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I wouldn't blame you after the headaches you have had just trying to get some paint on the body. Tamiya paints are on back order for some colors. I have been waiting on the Flat or Matt Black and the Semi-Gloss Black. I have been using Gloss Black and then use a flat or semi gloss to get the shade I want.

Beautiful looking paint and I like the clean detailing on the trim and the chassis.

My suggestion would be to try Tamiya primer. I know it's more expensive, but save your self any further brain damage and just try using Tamiya primer since you are already using Tamiya products for your finish coat. I know many builders here are achieving some fantastic paint jobs with all kinds of different primers, but why chance having to do it all over again. I have also tried several different primers with varying degrees of success but I have never had an issue like you're describing when I have used Tamiya primer.

I like how you did your sunroof. Most were done by van conversion companies and of course some owners. They were usually of the popup type of sunroof. I remember some good body men would get a roof off of a late model car that had a slider like yours and they would graft the major portion of the roof on top of the van. The wheel opening flairs look just like the ones I remember also.

Great looking paint and foil work.

Beautifully weathered finish. You captured the abused look on this. Very well done.

Beautiful looking paint and the body looks like VW should have offered. I like that you built it as a stocker looking model.

This looks outrages in the best way possible. The paint looks great also.

Since the 1:1 car had 13" wheels and tires which did look small by the way, something in a scale 15' would be the best proportion for after market wheels. The AMT Corvair kit offered some chromed dish slotted wheels and to make the tires wider they had a plastic piece that went between the rim and the rubber tire with raised lettering that you could detail if you liked. I have always liked the Lancer and Valiant cars from this era so I look forward to seeing your build which ever way you go with it.

These look like some of the generic decal sheets from some of the early SMP, AMT, and the JoHan kits. In the late '50's they wouldn't always use decals specific to the kit. Should you be thinking of using them just know that the chance of them transferring to a model are 50 - 50 at best. I would suggest either getting them scanned and reprinted on decal paper or look at Gofer and some of the other decal offerings out there. I have used a few from Gofer have many of the same style and even a greater verity of pin striping.

Smile. I guess old dad know about that feature also. This used to make parents nervous before the advent of the Surfer Van craze.

This picture triggered some old memories for myself. When I was in high school, in the last century, a buddy of mine had a two door hardtop Nash of this body style. He would often drive it as if he stole it. The car would lean over so far in the corners you could hear the curb feelers scratching the street on the right side. He also had a hard time with some of his girlfriends fathers when he would pick them up for a date. I wonder why?

We got it. Very funny story.

Most would "kill" to have this paint finish, but I understand your standards. At least you realize how and why it happened and you can avoid painting it that way next time.

Just a suggestion on the photo etched grill. The grills for the Bel Airs only had a flat gold color much like the "V" hood and trunk trim along with the CHEVROLET letters, the 3 gills on the front fenders, and the Bel Air and emblem in the rear polish aluminum area. This just depends on the look you're going for. Your build looks very nice.

Your father's little '53 reminds me of the style in the 1950's and what you could do with limited funds and still have a real eye catching car.

Thank you for the coverage. I have always enjoyed your photography and thank you for sharing it with us all.

I'm with Cobraman on the flat hood. But this is a Pro Street build so maybe a hole in the hood and a big 671 Blower sticking out in the breeze would be more appropriate. I would google pictures of this style of car and get some ideas from that. Maybe you go with one of the Drag Racing style Hood Scoops that MoPars used in the past. Get some ideas and then do what ever looks best to you.

I'm also a long time user of the Tamiya paint line. I have also had a hard time getting the semi gloss and flat black colors since the shutdown. What I have done in these cases is to use their gloss black and then a finish coat of either semi gloss or flat clear. This also gives you an opportunity to experiment with different shades of gloss depending on what you're trying to paint.

Thank you for the additional information about the light system. Interesting how different regions approach things differently. The Black and Tan or Gold paint job is also a different style but seems unique to Florida.

That is a fine original looking 1950 Custom model. This one is about as nice as I've seen in a long time.

I would think a lot would depend on how much you want to spend to correct your problem. I have seen some paints offered at Home Depot that have you adding some fine sand to the finish before it dries. This would give you some better footing when wet. Problems may be that in time the paint doesn't adhere over time and starts to lift becoming bad looking. There are companies that will put down a cap type layer of concrete and use big rubber stamps to put a design in the new concrete as it dries. This would be a lot more money, but as you say you both love your home and plan to stay, so maybe you can justify the expense. I suggest looking on line at the DIY Network for home improvement ideas. You are only limited by your budget kind of like everything else in life. Good luck to you on your DIY project.

You can see this in movies all the time. They call it "Product Placement" and the companies doing the advertising pay the studios a lot of money to have their products appear in the movie even if it's something just laying on the table. Manufactures will supply several cars and or trucks for the actors to be seen driving in a movie.

The Carson style top looks perfect on this.

There is also Tamiya X-11 Chrome Silver. The trick with the old square bottle Testors was to lay it on thick and then gently blow on it. Somehow it would make it dry shinier that way.