av405

Just to give some background: I went through the usual recommended stages of sanding, washing, cleaning etc. with this model that I've gone through many times before. I then applied the following products (all Tamiya): grey primer, white primer, pure white paint, black paint. Everything went well until I applied TS-13 clear, a week after the black had dried (per Tamiya's own recommendation). Overall, the clear laid down smoothly but for some reason, the following issues appeared only on the front of the body. The first picture has white almost appearing to run down from the headlight area. Then there is a random white square that appeared on the corner. Then there is this corner. Originally there was a clearly defined sharp border between the black and the white. After the clear, the definition was lost and the white smudged into the black and a faint black circle appeared where the white was. The only thing I did differently from past times was laying down the clear a week after the last paint coat. I've heard that you have to lay it down either immediately after the last paint coat or wait a month or so to spray, but I went down this route following Tamiya's own instructions. Was that the culprit here? Or is there another possible explanation? Thank you in advance.

I live 15 minutes away and wish I could have made it! Unfortunately I was out of town. Great to see such a good turnout.

Thank you all for the compliments!

Thank you both!

Thank you all!

Ford Crown Victoria - Santa Monica, CA Police Department. Lindberg kit, Code 7/Accuscale Decals. This built served as a reminder of why I hate using full length decals, particular when they wrap around wheel openings. I was happy with how the headlight treatment came out.

Beautiful truck!

Where did you get the Chevy grilles from?

Fantastic build! Definitely following this one with interest!

Iceman Collections on ebay has 1981-1982, 1983-1984, and 1985-1988 Chevy grills for the Deserter Kit: https://www.ebay.com/str/icemancollections His store is closed for the holidays so you're going to have to wait until next week.

Nice, clean build. Well done!

Took a trip out to Dollar Tree and bought all of this for just under $10. I figured it would be a good reminder that many of the less glamorous modeling tools can be found for cheap. Also wanted to see what all the fuss was about with Mod Podge.

Looking great so far!

Is Lawton, Oklahoma the true legal city you live in? Because what idiot in his right mind would ever reveal his or her true legal city of residence?

Beautiful truck!

Nicely done!

You just missed today's So Cal Open Model Car Show in Chatsworth.

Looking good. Will be watching this one.

Outstanding job! That is a beautiful paint job.

Amazing, I have no other words!

Thank you guys for all the answers

They're not black, I think it's just the lighting that makes it look that way.

I used Tamiya polishing compounds on the roof and Meguiars on the trunk. The hood is untouched. Once I had burned through the roof, I decided to experiment on the trunk with a different brand. Your advice on multiple coats is duly noted. Oh, I know from experience. Though having a take-home car helps ?

So just to give some back story, I spray painted this car with Tamiya Primer and then 3 coats each of Tamiya white and black. I was happy with the paint job, but for the first time I decided to try to polish out the paint. I know some recommend to use clear before polishing to act as a barrier, but I didn't in this case. Long story short, I polished the white paint to the point that I burned through it. No problem, lesson learned. At least I got a chance to practice my polishing technique. I was originally going to strip the car and start over, but wondered since the original layers of paint are already there, should I just sand and add additional thin layers of paint and then clear? If so, what grit(s) should I use? Thank you in advance.

Custom Squads is still up and running: http://www.customsquads.com/ However, I can tell you that they are out of stock of the particular decal sheet you're asking about. I think I have an extra sheet lying around somewhere. If I do, I'd be willing to trade you the CHP portion of the sheet. What do you have to trade?