Cato

Not for Bill; he doesn't need any beatings. He's a pro mechanic. Not a dentist.

I don't have Alfa parts to help you Bill. But here's a tip; whether you get the Pocher jig or make your own, anchor it down to a board. You have to exert a fair amount of force to get the nipples into the rims. I had to heat them with 1/8 solder tip and melt them in because the plastic jig is so brittle. If you have bent spokes you'll have to buy replacements. I suggest Paul Koo to get his CD (guides you through the trouble areas) and ask him if he has Alfa spokes in stock.

You don't need bending tools; you need jigs or mandrels to bend brass tube or rod around. Here is 3/32 tube annealed and worked around a 360 degree jig. Here's what you get when done and chromed:

If only it came in 8 oz. cans for $7.49 like Dupli...!

Results:

An Allison. Model by Dave Cox.

Mike, these were the days before quarter turn Dzus fasteners which make maintenance a breeze. I doubt racers back then would cut corners to wire panels on because a panel adrift you put you out of a race or kill you. So I think they sweated all the maintenance, buttoned up and let fly.

I just used 2 coats of Future on a Bondo spot on a fully painted panel. Complete hiding and no issues. Panel looks perfect now. It may be 'wrong' but I use what I recommend.

And that huge variety is your friend. Just as various 1:1 restorers have either copied the '30's factory method or adopted their own, you can do the same. Pick a style that's expedient to make or just plain suits your preference. The kit as manufactured already has so many compromises that you can't get authenticity, unless you strictly replicate a specific 1:1 and do a lot of work. You're building a really nice representative model. It will look great in your case either way.

All the better reason to start your Pocher classics... MUCH bigger wires!

Scott; A single strand of real safety wire is .032" thick. In your scale that would be sixteen ten-thousands. Or, .002 without splitting hairs. No matter what you do it will be overscale, so don't sweat it. You've added a nice representative detail. But it's another reason you should build in 1/8 scale...then it would be a much more manageable .004.

A further update; I have drilled the trunk lid for the luggage rack feet. On a hunch, I took the lid's red down with several grits from 1200 to 4000, then shot the TWLC. As a further test, I took the trunk down as well. I can emphatically say this; the clear imparts a 'brightness' to the color making it more vivid than the Duplicolor clear had previously done. The red is more vibrant with a 'crystal' look to it. Although all four fenders are done to Dupli clear (but not rubbed out yet) they are now distinctly different in coloration than the trunk. No problem because I will scuff the fenders and shoot two coats of WLC to even the look. As Bill showed, the WLC also flowed out very well. I shot two coats with 2400 only between. It is smooth, flat and more glossy than the Dupli. I will not have to use polishing grits for the finish I want. It's not 'Oakland Roadster Show' finish but it is very good 1932 Rolls finish. I am most happy that it will work over both Kry and Dupli chemicals.

Harry; have done that twice now. Once with Mrs and once for me. We were fortunate with top-notch docs, one of whom saved her life - literally. And another who took me through 2 'extreme' operations. Five operations between the two of us in last year and a half. Yes, the testing and scanning wears you out and fills with fear. That's natural and comes with the territory. Constant follow-up is now part of our lives forever. But I'm still here sweating silliness on my model and she's still here cooking for me. Thank God. But only those who have 'been there' know what's it's like. It does eat you up; no doubt about that. No platitudes or well-meaning thoughts by sincere friends provide relief. Know this; if you have 'this or that,' the right people will get you through it. I know that from our experiences. Amazing to me how previously perfect strangers become pivotal in your life and give their all to get you right. And they do. You're not alone because every guy here is pulling for you. Lay in bed and think about that instead of uncertainty. Virtually anything can be fixed these days. Please plan on getting the big Rolls out again after this hopefully brief interruption. C

Future makes a good barrier under any type of paint.

Best luck Harry and stay in touch. Hoping for the best. C

A major step... I can finally report that the scratch-built door is ready for prime time. I must state at the outset that the techniques shown here were developed over much time by David Cox of Detailed Model Cars fame. He has generously shared these with me and allowed them to be shown here. Since I had the (zany) idea to scratch build my own door(s), Dave's principles were the starting points for my cut / fit / trial / error saga. Indeed, no two of his own Rolls builds have exactly the same 'parts' shown here but that is Dave's genius; he can make excellence on the fly. I have big struggles. Shown here is his idea, modified by me for the Pocher door hinges. To allow the doors to be painted without hinges, they are made removable - no hot melting them in place like Pocher wants. A door post is made of 1/8 x 1/4 styrene and the key to the whole thing is sourcing countersunk head 00-90 screws. Instead of the hinge being spread 180 degrees when the door is closed, each half of the hinges are touching - thus the need for the screws. They allow the door to rest fully closed. Seen here, I perfected (this is the fifth hinge post I've made) the post and hinge locations, hung it, then glued the door to the mounted post. Even Dave liked that idea. This gives a door that fits the body opening perfectly without filling or sanding. The next hurdle is the MMC Benz door handle and making it operational. After much measurement a hole location is drilled in the door skin so that the handle shaft goes through and correctly engages the 'cup' in the stock Pocher black steel latch - the actual only Pocher part used in this whole door assembly. Shown here is the beautiful MMC handle which comes with 00-90 shaft, chrome bezel and the all-important cam - which 'drives' the latch to open when you twist the handle. The big hurdle here is that the handle shaft must go through the door outer and have the cam soldered on in exactly the correct position to have a horizontal handle when the door is latched. The cam must ride in the latch pocket and have no slop and be friction free. Much hair lost over that one. So not wasting our old friend test door number one, just back from paint testing, I decided to try Dave's method for soldering a few mm's away from delicate plastic and paint; hopefully without torching the door or blistering the paint off. Seen here, I trail-fit a 00-90 bolt with some washers in and out and proceeded to solder a nut to the shaft. The key here is that yellow towel, soaked in in cold water to disperse the iron tip's heat - and be very sparing with solder, flux and the time you spend heating it. Milliseconds. Presto it worked first time out and as usual, Cox knows his stuff. OK an overall look at the door guts. Remember on the first door I had built up the guts on an already .060 thick structure; too thick with the window frames and inner panel attached. So to make it thinner I made a slot for the latch in the main .030 door skin and covered it with the .020 sweep cladding so that the latch got 'buried'. The head -scratcher here was getting the window frames in place without impeding the sliding latch mechanism. Some of the structure for the frame supports is seen here and it's labeled so I know what to use on the driver side door when I do this all over again (GROAN). Note the travel stop in the center of the latch and the 'cup' that the shaft and cam will (hopefully) sit in. The vertical post marked .125 keeps the latch flat in its groove. Here is Dave's big contribution to Pocher greatness; a music wire 'spring', anchored at the bottom and a fulcrum part way up to adjust the tension. I put a brass cap on the end of the music wire and had to space a .005 clearance above it so it would not bind when pushed back. Determining the location of these bits determines the spring tension; too much and you'll jump the cam out of place. Too little and the handle won't unlatch the latch when you turn it. The first shot shows it at rest in the door-closed position. The second shows my finger pushing the latch back and the travel of the latch. The handle, when soldered on, will do this. I'm using very little pressure here. Taking low-light pix with one hand makes blurry pix; sorry. The next group shows how lucky I got. Door here is shown latched on its own; no tape, friction, magnets or parlor tricks. The contours mate perfectly with the body and cowl contours, the beltline lines up and the gods are smiling - which makes me nervous. The dark line at the rear edge is not a gap; it's the test, full length .032 hinge pin which has been on and off thousands of times. This is a 'well-hung' door if I say so myself... And here is a final 'pants-down' look at the latch in action from the business end. The circle shows the latch tongue engaged in the cowl. The vertical arrow shows the mw spring. The horizontal one shows the tension adjuster which finally got cemented in the 'correct' location for operation (I hope). I repeat, this is all by the generosity and genius of Dave Cox, whose patience and generosity guided me on this ever-complicated path of advanced Pocher-building. Some of the wackiness was my own fault; scratching the doors, the Bugatti-style color sweep, Bugatti taillights, luggage rack and a leaky, sweaty engine. And - I'm nuts enough to be consider building my own, thinner, more accurate hood sections (4). Shoot me. My eyes were opened to top cutting, body-channelling, fender rotation and other gruesome acts that sensible classic builders abhor and avoid. But Cox loves discovering anyone as crazed as he is about modifying these. He just cannot find anyone as TALENTED as he while doing it.

I forgot that yours was metallic. Both of my colors are not so I work at getting them flat. That's very impressive results out of the can. Sometime, post a shot of it polished out here. Snake, we do what works best for us. I learned on my 1:1 that there is benefit to color sanding non-metallics before clear for show-quality paint. The smoother that the substrates are, the harder the reflections of the top clears are. That paint is now 24 years old and street used but still looks like it just came out of the gun.

Returning to my WLC discussion, Bill, when you shot this hood, did you color sand the green prior to TWLC coat? I am currently testing getting the color dull up to about 4000 before shooting the clear. In the hope that I won't have to sand / polish the clear. You got that gloss level and hard reflections right out of can and I'd like to do that.

An update: Paint arrived and I applied 2 coats today on test door panel. The panel is two colors on two-tone door. Sanded one half of each color with 3600 wet, other half was polished to 12,000. Remember this is a test panel. Intentionally shot first coat medium-heavy but it layed-out beautifully. I could have stopped there, but 20 minutes later (following can instructions) shot a mist coat. It too leveled fine but with a bit of fine peel; understandable since you generally shoot mist first and heavier after. Most users would be happy to get a finished paint job like this. Paint is dry to touch and smell in under 1 hour. Interesting thing is that I cannot see evidence that half the panel was sanded, under the clear. It's all one even level of gloss. Very impressive. I will now polish from 3600 to 12,000. The good news for me is its compatibility with both Krylon and Duplicolor and when I get completely familiar with it, I'll have one coat gloss with virtually glass smoothness. Intentionally polishing after paint dry total of 2 hours to test. Thanks men for great advice - this is just what I wanted. One clear over two differing brands of color at same time. More soon. C

Thanks David; good info and thanks for the tests. C

Can you tell if it's lacquer or acrylic? If the can's not marked, go by the smell;acrylic will have no or a very mild smell. Lacquer will be sharp.

Yes they have. I've used them for 1:1 headlight restoration (excellent for that if you're patient) and art and framing restoration. Keep them clean after every use and they'll last for years.

Here's what they are and I have. They work swell for removing peel and getting to glass. Also good on model windows. Use wet with soap. http://www.ebay.com/itm/MICRO-MESH-Finishing-Polishing-Set-3-x-4-Sheets-9-Grades-MADE-IN-USA-/171349259111?hash=item27e5363367:g:CDcAAOxyoVZTInvY

Thanks Bill. That looks fine for my purpose as is. I'd like to get the colors to 8000 then just clear and let it flow out as yours is. I actually have Perfect-it from my 1:1.

Thanks guys, six cans on order. Snake, when you say harder to rub out; A. Does it spray with much peel and needs rubbing? B. You rub out with mild compound, not cloth grits?