Body Badges, Insignias and Lettering

[ratherbefishin]

Total newbie here after 58 yrs, allow me to apologize for my inexperience first.  Just getting back into the hobby and learning a lot but I am at a loss to figure out how you folks get the body badges, insignias and lettering absolutely perfect.  I have been trying the chrome Molotov pen, other craft pens,, foil applications, etc. and I seem to get the best results with a tiny, tiny tip brush using silver metal testors paint.  It’s ok, but yours look so, so much better.  I want to be able to colorize the Buick emblems on my 62 Electra as well as on my other builds in progress, not just silver paint.  Ive tried to search this topic but I must be using the wrong terms.

Can you help?  Thank You.

Curt

[SCRWDRVR]

No need to apologize, I personally have a hard time with them also, I seem to get my best results with the molotow pen paint on a brush but a lot of people are really good at it.

[89AKurt]

Welcome to the forum.  I'm not a newbie, and would like to see expert advice on this too!  Could save the trouble and shave everything.  ?

[ratherbefishin]

89AKurt, I couldn’t shave anything, I love the stock look.  The more stock, the better, factory colors for that era, interiors, etc.  Boring to some, but those are the cars I love.

Glad to hear I am not the only one.  Many great tutorials on this forum and great vids available, but I have yet to find one on this topic.

SCRWDRVR,  Do you just press down and dispense a small amount of the Molotow or do you empty it into a bottle?  If just a small amount, what do you use as a palette?  Thanks!

[SCRWDRVR]

32 minutes ago, ratherbefishin said:

SCRWDRVR,  Do you just press down and dispense a small amount of the Molotow or do you empty it into a bottle?  If just a small amount, what do you use as a palette?  Thanks!

I usually just dispense some into a soda bottle lid or a gatorade bottle lid. I save lids in different sizes for it and putting acrylics in to have something to work out of.

[StevenGuthmiller]

Skip the Molotow get some "Bare Metal Foil" and use the "foil under paint" technique.

You will get much better results than with the Molotow pens, and you don't even have to have a steady hand!

 

 

Steve

 

Edited August 25, 2019 by StevenGuthmiller

[Bucky]

1 hour ago, StevenGuthmiller said:

Skip the Molotow get some "Bare Metal Foil" and use the "foil under paint" technique.

You will get much better results than with the Molotow pens, and you don't even have to have a steady hand!

 

 

Steve

 

Steve, what do you use to clean the paint off the BMF, and at what point do you do that after painting the car body? All your "chrome" trim looks fantastic. I'd like to give your methods a try.

[StevenGuthmiller]

34 minutes ago, Bucky said:

Steve, what do you use to clean the paint off the BMF, and at what point do you do that after painting the car body? All your "chrome" trim looks fantastic. I'd like to give your methods a try.

I use a combination of the conical Tamiya swabs and sharpened tooth picks dipped in a little bit of lacquer thinner.

Some will sand or polish the paint off of the script, but I find I get a cleaner look with the thinner, plus there is the danger that you might sand all the way through the foil.

I have had that happen.

Personally, I find that I get the best results if I wait until right before my final color coat before applying the foil to the script.

Then I shoot the final color coat over the entire body, let it dry until it can safely be handled, and then clean the paint off of the script.

Of course you are using lacquer thinner so you need to be careful of the rest of the finish.

Once the scripts are exposed to my satisfaction, I commence with the clear coats over the top of everything.

I apply the rest of the foil after clear coats and polishing.

 

A good tip is to still try to trim the foil as close as possible to the script.

Edges of the foil can be visible under the paint.

 

 

Steve

[ratherbefishin]

Steve, I would be ecstatic to achieve results anywhere close to yours.  Beautiful work.  Thanks for the step by step instruction.  I am at the point where I can try this now, though I will probably use a homemade foil.  Mixed results but still better, and a lot cheaper than BMF.

Questions though.  Why not do all foil work before the final wet color coat?

Also, in past build my paint build up diminished the detail on some insignia/lettering.  Is there a method you recommend to restore this detail if it is obscured?

This has been enlightening.

[dmthamade]

Great ideas all!! I've been looking at some finished builds with the neatly done badges, etc and been wondering how the heck am I going to do that? Reminds me of picking out details in model aircraft cockpits, something i'm not good at. Lots to learn...

Don

[StevenGuthmiller]

6 hours ago, ratherbefishin said:

Questions though.  Why not do all foil work before the final wet color coat?

I'm sorry Curt.

Maybe I wasn't clear enough, but that's exactly when I do the scripts.

If you're asking "why not do the rest of the body trim before color as well", my answer would be, it's easy to clean paint from a small detail like a script, badge or door lock, but I sure as heck wouldn't want to try it with an entire model.

In other words, it would be way too much work!

6 hours ago, ratherbefishin said:

Also, in past build my paint build up diminished the detail on some insignia/lettering.  Is there a method you recommend to restore this detail if it is obscured?

I really can't help you much there Curt.

I use automotive lacquers and even though I use as many as 4-5 primer coats, 3 or 4 color coats, and up to 5 clear coats, I never have problems with detail hide.

Of course the scripts are done only over the 5 primer coats and 4 color coats and not the clear.

The '61 Buick photos above show a detailed badge on the trunk lid that was so faint that it was nearly non-existent,  yet I managed to still do it with this technique.

 

I suppose that if you are worried about detail hide, you can always put your foil on earlier in the process.

I like to apply it as close to the end of the painting process as possible just because it means less paint to remove from the script.

It's just a little more difficult to cleanly remove more coats from the script.

 

 

Steve

[StevenGuthmiller]

Let me just say, to anyone who is thinking that somehow Molotow ink is in itself going to help you get better scripts than any other paint.....you're wrong.

It might look closer to chrome when finished, but applying it is no different than applying any other paint.

If you're not the type of person who is steady enough to lay down a perfectly straight line with a paint brush, it's going to do you no good.

This is not a knock on Molotow, it just seems that more and more people are getting it in their head the Molotow ink is some sort of magic bullet, but in the end it's just paint.

If you couldn't do it with Testors "Chrome Silver" in the little jars, you're not going to do any better with Molotow ink.

 

 

Steve

[BigTallDad]

12 hours ago, StevenGuthmiller said:

I use a combination of the conical Tamiya swabs and sharpened tooth picks dipped in a little bit of lacquer thinner.

Steve

Instead of a tooth pick, I use a small strip of balsa...it absorbs more lacquer thinner, and any paint accumulation can be easily cut off.

[StevenGuthmiller]

10 minutes ago, BigTallDad said:

Instead of a tooth pick, I use a small strip of balsa...it absorbs more lacquer thinner, and any paint accumulation can be easily cut off.

I'm sure that would work as well.

 

I don't particularly want a lot of thinner an the "tool" anyway.

Too much thinner can run onto the surface of the body if you are not careful.

Plus I like something sharp so that I'm not just taking the paint off of the surface of the script, but can actually remove as much of the paint as possible from the sides of the script.

If possible, I prefer to eliminate the paint that is "crawling" up the sides of the scripts and badges so they appear to be resting on top of the surface of the body, and not down in the paint.

 

I sharpen the tooth picks at an angle.

Any accumulation of paint can also be easily trimmed off.

 

 

 

Steve

Edited August 25, 2019 by StevenGuthmiller

[Bucky]

Great step-by-step, Steve!! Thanks, bunches for that! Another question for ya...how does the lacquer thinner work on enamel color coats?

This is one of those threads I'll follow!

[StevenGuthmiller]

1 hour ago, Bucky said:

Great step-by-step, Steve!! Thanks, bunches for that! Another question for ya...how does the lacquer thinner work on enamel color coats?

This is one of those threads I'll follow!

Lacquer thinner will work regardless if you're using lacquer, enamel or acrylic.

It will pretty much remove anything.

 

 

Steve

[ratherbefishin]

Clearly I have a lot to learn and I’m quite certain I’ll not reach the level of many of you but I’m having a ball and I really appreciate the help.  Never occurred to me to paint foil then wipe it off.  Brilliant!  Now just to master BMF.  

[Bucky]

Cool! Thanks, again for all the great info!!

[StevenGuthmiller]

Just a couple more examples of results achieved with this technique.

 

 

Steve

 

 

 

 

[SCRWDRVR]

That's incredible, your ability far exceeds mine that's probably why I still use paint lol....

Edited August 26, 2019 by SCRWDRVR

[ratherbefishin]

Steve, sorry to be a pest but how did you achieve that fabric top finish on the Chrysler.  It’s outstanding.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[StevenGuthmiller]

40 minutes ago, ratherbefishin said:

Steve, sorry to be a pest but how did you achieve that fabric top finish on the Chrysler.  It’s outstanding.

Flat paint.

 

 

Steve

[Bainford]

On ‎25‎/‎08‎/‎2019 at 7:11 AM, ratherbefishin said:

 

Also, in past build my paint build up diminished the detail on some insignia/lettering.  Is there a method you recommend to restore this detail if it is obscured?

This has been enlightening.

I think Steve touched on this a bit, but I always mask off the script or badge as one of the first things I do when starting on a kit, before the first primer or sandpaper hits the body. This maintains the sharpness of the script to the greatest degree possible. I pull the mask off and foil the script just before I start spraying colour.

[ratherbefishin]

Great idea Trevor, thanks.

[Deathgoblin]

On 8/25/2019 at 2:47 PM, StevenGuthmiller said:

I'm sure that would work as well.

 

I don't particularly want a lot of thinner an the "tool" anyway.

Too much thinner can run onto the surface of the body if you are not careful.

Plus I like something sharp so that I'm not just taking the paint off of the surface of the script, but can actually remove as much of the paint as possible from the sides of the script.

If possible, I prefer to eliminate the paint that is "crawling" up the sides of the scripts and badges so they appear to be resting on top of the surface of the body, and not down in the paint.

 

I sharpen the tooth picks at an angle.

Any accumulation of paint can also be easily trimmed off.

 

 

 

Steve

I've used a bamboo skewer or toothpick (sometimes a q-tip) dipped in Novus and seems to work well.  Just don't rub so hard you burn through the foil or flatten the detail.