Glossy surfaces

[El Roberto]

Is it just me or does anyone else think that a model car finish can be too glossy?  At some point the model starts to look like a toy instead of a scale model.

[High octane]

You're right about that Robert as some of the shines on some model cars are really too shiny, however it's the builder's choice, and sometimes it is really hard to get a shine that is "just right."

[Ace-Garageguy]

There are a LOT of things that make a model car look like a toy, but saying "gloss" is one of them is a gross oversimplification. 

This '53 Ford by Marcos Cruz is VERY glossy, but because of the rest of the way the model is finished, it looks like a beautiful REAL car.

                                     

This '70 Chevelle built by me, on the other hand, has about the same level of gloss, but the poorly defined door gaps instantly make a "toy" impression.

It's this, and the similar "dipped in syrup" look, that sometimes spoil models.

The SIZE of the metalflake particles on the Chevelle is also a dead giveaway it's a model, or toy. They're huge for the scale, and would only be appropriate for a dune-buggy, kustom show car, or a bass boat.

                                

Getting closer-to-scale flake in model car paint goes a long way to enhance the "real car" illusion. If you want to see a master's work, look at anything built by Steven Guthmiller. His '59 Dodge, below, again has about the same level of gloss, but the flake in his metallic paint looks exactly right...and the car looks very real.

                                

Edited March 3, 2018 by Ace-Garageguy

[BigTallDad]

2 hours ago, El Roberto said:

Is it just me or does anyone else think that a model car finish can be too glossy?  At some point the model starts to look like a toy instead of a scale model.

Can you post pictures of one of your models that you think is too glossy?

[Can-Con]

I think it kinda depends on how shiny the car you're building is meant to be. 

A replica of an old beater shouldn't be very shiny.

But a replica of my Trans Am probably should be very shiny.  

Edited March 4, 2018 by Can-Con

[Snake45]

6 hours ago, El Roberto said:

Is it just me or does anyone else think that a model car finish can be too glossy?  At some point the model starts to look like a toy instead of a scale model.

I happen to agree with you but I think we might be in the minority. 

At any rate, "too shiny" is not a problem most modelers complain about. Usually it's difficult to get a model shiny enough. 

[Pete J.]

I rarely think a model is "too glossy".  One of the things I learned a long time ago from my paint guy was that the excessively glossy look has more to do with the paint not being level.  Now this is going to take a little explaining.  A lot of paints, lacquers in particular, tend to pull back from a sharp edge and create a slightly rounded edge that is not crisp.  When the light plays over that edge it shows up as a distortion in the reflection.  This puddling or rising can show up on flat surfaces as well.  This plays with our eyes in such a subtle way that if you don't know about it, you will not notice it except "something doesn't look right".  This is why I insist on sanding and polishing every glossy paint job I do.  If the surface is first leveled and then polished it will look correct.  The 53 Ford above is a good example of this.  As the light plays over the panel lines it is not distorted so it looks right.  The "dipped" look occurs for a similar reason.  The reflections of the paint do not come crisply to the edge and give the impression of a rounded edge.  Now in all fairness this happens on real cars but because of the scale you never see it.  The paint should come to the edge crisply.  

[StevenGuthmiller]

I believe that a model can absolutely be too glossy.

To my eye, it manifests itself in a couple of different ways.

First is the "dipped" look, where a body has been so heavily painted that it appears to have been dipped in paint.

Second is a less noticeable phenomenon, but it always seems to catch my eye.

When a model has been painted very well with a high level of gloss, but no polishing, many times it gives it that "toy like" or "candy" like appearance that detracts from it's realism.

I think that the choice of paint color can make this even more noticeable.

The genre of a particular build can determine what type of finish is acceptable as well.

An all out custom show car looks at home in a super high gloss paint job.

A factory stock build looks over done if it's too shiny.

 

Steve

[StevenGuthmiller]

8 hours ago, Ace-Garageguy said:

 

Getting closer-to-scale flake in model car paint goes a long way to enhance the "real car" illusion. If you want to see a master's work, look at anything built by Steven Guthmiller. His '59 Dodge, below, again has about the same level of gloss, but the flake in his metallic paint looks exactly right...and the car looks very real.

                                

 

I really appreciate the compliment Bill, but unfortunately, neither of the colors on this '59 Dodge are metallic colors.

But I understand  your point completely & agree wholeheartedly.

 

Steve

[Pete J.]

Have to agree with all about metal flake.  For years I have added pearlescent powders to my clears to get a more accurate flake size.  Now I find that the Tamiya "Mica" paints do an excellent job of replicating a scale metal flake.  

[Snake45]

7 hours ago, StevenGuthmiller said:

I believe that a model can absolutely be too glossy.

To my eye, it manifests itself in a couple of different ways.

First is the "dipped" look, where a body has been so heavily painted that it appears to have been dipped in paint.

Second is a less noticeable phenomenon, but it always seems to catch my eye.

When a model has been painted very well with a high level of gloss, but no polishing, many times it gives it that "toy like" or "candy" like appearance that detracts from it's realism.

I think that the choice of paint color can make this even more noticeable.

The genre of a particular build can determine what type of finish is acceptable as well.

An all out custom show car looks at home in a super high gloss paint job.

A factory stock build looks over done if it's too shiny.

 

Steve

Preach It, Brother Steve! Can I get a AY-MEN from the choir? 

I agree with every word of this. 

Note the part about show cars and customs looking good in ultra-high gloss, even obviously repainted first class street cruisers. But a factory paint job wants to be more subdued and subtle, especially the '50s-'60s-'70s stuff we all love so much. 

[Ace-Garageguy]

I agree. Nothing looks worse than shiny orange-peel.

10 hours ago, StevenGuthmiller said:

I really appreciate the compliment Bill, but unfortunately, neither of the colors on this '59 Dodge are metallic colors.

But I understand  your point completely & agree wholeheartedly.

Steve...my mistake. I picked the wrong example of your work...but do I not remember correctly that you buy your metallics from someone who mixes with very small flake to address the problem?

Edited March 4, 2018 by Ace-Garageguy

[Snake45]

6 minutes ago, Ace-Garageguy said:

I agree. Nothing looks worse than shiny orange-peel.

I just finished a glue bomb rescue of a '70 Monte Carlo. Everywhere but the hood, the paint was good enough to respond to a "light polish," but the hood was the worst orange peel I've ever seen. I worked on polishing it for two nights and got it very shiny, but still very orange peeled. Finally got it down to a barely marginally acceptable level of OP but by then the color was starting to lighten up. Had to strip and repaint it. Fortunately, I was able to match the color. (Plan B would have been to paint the fender tops to match the hood, if it had been close but not quite close enough, and Plan C would have been to paint the whole hood matte black.) 

[StevenGuthmiller]

9 minutes ago, Ace-Garageguy said:

Steve...my bad. I picked the wrong example of your work...but do I not remember correctly that you buy your metallics from someone who mixes with very small flake to address the problem?

Yes, I use almost exclusively MCW paints.

Partially because of the wide array of colors that they offer, but a large factor is the metallic flakes used in their paints.

Some colors have larger flakes than others, or at least it appears that way, but one of the biggest examples that I like to use to illustrate this is the "Cay Coral" paint that I used on my Revell '58 Chevy.

It is a metallic color, but even close up it is very difficult to pick out any individual metallic flakes.

But the sheen makes it obvious that it is a metallic color, or probably more accurately, a pearl color.

 

Steve