Painting question(s)

[bh1701]

I'm working on the Revell 2010 Mustang convertible snap-kit. Trying to improve my painting skills with this one. The final color is Testor's One Coat Lacquer  #1846 Pure Gold.

Note: Questions are at the end.

This is what I have done so far.

1. Removed mold lines
2. Wet sanded body (600 grit) 
3. Scrubbed with toothbrush and toothpaste
4. A couple of mist coats of Tamiya Primer ( gray, then white)
5. Final cover coat of white primer
6. Wet sanding with 1500 grit (I only did the hood, but when the gray primer appeared on hood ridge, I stopped and repainted hood. Probably won't do this again with Tamiya Primer since it's so thin.)
7. Scrubbed with toothbrush and toothpaste (worked better than wet sanding - no gray primer became visible!)
8. Several mist coats of the gold.
9. First wet coat of gold.
10. Final wet coat of gold.
11. Scrubbed with toothbrush and toothpaste
12. Applied clear coat (Tamiya Gloss)

The finish actually looks pretty good at this point. Smooth and shiny, at least to my eyes. I would be tempted to stop here, but I plan on following with polishing and waxing to try this out.

Next up will be:

1. Polishing (Meguiar's Ultimate Polish Pre-waxing glaze)
2. Wash and dry
3. Waxing (Meguiar's Deep Crystal Carnauba Wax)

Questions:

1. Do the steps I've listed make sense? Anything I have missed or have out of order?
2. When would you paint areas of the car that have a matte black finish (Under the bumpers, rocker panels, etc.) or other areas that would get painted (Door handles, logos, etc.)?
3. What about decals (if using any) - when do you put them on?

Appreciate any advice or suggestions!

Thanks,

Bart

[Oldcarfan27]

Sounds like you're doing all the right steps.

I don't know the texture of the final finish, but if it has any orange peel, in 1/25 scale, that texture would look like cottage cheese. The only way to smooth that out to look like a scale paint job is to use a polishing kit - multiple sanding sheets with grits in the thousands, foam block, polishing cream and water.

When it's glass smooth and shiny, then use the glaze, wax and decals. I'm not sure if the decals are compatible with Meguire's waxes, so I can't tell you whether you should apply them before or after waxing. Maybe another builder can help you with that advice.

As far as the flat black, you SHOULD be able to paint it after polishing, but BEFORE waxing - paint won't work on top of wax, don't do it! And don't put wax on flat black paint either, it won't come off without damage.

I prefer to use lacquer paints on the body of my cars. Because all of the abuse the paint will receive when polishing, you want to have a hard paint surface to work from. I've found many enamels stay too soft to polish.

And ALWAYS REMEMBER, Enamel paint on top of Lacquer paint is OK, but Lacquer paint on top of Enamel paint is a NO NO!!

[bh1701]

Patrick,

Thanks for the answers! 

I hadn't seen any replies for a while after my original post, so I got impatient and decided to go ahead with polishing and waxing the model. Then, I painted the flat black. I can see why you said to do it before the wax. I had also wondered if the waxed body would be too slippery and too smooth for the paint to adhere. The paint did not behave as it usually does for me. It did not go on evenly, but at least it was pretty smooth. A second coat has been applied and the black looks good. The car won't be handled much after it goes in my display cases, so I think I should be safe.

One benefit (trying to make something good out of this!) was that any place the black would accidentally drift up onto an area that needed to stay gold, it was easy to take a toothpick and get the offending paint off quite easily!

One more question - if you put the flat black on before waxing, how do you keep the wax from getting on to those areas? I was using part of a t-shirt and put wax on the material where my index finger was to apply the wax. You'd need to be able to be pretty precise to keep the wax off of certain areas. Any suggestions? Masking off those areas (seems like this would be a pain to do), or is there some other way to apply the wax more precisely?

Thanks,

Bart

 

 

 

 

[Snake45]

4 hours ago, bh1701 said:

One more question - if you put the flat black on before waxing, how do you keep the wax from getting on to those areas?

I never use wax any more, and that's one of the reasons. 

[Oldcarfan27]

1 hour ago, Snake45 said:

I never use wax any more, and that's one of the reasons. 

He's right, why would you need to wax it? Wax is basically a protectant from the UV, but since it's probably going to spend very little time out in the sun and weather, that's a moot point anyway.

If you want to put a protectant on the car, you could do like they do on the real cars and use a spray detailer on a cloth and wipe it on. Detailer is clear and is used instead of wax to keep dark colors from getting swirl scratch marks and wax residue off of the paint before a car show. It's also used on flat black paint to keep the finish consistent. But for you it's optional, you don't need it.

[BigTallDad]

14 hours ago, bh1701 said:

Thanks for the answers! 

One benefit (trying to make something good out of this!) was that any place the black would accidentally drift up onto an area that needed to stay gold, it was easy to take a toothpick and get the offending paint off quite easily!

 

Another thing that will minimize the "drift"...

After you've applied the masking tape, apply (spray or brush) some clear to the part at edge of the masking tape (make sure the clear is compatible with the other paints you're using) and allow it to dry. This will seal the edge and make for a much crisper paint line.