Side by side by side Dragster builds...Kemp-Teresi-Sobak

[James2]

Looking good as always, Clay. 

[John Teresi]

Clay......your work akways inspires me to try harder ......your work is so dang great 

[Mooneyzs]

Clay... thanks man. I guess it's not really polishing but wiping the dust off. Rubbing to much will take it off. I have learned the hard way a few times...lol. John told me to wait over night or even longer before trying to take the dust off and that's what I did here. 
I gotta tell ya Clay... that is some serious eye candy of an update. Everything is looking great so far. The wheels look great, love the chrome work on the valve covers. This is sure coming together nice. I now need to catch up and get my chassis painted 

[mvadrag]

This is a great thread with the three of you doing similar builds.  Fabulous idea.

Clay, I was checking out the photos of the wheels and tires and really like how you made the "treads" look like real used slicks (crumbly stuff).  Can you tell use how you did that?

Edited June 7, 2018 by mvadrag

[ClayK]

Thanks guys! I need to keep working!

 

Jose, I have a tool, I would guess you call it a mandrel that I bolt the tire to, and mount it in my Sherline lathe. I spin it up, then hold a big flat file against the spinning tire.You kinda gotta watch the speed so the tire doesn't melt. But it works great for lots of different kinds of tires. Hard rubber resin ones especially. Makes it a lot easier to remove center mold seams. Otherwise I just do them by hand with a coarse sanding stick.

 

Clay

[Shambles77]

Gday guys. All 3 builds are looking the goods. I have a question about the chrome work. Do you guys clear the chrome afterwards or just leave it bare? Chris mentioned he clears afler the black base coat but doesn't mention anything after that. Cheers. 

Callum from down under.

[Mooneyzs]

Shambles... There are times that I do and times that I don't Clear over my Alclad Chrome. if you go look at my Army Vega Funny Car build I had painted the blower and valve covers with Alclad's Polished Aluminum and I used Alclads Aqua gloss over them. Then the Front Axle was Sprayed with Alclad Chrome and I did not clear over it and I believe that the Injector hat was Chrome with no Clear as well (or maybe it was the polished aluminum... I kind of forgot...lol). The clear does tone down the paint just a tad. I still would like to do a spoon test where I spray Alclad and then spray a light coat of my PPG Urethane clear over it and see how it looks. my guess is that it may tone the shine down just a little but not sure til I try it. The problem is that when you don't clear it and if you to touch it it has a chance of rubbing off. Maybe John can speak to it a little better as he is the Alclad master. Its possible that I have tried things too soon and not let it dry long enough.

[Mooneyzs]

Alright fellas... I got another small update to share with you all. I finally was able to get the rear end all prepped, sanded and Primered last night. Then earlier this evening after I got home from work I decided to get black base and clear sprayed on the rear end. Then I finally got to try out something I have been wanting to do for a while now..... you will see in the pics...

 

Here is the Rear end in Primer after I had cleaned up the glue joints between the halve's of the parts:

 

 

So a while back.... Probably over a year ago I purchased a Food Dehydrator and I have been wanting to try it out to force dry my paint jobs sorta like they do on full size cars to see if it will help with the finish but would also speed up the waiting time between being able to color sand and polish or even lay decals down before more clear. Here is the Machine the I picked up, Its got a digital read out for the temperature and it has a temp range of 100 to 160 degrees. I just wish the timer would allow you to go less than an hour (would of been nice if you could do 30 mins) but its ok:

 

 

I had thought that I took some pics after I laid the House of Kolor Black base down, but apparently I forgot to take pics...lol So here it is my first part that I am force Drying at 140 Degree's for 30 mins:

 

 

Upclose shot of the part Baking:

[Mooneyzs]

Here is the finished results after I left it in the Dehydrator for about 35 Mins, Nice and shinny and ready for some Alclad:

 

[Shambles77]

Chris thank you for the detailed responce about alclad. I have one more question. How long do you leave the alclad till you clear coat it? 

 

[Mooneyzs]

You are welcome....  I will be honest I forgot exactly how long I waited when I did the clear on the funny cars alclad parts. I have a feeling that after I sprayed the alclad I probably waited no more than 30 mins to dust/polish the parts and then I sprayed it not long after that. Now I would probably wait longer maybe a day before dusting it off and hitting it with clear. I was talking with John the other day and he told me me he would wait a minimum of a day or even longer if you could to let the Alclad really dry and get hard before dusting/polishing.

[Mooneyzs]

So early this morning I decided to break out the Alclad and paint the rear end up with some Chrome. I also thought what the heck and let me stick it in the dehydrator for a bit... decided to leave it in a 140 for an hour to help cure it faster then let it sit for a while afterwards and then did the light polish to it to get rid of the over spray dust. Here is how it looks out in the sun:

 

 

 

[GoatGuy]

Wow this group venture is great and the info shared is too. A few years ago I went to the Street Rod Nats in York, PA and talked to a lady that does custom painting. She asked what airbrush I use and I told her I have a Badger 150 and had just bought an Iwata HP-BC2. She said the Badger is fine for lacquer or acrylic or just about anything as it has a teflon ring/gasket that the needle slides through. The iwata would have to be sent back to get one installed. I haven't done that yet as I bought the iwata for mainly acrylic use on portraits. Clay, maybe that's why yours isn''t working ? I'm soaking in all this Alclad info because I haven't tried it yet. Thanks guys.

[Codi]

This thread has become the Forrest Gump of the forum in that it's like a box of chocolates and until you open it you just don't know what you're going to get.  Always rewarding to stop by and learn from the 3 of you.  A hearty congrats to you guys..............heartiest cheers, tim

[bobthehobbyguy]

Chris nice alclad work. 

I'm interested in seeing how you guys handle the front end mounting. 

[ClayK]

I got the body shot with Tamiya yellow last night. Hopefully I can clear it tonight or tomorrow. Also been working on the front axle. Should have an update soon.

 

Clay

[Shambles77]

Gday Clay. As everyone else, i am waiting on any update in this thread to appear. I am also a massive fan of your quality of work. As a novice builder i love the detailed information this thread has offered so far. I tend to struggle with 9/10 paint jobs. If possible could you give a run through on how you do your paint jobs? The finishes you achieve are awe inspiring. 

 

[jchrisf]

On 6/21/2018 at 10:11 AM, Shambles77 said:

Gday Clay. As everyone else, i am waiting on any update in this thread to appear. I am also a massive fan of your quality of work. As a novice builder i love the detailed information this thread has offered so far. I tend to struggle with 9/10 paint jobs. If possible could you give a run through on how you do your paint jobs? The finishes you achieve are awe inspiring. 

 

Just a head's up... There is a sale (50% off) on the "Kemp Collection: Buildups"

I just picked up a copy for $2.25.  I can't get enough of learning how these great builders do it.

https://kalmbachhobbystore.com/product/digital-download/scpdf009

"How does Clay Kemp build all those great-looking models? This package includes Kemp’s step-by-step instructions for four models, including a USAC Silver Crown racer, a Brut Stratus Funny Car, a 1970s Pro Stock Mopar, and Ted Musgrave’s Craftsmen Series Dodge truck. (22 pages, MB)"

Also Clay and Dave Thibodeau Building the Legends:

https://kalmbachhobbystore.com/product/digital-download/scpdf017

Learn how to build, paint, and finish famous racing cars from the ‘60s and ‘70s in one easy to follow digital download — Building the Legends. This collection of nostalgia-themed buildups features 200+ step-by-step photos of seven memorable cars.

Chapters include:
-How to Build Smokey Yunick's Camaro
-How to Build Smokey Yunick's Chevelle
-Kitbash a Dale Earnhardt Monte Carlo
-Kitbash a 1971 Sox & Martin Hemi Cuda
-Kitbash a Trans-Am Challenger
-1970 Bud Moore Mustang, Parnelli Jones
-AAR Cuda, Swede Savage

Edited June 22, 2018 by jchrisf

[Shambles77]

Oh wow thanks for that. I didn't realise that book existed. Will head over there now. 

[ClayK]

That's funny....never knew they put that one together of just my old articles. And I'm on sale!

 

Making some progress on the Yellow Feather. I primed the body parts with Tamiya Gray primer, then Tamiya white primer, then Tamiya yellow. I believe it was TS 16? I'd have to go look. It was the only can I had on hand. Probably a bit too dark for this car, but seems close to what his Funny Cars were. Once the yellow was dry, two coats of Omni 2 part clear, then polished out. I think I am ready for decals now.

I've also got the front axle pretty well done. Since the kit has the smaller front wing I decided to glue it on to a scratch built axle I bent up from aluminum rod. The whole thing will be painted in Alclad chrome. The tabs are from Dirt Modeller. The  bends on my axle will get the front end down a lot lower than the kit one to  make up for the taller front tires. I've mocked it up with the slicks on and it should sit pretty nice.

I plan to get the axle painted, and get on to some decals next. Thanks for looking!

Clay

 

[Mooneyzs]

Clay... that is looking great brother! I think the color choice is perfect. Nice work on the Axle, I need to take notes for mine. Can't wait to see the decals on it.

[jchrisf]

10 hours ago, ClayK said:

That's funny....never knew they put that one together of just my old articles. And I'm on sale!

LOL... Clay would that be all the articles you have written for SA or are there more?  I'd love to get them all if I didn't just get them with those two purchases.

The build is looking great as usual.  Where do you get your Omni 2 part clear?

Edited June 25, 2018 by jchrisf

[Codi]

Nice one Clay........that paint looks like a lemon yellow lollipop.........perfect finish too.  Cheers, tim

[Shambles77]

Fantastic looking paint. Love the color. 

[ClayK]

13 hours ago, jchrisf said:

LOL... Clay would that be all the articles you have written for SA or are there more?  I'd love to get them all if I didn't just get them with those two purchases.

The build is looking great as usual.  Where do you get your Omni 2 part clear?

Oh, I have written a lot more. I stared with SA in the fall of 2004. And worked all way up until 2016 I'd say. On a fairly consistent pace. I did lots of reviews for them as well.

 

I get my Omni at the local parts store. Car Quest or Speedway Auto Parts here in Indiana.