1974 Corvette Resto------Update! 12/31/18

[Ron Hamilton]

We loved these cars when they were new. I recently picked up a decent MPC 69 coupe to restore. I also have several Revell 69s also, but I like the MPC 69 due to the suspension.. I'll be following this one, as I have several unbuilt Revell, MPC and AMT sharks I can work with. I want to do a Phase lll GT in the future too. I'll use a Revell 69 for the base kit on that one.

[carmad1957]

Looks like quite a project! Seems to be shaping up nicely, looking forward to seeing what ya end up doing with it.

[MrObsessive]

Thanks for all the nice words fellas! As of now I've washed the body and it's sitting right now air drying. The interior is done as far as I'll go with it. I'd like to put a Corvette emblem decal on the steering wheel and I did put out a request for anyone that might have an extra. If not, I may let that detail go as I don't want to rip into the decal sheet I have ('69 Corvette Yenko 2 'n'1).

My better sense told me to try and vacuform a couple more windshields as while the first one wasn't bad, there were a couple tiny bubbles on it that I don't care for, so here's the newest windshield I made.

This one is definitely better! Distortion free and nary a bubble. Just a matter of cleaning it up carefully after it's in. I trimmed it carefully so that it stays in its opening without any fuss. This'll come in handy when it's time for a full install. I'll tack glue it in the corners (CA), then a very fine bead of epoxy around the perimeter to lock it in place. I might go fancy and tint the glass, but I'll have to cross that bridge when I come to it..........we'll see.

I got the much too fiddly nose in place and even with the mods I did, it still was a battle to get it to sit right. Why MPC did not mold this as part of the body is interesting........would have made this step so much easier!

Over the weekend if I get time, I'll spray the body with a light coat of primer and then a coat of BIN sealer and over the sealer will be another couple coats of primer. In the meantime I'll be mixing up the paint I want to use. Body color will be a dark green which when I got it from my paint guy, I thought it was a metallic. Well it turns out it's a basecoat solid color (1973 Chevy), but that's no big deal as I have some gold metallic flake I want to put in it.

I'll then clearcoat the whole works which will have a green tint in it.

Keeping my fingers crossed with no surprises as I'm on the downside of getting this resto finished!

[Snake45]

1 hour ago, MrObsessive said:

 

I got the much too fiddly nose in place and even with the mods I did, it still was a battle to get it to sit right.

Oh I heard THAT! Looks like you did a pretty good job of it, though. 

[Deuces]

Looks great! I love what you did with the interior...

That's awesome!.... ??

[MrObsessive]

Just a small update for the moment.......

Finally got the body in primer! As usual, I like to use my tried and true Plastikote T-35 Gray sandable primer. It dries quickly, sands beautifully, and is just plain more user friendly than other types I've used. Oh, and the price it still reasonable compared to "hobby" brands.

I let the body sit for a day and then airbrushed on a coat of BIN Zinnser sealer. This was not without a slight bit of drama! I wanted to do this very early this morning, but when I went to open the can I've had for years, it was a hardened up mess.

Seems as though I may not have put the lid on as tight as I could have when it was last used, so there you go.

Here is the can of BIN ZInnser.............good stuff for those of you who have never tried it!

I'll let this sit for another day (soon to be bedtime for me), and put on the final primer coat tomorrow. One of the chief reasons I'm going through this trouble is that the hood in particular has a scored line for the builder to cut open the hood if they wish for a blower.

I hate that as it never fails that no matter how well you paint it, the hot solvents in the color coats can make that line "ghost" through the hood, ruining an otherwise nice paint job. I'll very lightly sand everything before putting on the last coat of primer, and then the color coats will go on which I've got the paint mixed up for that now.

I want to avoid that as much as possible, so these extra steps I'll take to ward off trouble.

So that's all for now........stay tuned!

[MrObsessive]

As of 7:30 this morning when I left work, my Thanksgiving vacation started! I don't go back till Sunday night, so this means some model time! I was finally able this afternoon to carve out some time and get this oldie painted.

My local paint guy mixed up 1973 Chevy Green which is very close to the Corvette Green for '74. Unfortunately, he may have misunderstood that I needed a metallic and what I got was a solid color.

No problem though as I have some gold flake on hand which I mixed in and since this is a basecoat type paint, this gives me the chance to clearcoat it with a slight green tint.

OK! Model Master Clearcoat with a 'grass green' dye mixed in was airbrushed on, and so far so good! As of now the paint is setting up and later I'll put the body in the dehydrator to fully cure for a day or so. Afterwards, I'l break out the polishing cloths to rub out the clearcoat and then with a chamois cloth polish out the whole works with Meguiar's Car Cleaner Wax.

One Faux Pas I made while I was painting was that I intended to BMF the scripts before the last couple color coats were put on. Steven Guthmiller had mentioned this during one of his WIP's and I'd thought I'd give it a try. Well, I forgot and really don't want to go back and try now that the clearcoat is on. Just the same, I'll go over those scripts using a dry brush technique with the Molotow paint I have------very carefully dipping just the very tip of the brush in the paint and very lightly go over those letters and scripts. Another option is to foil this scripts and carefully flow paint around them to bring out the letters.

After all of this, then it's time to BMF the trim and look to getting this all put back together and in a case!  

[Snake45]

Shiny! 

[<profile removed>]

That green is AWESOME! That is going to look great with the tan interior. Have you got a scale 8-track player to complete the soooooo 70s vibe? This Vette is sweet. Outstanding work!

[MrObsessive]

8-Track Player! Haven't seen one of those in YEARS!

I can imagine this car playing Gordon Lightfoot's "Sundown" which came out in the middle of that year. Hughes Corporation "Rock The Boat" would sound pretty good too!

[MrObsessive]

I want to add that as of right now the paint is pretty much dry as it's been in the dehydrator for about 12 hours now. I get to now do the arduous task of rubbing out the paint with the cloths, and then polishing it up.

Like a real car, I do one section at a time. A fender, a door, rear deck, roof-------this'll take awhile as I want no surprises! After this comes BMF on all the trim and then I can finally get 'er all put back together. In subsequent pics to follow, I want to show a tip on what to do to keep from rubbing through sharp edges such as body creases and fender peaks.

For the novices out there, I think you'll appreciate this!

[1930fordpickup]

This Vette is looking sharp Bill. 

[MrObsessive]

Here's the little tip I made mention of in a previous comment. There are times depending on the shape of the body and this 'Vette is no exception, you'll have a lot of creases and corners to deal with. I've found that masking off those creases (as close as possible) helps a great deal in keeping those areas intact and warding off the issue of paint wearing away while you're doing a rubbing out job.

One of my go-to items for masking is Parafilm. If you have a sensitive surface, or you want a temporary seal for jars and whatnot, you'll like this.

Parafilm can be used at times when you want to keep an area from getting scuffed from adjacent rubbing out areas such as this sail panel and it won't pull off the paint once you remove it.

Another go-to source I like is good ole Tamiya tape. Very good sealing qualities and makes for excellent masking for stripes for example. In this case, I found the tape to be a bit more sturdy for wet sanding as I'm doing here to the paint and note that I put the tape on top of the peak to keep from wearing the paint away from that area.

I'm doing the same for the rear fenders and at the time of this writing, I've got the rear quarters and top of the front fenders done. Still a loooong way to go!

I'm a huge believer in getting your hood, tops of the fenders, roof and rear deck as glossy and orange peel free as possible. If you ever intend to be in a show be it an NNL or judged contest, the very first thing folks are going to see are those areas. If there's very good lighting above, you want those places practically mirror like.

Hope this little tip helps.........it can go a long way in warding off those 'surprises' that always seem to show up when you're on the downside of getting a WIP done!

[mikemodeler]

Awesome work on this "slump buster" Bill! Love the color and details, period correct and spot on. 

Thanks for showing your polishing tips, they are very helpful and just like the 1:1 world.

[MrObsessive]

It took several days, but I finally got the rubbing out and polishing of the paint done. Some touch ups will be needed here and there, but I'm just glad this part of the WIP is done as far as I can see.

I'll have to spend some time getting the wax out of the headlight and door shut lines-----maybe put a very fine wash in those as a very last detail.

Next------on to BMF!

Doing a quick mock-up to get an idea of how things might sit once it's time to get the wheels and tires on.

After the BMF, it'll be time to get the glass in. I'm torn whether or not to tint the glass. I'd like to get the same brand dye that I used to tint the clearcoat, but in blue. I see some on the site where this is sold but I may not want to wait for it to come in. I may leave this off for now, and while I do have another Corvette resto in mind to follow this one, I may tint this glass for that model.

That's all for now.........thanks for following along!

[Snake45]

5 minutes ago, MrObsessive said:

I'll have to spend some time getting the wax out of the headlight and door shut lines-----maybe put a very fine wash in those as a very last detail.

Shiny! The color looks very close to '72-'73 Elkhart Green. 

To get the ick out of the panel lines, try a toothbrush under warm or hot running water. It works pretty well for me. 

[mikemodeler]

21 minutes ago, Snake45 said:

Shiny! The color looks very close to '72-'73 Elkhart Green. 

To get the ick out of the panel lines, try a toothbrush under warm or hot running water. It works pretty well for me. 

Exactly what I was going to say! 

 

Looks great Bill, outstanding as usual.

[bisc63]

Factory tint would really accent the green just that much more. C'mon, go for it!

[Superbird McMonte]

That paint looks awesome! I’m dreading masking the stripes for the Motion Corvette. I may try the Tamiya tape if you recommend it!

Edited November 26, 2018 by Superbird McMonte
Spelling

[Ben269]

this is coming together great!  I love the color!

[MrObsessive]

55 minutes ago, Superbird McMonte said:

That paint looks awesome! I’m dreading masking the stripes for the Motion Corvette. I made try the Tamiya tape if you recommend it!

Dominick, thanks for the nice words! Yes..........Tamiya tape along with BMF works great for stripes! Here's an '05 Mustang I built years ago that I wanted dual stripes on.

And the end result..............

Very good stuff IMO and no builder should be without it.  

[Tommy124]

First off, the Vette is looking great! Looking forward to see it finished soon...

 

On 24.11.2018 at 9:19 PM, mikemodeler said:

On 24.11.2018 at 8:57 PM, Snake45 said:

Shiny! The color looks very close to '72-'73 Elkhart Green. 

To get the ick out of the panel lines, try a toothbrush under warm or hot running water. It works pretty well for me. 

Exactly what I was going to say! 

I like to use these small "floss sticks"... https://www.aliexpress.com/item/50pcs-Floss-Sticks-Tooth-Flossing-Head-Hygiene-Dental-Plastic-Interdental-Brush-Toothpick/32757629526.html

I wet one of those with a drop of water, then push it into the panel line to be cleaned and pull it along the line. Works pretty well and you don't have to use a real toothbrush which is actually much too big for the job...

 

 

[MrObsessive]

32 minutes ago, Tommy124 said:

First off, the Vette is looking great! Looking forward to see it finished soon...

 

I like to use these small "floss sticks"... https://www.aliexpress.com/item/50pcs-Floss-Sticks-Tooth-Flossing-Head-Hygiene-Dental-Plastic-Interdental-Brush-Toothpick/32757629526.html

I wet one of those with a drop of water, then push it into the panel line to be cleaned and pull it along the line. Works pretty well and you don't have to use a real toothbrush which is actually much too big for the job...

Thanks for the nice comment Tommy and that is a GREAT tip! I happen to have a number of those still around somewhere when I still had 'teeth' (had them all pulled several years ago). I'll certainly look around for them as I don't remember throwing 'em out.

[Scalper]

wow the green is fantastic.   nice work on the paint 

[Superbird McMonte]

17 hours ago, MrObsessive said:

Dominick, thanks for the nice words! Yes..........Tamiya tape along with BMF works great for stripes! 

Very good stuff IMO and no builder should be without it.  

VERY clean stripes! I hope mine come out half that good!