Dr. Cranky

Point well taken, chap, but here's where I'm coming from. I don't know about you, but lacquer and urethane paints make me nervous--you know, anything with health warnings--so I tend to be a bit more cautious when it comes to all-out mixing of products and such. I know what you are thinking, BUT DOCTOR CRANKY WE THOUGHT YOU RAN A NO-HOLDS BARRED LAB-RAT-ORY! Well, the older I get the more CAUTIOUS about this stuff I've become. I stopped using nail polish because it gave me horrible headaches, even fully protected with a mask, long sleeves, pants, glove, etc . . . so I moved back to acrylics, which is about the time I heard of Auto Air Colors and I started working with it. The automotive paint world hasn't yet found a healthy and environmentally friendly solution yet, but we have to paint on, right? Your work clearly shows it can be done, but I cannot believe that you did these paint jobs without going through a trail and error stage . . . surely you must have had a few heartbreaks along the way. We all have.

:lol: I guess all the shooters respected the bullseye? But that didn't spare the rear trunk lid . . . somewhat. :P

I'm thinking of stuff like this where you have to mask and layer in graphics: What I am saying is that the more steps, stages, and elements you bring to a paint job the more the chances of something going wrong . . . so if you cut out the guess factor, I really think it helps . . . Every time I attempt something like this: I want to make sure that nothing, other than my own skill, could go wrong or malfunction. Just my two cents worth . . .

When you are a seasoned veteran, experimentation and brand cross-pollination will get you interesting and surprising results. A beginner is going to have a much more difficult time, which is where the idea of sticking within a product line comes in. Steve, that's a jaw-dropping, beautiful model, and a wonderful fade-n-fog paint job. I'd be interested to see if you'd had successful results doing a multi-layered graphic paint job using a variety of paint brands.

Fabulous, clean and well built frame. Should work for most hot rots and rat rods. Again, thank you.

Love it, excellent tutorial so far. On to part 2. Thanks for doing this.

Very cool, Cruz. Nice find.

Gwyn--yes, HOK paints must be clear coated in order to get the shine in there, and then the clear cut and buffed. I find that the orange peel is diminished when the paint flows a bit thinner. I like the color and the graphics and the wheels on this one. You can put another coat of clear and sand lightly and then buff.

Those wheels make it look so tough, and perfect.

Yes, Tom, that's right. If you get it from Coast Airbrush, sometimes it comes mixed 1:1 or 2:1, but I prefer and find easier 3:1. 3 parts reducer to 1 part paint. So yes, your math works.

Jim, I get mine from Coast Airbrush and the paint quality and service is always consistently good from them. It takes a while for the stuff to reach me from California, but that's all right.

Tom, I would not use any other brand or type of reducer. If you want good, heartbreaker-free results, stay with HOK RU 311 or 312 or 310. That's my recommendation, but of course you can always experiment, but I'd hate to see you waste your time.

Hope you find this useful and get something out of the process . . . enjoy:

Thanks, folks . . . I finally finished it and now am working on number 5, which is going to be a wild, wild build . . . stay tuned in for pics.

There should be a national mesh fabric search contest!

I agree with those who warn against it, like Mr. Yost. I say don't do it. Why take the chance? I've learned the hard way over the years to stay within a paint line, or paint system, and this will spare you lots of heartaches. Of course, having said that, I find myself experimenting with the use of Auto Air Colors and House of Kolors. What's the fun of learning in this hobby if you don't go through some crashes and heartaches? Seriously, you take a big chance.

Hope you recover and feel better soon. Pain sucks.

More, more, more, please.

Thanks, buddy, I collect lace paper doilies for that reason, and these days I feel like painting some custom work on a few models that have been waiting for just the right touch.

I put this vid together yesterday going through the process of organizing my templates and some of the materials I use for getting graphics on my models . . . I hope you enjoy it and find it useful. http://www.youtube.com/user/damncranky666?feature=mhum

Wow this one's gonna be another beauty.

Nice model.

Nice vehicle. Love it, its stance.

Wow, that's an interesting paint job. I like it. Great detail throughout.

Wishing you a speedy recovery, and on the bright side at least you don't build with your knees.