Dr. Cranky

Rob, those are the ideas I hope people will continue to ponder . . . I know that they use them for polishing jewelry and stones too . . .

Sounds good, buddy. It would be a blast to get a group of builders together and crank up the paint booth!

I have heard of converting them into spot sanders.

Doug, I keep repeating that HEALTH is a primary concern to all of us, or it should be, which is why when you work with some of the more toxic paint lines, you begin to think that there's got to be a better alternative, and that's what brought me back to Donn's method. And, Donn, those five Ps are precious indeed. Once they all line up you can paint body after body after body and get amazing results each and every time.

Hello, folks, just curious to know if anyone here has ever used one of those rock tumblers (the kind jewelers use) to strip paint off parts, or even smooth them out. I think they'd make great paint shakers/mixers. Just curious. We're always looking for new ways here in the Lab-RAT-ory!

Lucky you, Ed. I think Donn's over in Pittsburgh, which puts him about 1800 miles away from me! One of these days I hope we all cross paths at the NNL East or some other show.

It's sittin' pretty. With the right color this one will really stand out.

Ditto on that, George.

Mike, many of us started this way, and then somewhere along the way we start craving more and more shine, but sometimes as simple smooth paint job will make a model look more realistic. Case in point with your VW bug there. It looks good.

Boy, you are off an running. Great details and that mesh is perfect. Skip, those drawings are beautiful. I remember doing a couple of tracings of these when I was in drafting in Junior high. The best thing to come of it was my discovery of the Rapidograph pens.

The first and only time I've driven in the snow (top of Mt. Lemon in AZ), I skidded and crashed my Mustang, and that was it for me. Even walking in the snow is pretty terrifying for me. I like to look at it fall, but from a distance! Yeah, distance of a couple thousand miles!

You are taking your chances, but for the price you might be pleasantly surprised.

I have to agree with Chuck and in all probability I will end up building the convertible just because I would like to feature the interior details.

In my conversations with Donn, I've expressed an interest in moving away from strong (toxic) paints because I am sure, like the rest of you here, I want to be more careful with fumes and exposure to some of these toxic compounds. I'd be interested to hear from people who really know about the chemical compounds, etc., what some differences might be between urethanes versus enamels. Most of us who work with these paint systems already know to work with lots of protection, the best mask and filters, long sleeves, paints, latex gloves, etc., everything to help you stay safe when working with this stuff.

The yellow and the stripes makes it POP. I like it.

He did an excellent job. Must have used quite a bit of paint, those Spaztix come in small quantities. House of Kolor has a similar product, and I wonder if it would have worked with ALCLAD as well.

Oh, I love them. Man, the shiny black makes them look low and mean. I like that look, this is how you propagate your own style. Keep up the great work.

Terry, are you sure those Cobracolors were really HOK? I have seen them but not tried them. I have the HOK paints I get from both TCP GLOBAL and COASTAIRBRUSH out West. I get the candy concentrates so that I can build up the color fast or slow, depending on what I'm doing. Edward, looking at Donn's work I see a lot of details. It's the reason why he either works directly on the plastic and or off the metalizer-turned-primer. Also, it's been my experience so far that because you cut the enamel with lacquer it really dries flat and tight on the body. I haven't seen how any of my body details are lost under the enamel coats and clear. Just an observation.

Thanks. I guess you can apply it with a brush, draw your design on there, then cut it carefully with an extra sharp hobby knife.

Those look cool. I have a few sets of those Aeoshima tires, and for the most part they are excellent.

Wow, I don't know how you snow birds do it. It's a beautiful picture. Love the blue tint to it.

Chuck, the pic did not come through!

That's going to look mean. Keep it going, please.

Wayne, that's looking beautiful. I like the lean-forward look of it . . . great work on the frame too.

Wow, some wonderful modifications to the chassis. Keep it going, please.