Restoring old built kits??

[2zwudz]

How difficult is it to disassemble and restore a old built kit??? I’m looking for helpful hints for this process. I have a older Built kit that I bought and I want to redo it.

[SCRWDRVR]

I really enjoy doing the rebuilds and in all honesty every one is different, it depends on who built it. What I mean by that is how much and what type of glue and paint used how well the body was prepped all are factors in a rebuild.

[2zwudz]

10 minutes ago, SCRWDRVR said:

I really enjoy doing the rebuilds and in all honesty every one is different, it depends on who built it. What I mean by that is how much and what type of glue and paint used how well the body was prepped all are factors in a rebuild.

What do you do if something needs rechromed???

[SCRWDRVR]

1 minute ago, 2zwudz said:

What do you do if something needs rechromed???

There are places that do it but I use a Molotow pen a lot, all the chrome on this is redone with one...

[2zwudz]

Bumpers too??? Wow!

[Snake45]

I do this all the time. More than new builds these days, in fact. 

Every one is different, with its own challenges. 

I recently discovered Krylon Foil paint, which does a pretty decent job of rechroming old bumpers and stuff. 

In these pics, the white car's bumpers were rechromed with Krylon Foil, and the blue one has original chrome parts from 1967. There's not a HUGE difference between them. 

[2zwudz]

What do you do about bad or damaged glass???

[Snake45]

9 minutes ago, 2zwudz said:

What do you do about bad or damaged glass???

It can often be polished out. Here's what the glass in that blue Impala looked like when I got it: 

[Dave Van]

3 hours ago, 2zwudz said:

How difficult is it to disassemble and restore a old built kit??? I’m looking for helpful hints for this process. I have a older Built kit that I bought and I want to redo it.

How much does it cost to cut down a tree????

A hundred different answers......

It all depends if the original builder used one tube or two!!  This is a rebuild of a glue bomb  that had a moderate amount of glue. 

Cutting, prying and even breaking parts apart is needed.  No magic I know of. The freeze thing never worked for me.

[SCRWDRVR]

2 hours ago, 2zwudz said:

Bumpers too??? Wow!

Yes bumpers, wheels and all trim was done with a Molotow 2mm pen

[StevenGuthmiller]

In my opinion, it depends on the availability of the kit in question.

Personally, I see no reason whatsoever in wasting the time on rebuilding a readily available kit, when you can get a new one relatively cheaply and start from scratch.

Rare or difficult to find kits, on the other hand, can be well worth the effort.

In those cases, you may have a difference in value in the hundreds of dollars between an un-built kit and a built-up or glue bomb.

It can be quite satisfying to take a derelict built up, left for dead, and do a complete restoration on it.

 

Some of my most prized vintage re-builds started out as a real booger!

 

 

 

As far as the chrome question goes, it depends greatly on what you're trying to achieve.

 

When I build it model, I want it to last for as long as I am around to enjoy it, and to have the absolute best appearance possible.

I do my utmost to avoid cutting any corners and strive to have every aspect of the model show the best that it possibly can.

This includes the chrome parts and is therefore the rational behind why all of my vintage kits get re-chromed bumpers, etc.

I don't see the logic in applying the absolute best finish that I possibly can an every other aspect of the model, and skimping on the chrome.

 

 

Steve

 

 

[StevenGuthmiller]

10 hours ago, 2zwudz said:

What do you do about bad or damaged glass???

In the majority of cases, if the original glass cannot be restored, often times it may be able to be replaced with the glass from a modern kit that has the same basic shape.

Occasionally, some re-shaping might be required.

 

If that is not a possibility, the glass can often be replaced with thin clear sheet plastic, so long as there are no compound curves involved.

I find myself using clear sheet plastic increasingly lately, because of the fact that it's thinner and therefore more realistic in appearance.

 

Then there is vacuforming, which I have no experience with, and if all else fails, you may have to search for a repairable original part.

 

 

 

Steve

[Tom Geiger]

I like to rebuild ancient old builds simply because they deserve it for surviving! Same as the 1:1 car hobby, it’s rewarding to make someone old new again. Above is an original early 1960s Monogram Blue Bandit u bought at a show in a plastic bag, as you see it, for $20.

It was fun to coax it apart and to get the many glue stains off the body. There are later releases of this kit in my parts inventory, which I added to the project. Still, there are unique parts to that original issue like the Cadillac script valve covers.

So yes it can be a lot of fun to restore old classic builds

[Bucky]

13 hours ago, 2zwudz said:

What do you do about bad or damaged glass???

I recently repaired a clear window piece by going through the polishing process much the same as polishing a paint job.

I started with a coarse enough grit to remove the scratches,  then moved on through the grits until I had it looking clear.

[StevenGuthmiller]

1 hour ago, Bucky said:

I recently repaired a clear window piece by going through the polishing process much the same as polishing a paint job.

I started with a coarse enough grit to remove the scratches,  then moved on through the grits until I had it looking clear.

That's generally my approach as well, but often old kit glass can turn yellow and contain stress cracks that cannot be repaired.

Then there is always the irreversible effects of heavy glue damage.

But absolutely, glass that is not heavily damaged can be renewed with polishing.

 

 

Steve

 

[2zwudz]

Do you guys ever make your own glass???

[Snake45]

1 hour ago, 2zwudz said:

Do you guys ever make your own glass???

Yes, as Steve G described above. 

[styromaniac]

Since the 1964 Monogram Little T was the first model car I ever entered in a competition when I started this hobby a half century ago I was curious to see how much my skill set had improved so I purchased 2 or 3 original issue glue bombs off the internet. Every one had disintegrating front suspensions and glue stained windshields. I managed to create the survivor shown below. Most of the deteriorated chrome I deplated and painted. Some black washes helped bring out the details. Funny how my first Little T won me a second place junior division trophy back in 65, and more than 50 years later my salvage job won 2nd place at an IPMS show in Fairfax Va.

[styromaniac]

Edited March 12, 2020 by styromaniac