Ace-Garageguy

Mmmm hmmm. And therein lies the reason that the guys over on the HAMB take a very dim view (they can be pretty harsh, actually) of anybody too lazy or too dim to do their own research BEFORE asking questions that have already been answered in depth. Of course, they don't need to be nice to people who might someday buy their magazine, either.

I know I'm not alone when I say there are a LOT of kits that I really wish WOULD be reissued. We'll probably never see many of them though, because the tooling has been lost, damaged, modified beyond restoration, etc. etc. But the re-pop of the AMT '36 Ford, and the restomod release of the old Sizzler as the new Slingster sure have put a smile on my face.

If that's really true, just keep cutting things away that interfere with the axles until you get it as low as you want it, then glue everything in place. Crude but effective.

There are going to be flaws in every model car you ever unbox, and they need to be corrected if you want a good looking finish. My procedures work for me, and I tend to notice things a lot of folks don't. Fixing flaws in the model body, and correcting flaws in the primer and paint as they occur (and they WILL) are the difference between an okay paint job and an outstanding one. You can read about this and get advice til jell freezes over, but without actually doing the work, for some time, it's unlikely you'll really get the hang of it. There's a lot of advice out there, but PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE is the only way you'll ever really know what works best for YOU.

Yes BUT, you probably won't find anything finer than 1500 grit in most non-bodyshop-specific stores. Some NAPA stores now have complete bodyshop supply counters, however. In general, sandpaper in even the smallest packages you can buy at an Autozone will be enough for several models. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Painting techniques vary with the kind of paint being used. In general, you want to build up color with several coats...not try to pile it on in one or two. A LOT of modelers advocate mist coats. I DO NOT, as this tends to build an orange-peeled surface if you don't get it just right. Again, I advocate learning to shoot a full-wet flow coat WITHOUT RUNS in order to minimize orange peel and subsequent wet-sanding. Once you're satisfied with your paint coverage, look your model over carefully for trash in the paint, orange peel, or other defects in the finish. Correct as necessary, observing the correct "recoat-window" on enamels if you need to spray additional paint. Orange peel or trash is corrected by wet-sanding with 1000-1500 grit or finer to level it quickly, and then 2400 up through 12,000 grit, followed by an abrasive polish. IF you go through your paint in the process of correcting a grainy orange-peel surface, you'll need to spray more paint. IF you have to correct orange-peel in a metallic by wet-sanding, you MAY have to shoot additional paint to even out the color, as some metallic particles near the surface of the paint MAY be disturbed. SOLID colors can generally be wet-sanded with 2400 up to 12,000, and polished to a high gloss with no clear. Most METALLIC and PEARL colors, and Testors 2-step basecoat-clear bases need to be clearcoated, in my experience, for best appearance. Shooting clear WILL NOT HIDE OR CORRECT DEFECTS IN THE PAINT, but will sometimes let you 'cheat' by getting a thicker surface to wet-sand and polish. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The orange Chevelle in post #7 above was prepped and primered and painted using the methods I recommend. The color is 5 coats of Testors Flaming Orange, the 4th coat sanded with 1500, and a full wet flow coat shot to perfect the metalflake layout. The model was then shot with 3 coats of Testors Wet-Look clear. It had NOT YET been wet-sanded or polished in these photographs, and that is the reason I advocate learning how to shoot your paint slick. The very minor orange peel evident in the photos disappeared completely and easily with a subsequent wet-sanding with 3600 up through 12,000, and a careful hand-polish with 3M Perfect-it Machine Polish

I MAY be able to help you. I have extensive mechanical and engineering background with alternative-fueled vehicles. This is a link to my Pickens Plan page : http://push.pickensplan.com/profile/WilliamEngwer. This is a link to my other Pickens page, about the vehicle in my avatar photo. http://push.pickensplan.com/group/cngassexy Though I am NOT a dealership-technician, I have a broad knowledge of hybrid and other alt-fuel vehicles.

This is the operative phrase. The models in the thread Roger linked to are all significantly modified, requiring skills the VAST majority of die-cast buyers are not going to acquire in this lifetime. One of my neighbors collects diecasts, as well as sports memorabilia. It's as likely that he will ever become a modeler as it is that he'll become a professional athlete.

And there are some of us old fossils who will jump at the chance to have a freshly-minted version of a favorite kit from the dim recesses of time, rather than hacking into an original-issue that we overpaid for in the belief they were gone forever...

This is my own procedure. There are variables from modeler to modeler, but this works every time for ME PAY ATTENTION to primer labeling. There is "high-build" primer that fills small bodywork imperfections, and there is "sandable", which is much thinner and only provides a correct base for paint. They can both be sanded, but you MUST allow sufficient drying time before you attempt to sand anything. Rushing things usually ruins the work. 1) SCRUB the model with an abrasive cleaner like Comet, hot water and a toothbrush. This removes surface contaminants like tooling lubricants and release agents, and uniformly scuffs the surface for good adhesion without damaging fine details. Be through, get into all the little crevices, and look at your work carefully to make certain the surface is uniformly dulled. 2) IF there are mold lines or flash, now is the time to remove them with files and/or 180 grit sandpaper, removing the 180 grit scratches with 400. 3) CHECK the model over for heavy, deep sink-marks. I personally rough these up locally with 180 grit, and fill them with a 2-part automotive glazing putty. Sand flat with 180 on a block, make SURE the area is correct (fill and sand again as necessary), then remove the 180 grit scratches with 400 grit, as above. 4) IF / WHEN the model has no obvious defects, I prefer to use a light GRAY primer for the first coat. Gray seems to show minor flaws the best (to my particular set of eyes) Try to master spraying a good wet coat without runs on a piece of scrap or a junk model body BEFORE you commit to your $70 model. IF you can spray a full-wet single coat that will flow out slick, you will avoid heavy buildup of primer that can obliterate details, and you will avoid un-necessary sanding of orange-peel. You MAY need 2 coats to get perfect coverage. 5) IF you see any minor defects that still need fill work, use a quality single-part filler made for models. Slightly roughen the area to be filled with 400 grit before applying filler. Get the filler work perfect, as well as you can see, and primer the worked areas again. Try to confine your application of primer this time only to the worked areas...again, in order to avoid primer buildup on details. 6) WHEN you have all of that done, I recommend a light overall scuffing again with Comet and hot water. IF you have orange peel or filled areas that still have visible scratches, sand it flat with 600 grit wet, and BE CAREFUL on details, corners, etc. 7) INSPECT the model carefully after the scuffing / wetsanding procedure. If it looks good to you, now is the time to spray a coat or two of WHITE primer. 8) Carefully look over the model for defects and correct as necessary. When it's perfect, I recommend a final scuffing with Comet and hot water, and a final sanding with 800 grit wet of the large flat areas. Now it's time to paint...but I recommend letting your primer dry a week or so before you paint it...which is another whole story. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- As I said, these procedures work for ME. Other opinions may vary

Everything Pete has to say is spot-on.

ALL the answers you need can be found by using this search method: Don't bother with the ModelCarsMag search function. Instead, go to Google in a separate browser window, type in site:modelcarsmag.com, a space, and the the topic you're looking for. Example: site:modelcarsmag.com Duplicolor primer Modify your keywords AFTER ".com" to fine tune your results. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Duplicolor and Plasticoat ARE lacquers, they dry fast, sand well, come in spray cans, and are available at general auto-parts stores like PepBoys, Autozone, etc. You can use the lacquer primers under most paints. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- If you're building a $70 model, you might want to do a lot of research, thoroughly understand what you're doing, and PRACTICE on something else first. There's a lot of work to getting a quality finish, and it takes some effort. The model below isn't perfect...it's FAR from it, but it wouldn't look even as good as it does without sanding and primering, repeatedly and carefully.

Sanding and primer aren't important unless you want to go beyond just gluing models together, and begin to develop new skills so you can do better work. How you approach the hobby and what you want to get out of it are entirely up to you. As with EVERYTHING in life, the more effort you put into doing something, the better your results will be...assuming you have a little talent. This is another topic that has been discussed here thoroughly many times before. Sanding: https://www.google.com/search?q=+site%3Amodelcarsmag.com+shrink+body+work&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a#q=site:modelcarsmag.com+sanding&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official Primer: https://www.google.com/search?q=+site%3Amodelcarsmag.com+shrink+body+work&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a#q=site:modelcarsmag.com+primer&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official

The topic of shrinking putty and re-appearing seams and body work has been discussed many times here already. A search as suggested above returned all these results...https://www.google.com/search?q=+site%3Amodelcarsmag.com+shrink+body+work&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a

More on using woodgrain decals...if you can find them. http://www.theaerodrome.com/forum/models/42298-spada-decals-wood-grain.html Getting warmer... "An announcement on MisterkitUSA's website ... December 5 2011, 3:30 PM An announcement on MisterkitUSA's website states that: "ALL of SPADA' s Orignal (LL) Decals WWII/Jet & WWI & Wood Effect Series are available again now for Custom Print. SPADA was originaly created and sold in Europe. Spada's art work was done by BF Marcus. Earlier this year Spada made a decsion to leave the hobby. As SPADA's U.S. distributor MKUSA recieved his Laser Line (LL) Decal Catalog Files for re-print. If possible in time we will again add new artwork and decal profiles." Charles Metz" EDIT: So, MisterkitUSA is gone too. Looks like a business opportunity for someone.

Sorry to hear about your dad, but really glad to have you back, feeling good. Your work has always been an inspiration to me, to stretch my skills and go farther. I'm certainly looking forward to seeing a lot from you in the future. That engine is just incredible.

Weather forecasters. These guys make a lot of money, and half the time I might as well flip a coin to guess the weather, rather than look at a forecast. A LOT of what I'm doing at the moment is weather-critical, and I NEED to know with some certainty what will happen within the next 24 hours. The National Weather Service used to be really good, but I think they must have fired everyone who actually knew what they were doing...maybe as a cost saving ploy? Sure wish I could only get MY work right half the time and still get paid. Whine whine whine.

QUOTING ANOTHER SOURCE: "Spada Decals is represented by a group of modelers that wanted to finish their subjects in schemes not normally found in commercial kits. Using Alps printing technology, they were able to produce a wide variety of decal sheets at a cost that was not prohibitive to the humble modeler. Apart from the usual field of aircraft markings, this company has ventured into the realm of creating a wood grain finish. Many manufacturers have tried to do this in the past with mixed results. This latest attempt would appear to have the best chance of success. The idea is for the modeler to choose their own base colour, over which the selected wood grain pattern is applied. This opens the door to a myriad of possibilities. Once sealed in the appropriate “clear coat” the finish can be further worked on until the desired effect is achieved." NOTE: Spada Decals appears to be gone, but the idea still is a good one.

http://www.scalemodeladdict.com/SMF/index.php?topic=8188.0

Sometimes you can pick up a static electricity charge that will bleed to the model and attract dust. Yes, it IS weird. I got into the habit of grounding 1:1 cars in the paint booth because of just that...air moving over a car body can cause a static electricity buildup that will attract dust like a magnet. Different days, even time of day, temperatures, humidity levels, etc. can all play merry hello with your work.

I'm very sorry to hear about your sister, and having to deal with losing her...especially at this time of year. 52 is way too young to go. My sincere and heartfelt condolences. Stay strong.

"Surface tissue", or surfacing-veil-mat if I'm thinking of the same thing as you are, is made specifically to add to a laminate under a gelcoat to help avoid print-through of the heavier weave cloth, which can become visible on the surface of a part over time. Veil is a random fiber arrangement and has very little strength. See all about it here, plus a video that explains fiberglass fabric: http://www.tapplastics.com/product/fiberglass/fiberglass_fabrics/surfacing_veil_mat/90 The material I use for scale laminates, which are MUCH stronger than styrene kit pieces but are only .030" thick, is very fine fiberglass CLOTH, in a variety of weights. It's made for industrial and aircraft applications. One source is here: http://www.cstsales.com/e_glass_cloth.html There are several pages. Pay attention to the minimum quantities and thicknesses, and short-piece pricing. You will most likely want 1.6oz and under.

That's a heartbreaker. It looks like you did an outstanding job of laying out a beautiful gloss. To come back and find dust stuck in a surface that nice can ruin your day. The problem with "polishing" first is that it won't remove dust that's actually embedded in the paint, but just ride over it and make shiny raised spots where the dust was. If you think about the mechanics of what you're trying to achieve, what you want is something that will 'cut' the dust flat, level with the surrounding surface. THEN polish to bring the gloss back up. How you approach the problem depends on how deeply the dust is embedded into the surface. It LOOKS like most of it is on the very surface and hasn't sunk in, except for one spot in the left rear corner of the roof. For the deeply-embedded particles, this method works best for me: Sanding pads that are stiff but not hard. The fairly stiff foam backing allows them to cut the dust mote while minimizing removal of material around it. Sandpaper with no backing tends to go through the paint AROUND the dust particle faster than it cuts the dust flat. Start with the 2400 grit using just the corner held flat against the work, and use PLENTY of water with a drop or 2 of detergent in it to help keep the grit clear. Go slow, work with plenty of light (and magnification if you need it), look at your surface frequently, and as soon as you see the mote is gone, STOP. You have 2 options at this point. 1) Add more coats of paint or clear, OR 2) Sand and polish what's there. Option2: Go to finer and finer grit pads progressively. By the time you get to 12,000, your gloss will be almost all the way back. At this point, polish to bring the gloss all the way back up. Your surface should be flat, clear of orange peel and dust, and perfectly glossy. THEN, put a bright light on it to see if you've gone through or if the color is getting thin. If it is, you'll have to scuff it overall and add more coats of paint. IF, ON THE OTHER HAND, the dust is only on the VERY surface and hasn't got down into the paint, a quick polish MIGHT knock it off, and then a light scuffing and a clear-coat as Niko suggests may be the hot setup. Be sure to pay attention to the "recoat window" with enamels. They'll wrinkle sometimes if you rush them.

Exhaust manifolds look kinda like the 426 Max Wedge factory cast-iron units, and the timing cover, water pump, fuel pump and upper water neck locations look Mopar big-block to me. The block also has the extended skirt of a big Mopar. Sump is odd, and the starter location is wrong. Intake manifold looks to be from something else, which would account for the appearance that the distributor is supposed to be rear mounted. The Ford Y-blocks had visually similarly upswept cast-iron exhaust manifolds, but nothing else here looks Y-block except the deep block skirt. Whoever built some of these just stuck bits together without particularly caring if it was right or not, so it's hard to identify them exactly...like the half W, half big-block Chevy.

...good will toward men.