatibility with clear coats- heck, test primer, colour and clear on spoons first.

Compatibility is not always a given when using one primer and a basecoat from another supplier. There are variables, too, like whether the primer coat had fully cured, and whether your basecoat was applied in thin enough coats that were allowed to properly flash off before additional coats, or whether the amount of color laid down was too "hot" for the primer. Lacquers mechanically bond to undercoats by having the solvent soften underlying layers- if there is too much solvent in your first several coats, it can/will react with the primer. It may take some experimentation to get good results with your chosen paint/primer combo. Try spraying thinner coats of color, and building it up very slowly with ample drying time between layers. Do some spoon tests- try some sprayouts over your Duplicolor primer, and other primers to see which is most compatible. If you lay down too much paint too quickly, most lacquers will react with your primer, or worse, with the underlying plastic as the solvents leach down. One of the biggest benefits of lacquers is how quickly they dry, so making sure your undercoats are dry before recoating is key, keeping those solvents to a minimum.

Have this kit, love this kit (and have a secret dream to build a more accurate gasser version than the MPC offering using this as a base). If it turns out anything like your nice AMT '57, it will be a build thread to watch.

https://internethobbies.com/collections/revell-germany-model-cars/1-16-scale

If you like German car subjects, Revell AG's new VW and Porsche 1/16 kits look promising.

Just wondering here. When rattle can spraying a pearl color, say a red in this case, does it really make a difference if the undercoat is a primer or say a gold metallic? Sure it does- pearls and metallics are semi-transparent color coats, so the base coat (be it red, grey, white primer, or a metallic undercoat) will alter the final hue, unless you spray several color coats...enough to hide the undercoat. You'll probably find a gold undercoat will make the pearl red look richer, a silver undercoat will make the pearl red look a touch cooler. Spoon tests will show you the effects of undercoats and their final effect when spraying the same amount of pearl or metallic over top.

There you go again, with the beautiful paint. I have always had a soft spot for those cars, and you've brought another great looking one across the finish line.

Two words- tetanus shot ? In all seriousness, that weathering job is looking very believable. Nice work so far.

You have done an excellent job on this. I love the added JDM details and subtle add-ons.

Mixing highly opaque pigmented paint with a semi-transparent metallic will certainly reduce the metallic look of the paint when sprayed. There is no harm in mixing up a small batch and doing some test sprays on a plastic spoon to see if the effect is something you can live with. https://www.splash-paints.com/ferrari ^^ any of these shades of Ferrari paint in the ballpark for you?

Generally, the more time you spend ensuring each paint coat is smooth and flat (from primer through to clear coat), the less work you will have to do in final polishing. It is a good habit to get into, making sure each coat is as smooth as possible.

One of the great things about Tamiya's Fine Surface Primer is that it (normally) lays down nice and smooth. I don't typically see any super rough spots in the primer after it has dried/flashed off. I only use Comet to reduce the texture of the primer. Base coats, on the other hand, I have had some of those exhibit texture. I've used Comet on a wet toothbrush to smooth out lacquer around details where wet sanding alone will get you down to primer or bare plastic on raised details. It leaves a rough finish, so expect to add another coat if you get large amounts of texture in your color coats. For smoothing out color coats, Tamiya's polishing compounds work good, as does Novus 2 polish. For final prep on a relatively smooth paint job, it is hard to beat a polishing kit.

I usually wet the body, dump some Comet in the sink. Wet the toothbrush so it picks up a good amount of cleanser, and then work around the details on the model body with the Comet and water on the toothbrush. Doing do under running water allows you to check your progress, just like with wet sanding. Press too hard and you'll get to see thin spots or bare plastic, and have the honour of re-priming your parts. You want just enough pressure and cleanser to smooth the surface, knock any grain and texture off your primer. I tried this technique when prepping the louvered hood from the Revell '49 Mercury custom years ago. The primer was smoothed down around and in between the louvers, in a manner impossible with just wet sanding. The finished part is full of micro scratches, which helps your paint to adhere. I've stuck with the technique ever since- it works on fine detail, flat panels, around trim and emblems. Toothpaste (as mentioned) works too, but takes more time to get to the same result. I usually rinse any remaining cleanser from the toothbrush and model, and go over it with dish soap on the same toothbrush to avoid any residue under color coats. I usually use medium bristles for brushing my actual teeth, and the worn out brushes are what I use on my models. Less aftertaste compared to model/Comet first and then teeth

I don't know if what comes in Revell's Grand National kit will be close enough for your needs, but 1/24th and 5 bolt.

I usually go at the primer coat with a wet toothbrush, some Comet Cleanser and some running water. It brings the graininess down to zero. Baby smooth. If you start with Tamiya's "Fine Surface Primer" (available in grey, white, red and pink), you won't have too much grain to deal with. Apart from the price, I love that stuff. I found a limited selection in Hobby Lobby before the pandemic closed the border, believe they had the fine surface primer in white only, regular Tamiya primer in grey. That means you can use a 40% off coupon to ease the pain.

Monogram brought out a nice '50 Ford pickup many years ago, and Revell kept it in the catalogue, has reissued the same kit with some 2 in 1 improvements over the years after the merger. There are some on eBay should you want to pick one up.

That looks great, especially for a printed body. That paint belies all the work that must have gone into it below the surface.

I would be happy to see that kit back on store shelves.

This is shaping up to be...awesome. I really like what you've done so far.

I typically have a range of primers on hand, useful for different purposes. I love everything about Tamiya's Fine Surface Primers (except the price), usually have Duplicolor and Plasticote primers on hand, and have started experimenting with Badger's Stynylrez water bourne urethane primer as well- initial tests look promising. I usually spray a lot of lacquer in the rare instances I get some modelling time, and became accustomed to relying on primer as a barrier coat between lacquer and plastic. While Tamiya and Testors synthetic lacquer won't craze styrene and can theoretically be used over bare plastic, I do like the results better over a smooth primer surface.

If you are spraying over Tamiya lacquer, I'd lean towards Tamiya's lacquer clear. Dust on the first few coats, making sure your base coat is very, very dry and cured, as it can cause metallic finishes to wash or mottle. I've also had good results shooting their clear immediately over freshly painted lacquer that hasn't completely dried, so both color and clear coats gas out together. You can build it up in multiple coats for best results- it is a thin clear coat. You can now buy the same product unreduced in bottles from Tamiya should you prefer to airbrush, and use Tamiya's lacquer thinner with retarder, or Mr. Color's equivalent thinner. Testors Wet Look (now called Extreme) is a great product when it works, but it goes on relatively thick and can have some orange peel if you aren't careful. I've had a few cans dry with bubbles in the clear coat after curing. I experimented with spraying distance, wetness of coat etc. and found some cans do this while others don't. If you get a good can, it is beautiful stuff, dries hard and polishes nicely. Quality control seems to have pooped the bed at Testors now that they are discontinuing a lot of products likely to be used by serious adult modellers. With either option, experiment on scrap bodies or plastic spoons. If airbrushing, the 2K clears are very promising, but you want to keep this stuff off your skin and use a respirator. You'll find a bunch of other suggestions searching threads on the forum with the keywords "clear coat."

Comet powdered cleanser on a toothbrush under running water is another good way to level primer and color coats- more aggressive than toothpaste, should you need to cut texture faster. Agreed on the dish soap- a "must" to prevent problems in subsequent coats of paint. I have used the toothpaste technique as well, when mild smoothing is required.

I suppose if you find a big enough idiot, all sorts of things are possible ? Where I went wrong in my early experiments was putting too much paint down, too fast. I had techniques that worked out well for enamels (which I used for decades with varying degrees of success), and the biggest part of my problem with the Tamiya lacquer was not adjusting the techniques, and not understanding how the grain/texture you get in mist coats is not a huge problem when you apply the color coats, as the way the lacquer cures tends to level that out. I have used Tamiya TS clear, Testors Wet Look clear, even the older lines of Testors enamel and lacquer clears. I am wanting to try the catalyzed 2K clears. If a solvent is "cooler" than that used in the base coat, you can generally use it over top of the Tamiya lacquer. As always, experimentation is key, and a spoon test or a scrap body comes in really handy to avoid having your lovingly prepared model become a science project. Another trend I have yet to try is cutting Tamiya's aqueous acrylic clear with their lacquer thinner and airbrushing that. When I get to that, I'll try it on scrap bodies before committing to it on one that has been carefully painted.

There used to be a local hobby shop near where I started work years ago- the owner had a number of his automotive builds on display, and he was very fond of using Tamiya lacquers exclusively for all of his finishes. I had tried Tamiya and failed years before. In speaking with him and picking out some paint, he was emphatic that he never used primer, just shot the Tamiya over bare styrene. He never used clear over his finishes either- just polish. He got some outstanding finishes. Based on his enthusiasm, I tried Tamiya lacquers again using his bare plastic technique, and guess what- I had some more paint disasters. Now that I've had better luck with Tamiya lacquers, I do use primer, and I do use clear (most of the time), but he was living proof that it isn't necessary. Sadly, that hobby shop has long closed, but what it boils down to is experimenting with a product like Tamiya lacquer, and coming up with a technique and system that gives consistent results...for you. The biggest pro of not using primer or clears is a thin finish that doesn't obscure surface detail. He mostly built Japanese kits (Tamiya, Hasegawa), whereas I usually build kits that require some more prep than those, plus some added customization. Primer allows for getting a more uniform surface over that bodywork to get an even finish once the color coats are applied, and paint thickness is not such a concern.