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Purchased this kit with the intention for it to be built in my favorite style I have done on many builds. Over the years many people have questioned how I achieve my black paint jobs, so in this thread I will do my best to explain the process I use. This is the paint that is always used. But first things first with this type of build, the wheels. After that its usually get the body out of the box and mock up trying to figure out where I want the ride height. Might not be practical or even possible in the real world but Im okay with that, as I like my builds low as possible and hope it wont involve too much work achieving a super low stance. Now on to the start of preparing the body. Wash the body. I place about 1/2 a teaspoon of dishwashing liquid into my ultra sonic cleaner and put the body in for a 5 minute cycle. Could soak and wash in a container or sink with a toothbrush or small scrubbing brush. Either way give it a good clean and rinse with water after. I use a chamois cloth to wipe away excess water and airbrush to blow dry the body. Then set it aside while preparing the surfacer. Check coat using Surfacer. Instead of using spray can primer, I prefer to use this. And here is a quick video I found to show the ratio and technique for pre thinning. Using an Iwata HP-TH .5, with the trigger set at 2 turns and the psi @18-20, I apply 1 wet but light coat. Preferably a .3 to .5 needle size is best for applying primers and surfacers. This is what I call the check coat, I find using black helps to see all the mould lines and others areas and spots that usually need to be sorted and fixed. And once you start sanding and scribing you can see what areas you have worked on. I learnt this technique from Japanese and Korean model car and Gundam builders. Another purpose for airbrushing a check coat of the 1500 surfacer is so it can be easily removed with the MLT which will be shown further along in the prep process. Set aside overnight to dry. How can I not resist another wheel mock. Back to tomorrow with the next part of the prep work.