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You might try outlining the area you're wanting to paint with a #11 blade. This forms a microscopic BLAH_BLAH_BLAH_BLAH to keep the wet paint where you want it and gives you a sharp edge between the colors.

Some builders say you shouldn't use any clear over Decals. Some like to use a coat of clear to seal the decals, and that would be me. Some will clear the body ones and then install the Decals and then coat with clear again. There are many ways to do this and sometimes you just have to figure out what works for you. You mention that you have sanded the finish and that is still somewhat dull. My thought is that you want the surface below the decals to be as smooth as possible. At this point if you applied the decals it would be like putting them on a flat non gloss finish. This would show the complete outline of the decal plus a milky look surrounding the image and the edge of the decal. At the very least I would polish the body to a very high sheen before applying the decals and then clear over them. I would prefer to apply a light coat of clear, and polish it. Then apply your decals and seal with another clear coat as you suggested. Now this is just my opinion and I'm sure some others will offer theirs. As I mentioned there many different ways to do this, and I would be interested also in seeing what others have found works for them.

I use mine continuously. There are many on the market, mine just happens to be made for Testors by Xuron Corp. As GMan pointed out the ease of removing parts from the spruce is one of the primary reasons, but they are designed to get into very tight places to remove a part with no damage to the part.

Beautiful looking T-Bird. The Wheels and White Walls look like the perfect combination on this cruiser.

I like the paint and the finish. Again you got the stance look'n good. That is a good looking casting with nicely shaped windows.

Beautiful looking build, I like the color and the stance. The wheels really make it look aggressive. I don't know what all you had to do with the casting to make it look this good but it was worth it.

Great looking Cougar. Good color pick and the finish is really nice. Nice clean looking detailing under hood and the interior.

The paint is very nice and very smooth. I like how you used the Challenger stripes and exhaust. A '60's era Mopar on Keystones and Red Lines, that was the look.

The color you created for the interior looks very compatible with the body color. I would only suggest trying to sharpen up the edges between the White and the Solman colors. I have never used that shade of Pink before but I notice a nice fine metallic finish. The good thing is getting to do this with and for your daughter.

I would suggest using the Gray primer in very light coats in order to find any imperfections on the body surface. When you're satisfied with the body then start with a light coats of the White primer. White and just about any other light shade will turn out best over a White primer as this tends to brighten the finished color coats. Most medium to dark shades usually work best with Gray or Red primers. The White paint tends to have less pigment and it is best to use several very light coat to get good coverage.

Great paint job and the chrome trim is very clean looking. I like the chrome rims, they look perfect with the dark body color.

The 8 tire concept was from one of the big tire manufactures.

This sounds like a reality.

I agree

A thought on the exhaust manifolds. This has to do with a small block Chevy conversion if that is the way that this goes. A couple of sources for first stock manifolds. The Revell '56 Chevy kit. In the real world these would not be the most ideal, but in plastic the exit toward the rear of the engine in a down turned fashion and I think would offer the least clearance issues. The next best possibility might be the center dump rams horn style manifolds in the Revell '57 Chevrolet kit. The stock or maybe even the tubular headers from the Revell '69 Nova could maybe work also. The stock manifolds are a design that put the manifolds below the spark plugs and exit toward the rear and are at an angle that should clear the steering column.

Back in the day my '51 Ford was getting it's new duel exhaust and Smittys the muffler shop guy was kind enough to heat the front springs until the lower control arms were almost touching the bump stops on the frame. Looked cool but you would have to stick to the smoothest roads you could find.

You might ask if "gas" is an option. You'll wake up with a mouth full of cotton, but you don't have to listen to the noise when they're pulling your tooth. The way you have described it your going to have to have some major work done. Being put under might be an option to think about.

Thankyou for your reply. Have you ever used the Clear Alcad? I had purchased the Clear with the idea of using it at a later date. I think I'm going to do what I recommend to everyone else. The old picnic spoon test.

Thankyou for you suggestions. I have been leaning toward the Alclad just because it seems easier to me. I have, Alclad Aqua Gloss Clear, but have never tried it yet. .

Dentist, at least the ones I've been to in the last couple of decades have been good ones. I had to have braces starting with my adult teeth. Weekly tightening of the wires was excruciating. I had to eat soup for most of my high school years. I had to cover the braces on the cheek side with a wax material to keep from ripping up the inside of my mouth. That old joke about a couple getting their braces tangled up while make out isn't funny, it hurts. I couldn't face a Dentist for years after that. Got to the point where the old fillings were turning into crowns. That didn't hurt as much as the braces. Had the wisdom teeth out in my fifties and they had great pain killers by then. I have one implant tooth now and just had one pulled to be replaced soon with another implant. The modern Dentistry has come a long way from the old days of torture that used to be Dentistry.

Thankyou for the information. I really admired your Mercury by the way. One of my concerns with the grill is the parallel cross bars that are close together and may be an issue getting in between them.

Very nice clean looking pickup. The color is period perfect also. Many years ago I worked with a guy that had a '53 in a light blue color. I think the body of this kit is about as close as anything being done today. The Hemi engine looks great also.

I guess I'm in the B group. My thought is the stance has as much to do with it also.

Great looking Fairlane. I agree with everyone else on the paint work, and getting those stripes to line up perfectly and no bleed thru.

I have a question regarding "chroming" Bumpers and Grills. There are so many here with far more experience with these pens than I do. I'm getting reedy to chrome the bumpers and grill for a Revell '50 Oldsmobile. My prep so far has been to strip the kit's chrome and paint them with a very shiny coat of Tamiya TS-14 gloss black. I have both 1mm and 2 mm pens. I also have Alclad paint as an option. My concerns are first applying over this large of an area. Second is drying time before it's safe to handle for installation. My past experience has been that the more I have to handle the treated part it seems like I have the black showing thru in many spots. I understand that clear coating will also dull the chrome finish. Any suggestions would be appreciated.