Psychographic

Clear it, wet sand and buff the clear.

It's a powder?

That doesn't answer my question, what has Toyota done to hurt NASCAR. Toyotas are built in the USA, providing plenty of jobs here for Americans, do you have a problem with that? Cup cars are made out of metal, not carbon fiber.

What's a dry urethane reducer?

Back in the day, when all custom paint was done in lacquer, you would be hard pressed to find a clear that actually was clear in the can. IIRCC, DuPont-red tint PPG-yellow/gold tint The only clear I remember back then that was actually clear in the can was Metalflake brand.

I really like the modern wheels on it. Your off to a great start.

What has Toyota done to hurt NASCAR? Without Toyota you would be down to Ford vs Chevy with 2 Dodges in the field.

There are many things wrong with Sprint Cup, the biggest being it is more about the money, than it is about the sport. To me the biggest problem is the Chase and the Locked In top 35 for qualifying. Correct me if I'm wrong, but is'nt racing about being the fastest to the finish, that being qualifying, pit stops or the race itself. The Locked In 35 proves they care about the money more than the integrity of the sport. The Chase (artificial excitement) works for stick and ball sports, but not racing. You shouldn't have outsiders affecting the outcome of those in the play-off, and a race with only a dozen cars would be a bigger snoozefest than it is now. I used to complain about carbs still in use, but then thought, what if I didn't know whether they used EFI or not, would it make viewing a race any better, ,,,,,NO. Another problem with Cup racing, the format. 3-4 hours of it just plain gets boring, I personally know no one who watches an entire race anymore, they do like I do, watch the first 25 or so laps, then fall asleep or do other things. I would like them to take a page from theshort track guys, Heats, B main and the Feature. Make the heats 30-40 laps, the same for the B and a 200 lap feature event. Maybe then I could stay awake for a race. MAKE THE RULEBOOK AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC! This way there is no favoritism, watch two guys make the same infraction and rarely does it seem the punishment is ever the same. Get rid of fake Debris Cautions. If the field id not bunched up and one guys smokes the field, so be it, If one of their Golden Boys is getting lapped, so be it, that's racing. GET RID OF SPEC RACING! There is no need to have all the bodies the same. Use factory templates and allow an airdam and a rear spoiler. I'm not a "Conspiracy "guy, but too many things in NASCAR seem scripted or rules bent for their benefit. Jr, who hasn't performed well in ages, gets a win in Nationwide the time he runs daddy's paint job. Tony Stewart passed how many cars at Homestead? When has anyone else performed like that recently? There is no proof, but think back at how many times like this something has happened? I've said this for a long time, technology is killing racing. Take F1, tons of tech, no excitement. Now before the F1 fans pile on, I used to enjoy watching F1. These are just my opinions and I'm sure your's will be different.

Unless you are painting a LOT of models and parts, buy the smallest amount of hardener you can. They all go bad after a while, you will know because it starts to thicken up. Once that happens it goes bad quick.

OK. Round two,

My Alclad arrived Saturday so the bumpers and rubrails are done. I started painting the body parts and wings. The white is an enamel from Ace Hardare, the orange is One Shot lettering enamel. The first round of color.

I use about 6-7 drops per spayable once of paint.

I use Valspar hardener in my lettering enamels for work, Ive found it works well with most enamels. It will speed up the drying process quite a bit, providing the temperature is not too cool, then nothing seems to speed up enamels. You can buy a 1/2 pint from Tractor Supply for about $16.

Joe, take a round toothpick, pour a drop or two of paint on a card. Holding the pic vertically, dip the toothpic in the paint an use that to make your rivets. Again holding the pic vertical, jut touch the pic to the body. You may have to cut the toothpic to get to a fatter part of it if the rivets are too small using just the tip. Practice a bit untill you get the feel of it, You should be able to paint about 5-6 rivets before reloading the pic. Once you get the hang of it, it goes fast.

I really like where this is heading.

In my opinion, one of the nicest Gremlin bodied modifieds ever. Kenny Brenn's Grant King car.

I agree, that doesn't look hard to fix at all.

Looks like a spaceship? Check. Has flames on it? Check I think it's Ira's.

Gremlins were very popular race cars here in America, both on dragstrips and on dirt tracks. I remember going to the races and more than half the cars were gremlin bodies on the modifiieds and sportsman. This could add to the appeal.

I've never heard of kits for any of the cars you want. This site has a lot of parts and a forum that might help you track down what you are looking for. http://www.dirtmodeler.com/dmstore/default.aspx

I've finally given this build a name, "Twilight Zone". I finally got the hinge for the front bubble to work, the rear brakes are on, the front suspension is almost in and the exhaust is done. That leaves lights, back bubble, throttle linkage ( I made one, but it's lost somewhere) and front brake lines to be done and I can move this to Under Glass. I stole the front wheels and tires from a die cast, these are a bit smaller and really improve the look.

That's Ala Mode and it is an Ala Kart kit, I just modififed it a wee bit. OK, so I got a little adventurous. Muddy tires.

I have a tutorial on another site showing how I make tires. I don't know if links to other model sites is allowed. As for the mud, it is in the plans, but also has me very scared, the model is coming along really well, I would hate to ruin it by screwing up the "dirtying it up" process. I guess it's time to research and practice. I'm still amazed at what some paint can do. This picture shows the idea of using the lettering on the tire to convey movement. After doing this set, I think I know how to improve on it. (I do have a glitch to fix, the hose on the AB caught, creating that blob of yellow where it should be fading to black,)

The end is near.

I added a little motion blur to the lettering on the tires. It's hard to get a clear pic of it.