Kit Basher

Here's the pitch...... He swings...... It's outta here!

That's right! I'm finding that Testors enamels, when thinned for the A/B, are translucent to some degree, unless the paint is so thick it blocks all reflection from the undercoat. It would take a ton of paint to make that black spoon look like the white one. I did this test to pick a color for a car I'm working on. The white spoon is most like the color of the paint in the bottle, but I'm going with the red oxide primer.

The red is Testors square bottle enamel. The undercoats are whatever I had. Duplicolor white and red oxide primer. Walmart gray and black primer. Walmart Gold. Rustoleum Chrome silver over Walmart black primer. They are all enamels or lacquers.

Most of you guys probably know this, but here's an example of the difference the primer/undercoat makes. These were all sprayed with 2 coats of Testors "Dark Red" bottle paint. More coats would have evened out the difference. I was surprised how little difference there is from gray and red oxide primer. The primers/undercoats (from left to right)- White, Chrome silver, Gold, Gray, Red Oxide, Black

Great to see you back on this project, even a little at a time. I hope your recovery goes well.

That's interesting, Mike. I had some Smooth On product that was blue and red. I can't remember which color was which, but the rubber part turned to a wet, clumpy, rubbery consistency that would not dissolve. The catalyst seemed to be fine. Maybe the difference is that mine was for pouring, and yours sounds more like a "putty" type.

Silicone RTV mold making rubber definitely has a shelf life, and it's relatively short (a few months). The only solution I have found is to buy small quantities that I will use up pretty quickly. I don't know of a way to preserve it, but if there is one, I'd love to hear about it!

I remember Good Humor, but "push up" has another and more interesting connotation to me. That may be what Snake is referring to when he says "Don't google it at work."

Our little town had a Buick/ Pontiac dealership, and a Ford/ Lincoln/ Mercury dealership. The Dodge dealer was Dodge only. The only foreign car was the Opel, GT and Manta, sold by the Buick dealer. Pretty amazing that a town of less than 1,500 folks had three car dealerships! Another larger town had a Chrysler/ Plymouth dealer, and a Chevy/ Olds.

Nice technique, it looks great!

Very nice!

Bill (Ace-Garageguy) is definitely the man when it comes to fiberglass. Any advice or instruction you get from him you can take to the bank. I'm not sure that pics would do you much good. I can tell you that 3/4 oz. cloth is pretty thin, about like silk. That may be the lightest, tho it seems like I saw some 1/2 oz. somewhere. 8 oz. cloth (that I have used for canoe repair) is about the thickness of denim. The lightweight cloth is available from places that sell R/C aircraft building supplies. The heavier weights might be easier to find (and cheaper) at auto body or marine suppliers. I have found that one layer of 3/4 oz. cloth works fine for reinforcing splices in plastic.

This thread is far-out and groovy. I hope you can dig what I'm puttin' down, cause it's like heavy, man.

That came out great!

Great job! Love the interior. Very slick and clean. Those wheels look just right.

Very impressive!

Just based on what I have owned, I would say Ford. I've had a bunch of different cars, and I bought each one because it fitted a particular need and/or it was the best deal at the time. I've had seven Fords over the years, although two were Mazdas in disguise (Probes). Two F-150s, an F-350 dumper, and currently a Focus and an F-250. I've had a Dodge, a Toyota, a Subaru, a Buick, and an International Scout. All were excellent for what I wanted them for. I did not follow my parents, who were Dodge/Plymouth all the way, except for one Vega. I don't really think Fords are better than anything else, it just seems like when I go car shopping, I look at everything, and the best bang for the buck ends up being a Ford.

Nicely done!

Dang, Mark! That looks better than a Camaro or a Mustang. Somehow it even has a little 'Cuda flavor. Looking forward to more.

I've had good luck with Testors "Gloss Clear Lacquer" (in bottles). It works fine over their enamels. It's pricey, but if you do a good job sanding the color coat, it doesn't take much clear to get a nice shine. I haven't seen any sign of yellowing so far.

Anything but carpet! How 'bout Pergo? No waxing required and very durable.

That made me laugh out loud! Excellent work!

An alternative that might be easier is texture paint. I used RustOleum "fine texture" and am happy with the result.

If your molds are made of RTV silicone rubber, you may not need mold release when casting. I've cast a bunch of small parts, and they come out of the mold easily without mold release. I've never done a body, mold release might be necessary for those. It's very important to use mold release when you pour the second part of a two part mold, as RTV sticks to itself really well. I've used both Smooth On and Alumilite mold release. Both work fine. Smooth-Cast 300 is easy to use and works well.

That is way cool! I've always been a fan of Europas, and that one looks just plain mean!