Revell 1968 Chevelle SS396. New Pics after wet-sand/polish/wax.

[Dragonhawk1066]

Last weekend I fixed one of my biggest modeling regrets over these last five years. When I built this Revell 1968 Chevelle SS396 about 2 years ago, I thought the paint and clear looked good enough to not wet-sand and polish. Almost immediately after completion, I wished I had spent the time to do it. Fast forward to last weekend and I finally decided to go through the process. It was pretty tricky since I did not remove the body to do so, but thankfully nothing was lost or broken and I think it looks so much better now. Last two pics are good comparison pics.

[michelle]

looks great nice work 

[Jim B]

Beautiful Chevelle. 

[atomicholiday]

That looks great!

[Jon Cole]

Ain't nuthin' finer then a car that has the color coat been wet-sanded from medium-fine, up to ultra fine grit. Wipe it dri, and admire that shine. But NOOOooo, WAIT!  There's more!  Now you want to wax it! Automotive grade stuff. Best to use a soft clean facecloth, apply small amounts of wax, Not too much. Start in the middle of the panel, rubbing in circular motions, AVOID THE BODY SEAMS, and AIR GRILLS & VENTS. If you fill them with wax, just wash it away, wipe, and start over. Otherwise, that beautifully laid down dark paint will have door and trunk lines (amongst others) full of unsightly chock looking buildup.
If you FEAR the CLEAR and the occasional contamination issues, try wet-sanding. (IE: Before waxing.) Works best over clear, but if the paint finish was relatively smooth and problem free, just start from the medium grit, and work your way to the high end 10,000,000 grit {I recommend Sarcasm Brand.}
Nooo.... better still, have your local AB supply house set you up with a few sheets each of #400g; 600g; 800g; all in the black Aluminum oxide paper. 'ell em you don't need the whole damn packet OF SANDPAPER, as you plan on quitting model building the day after you die. See if that gets their attention.
They do have grits that go higher than 800, but honestly, when you're done water sanding like I described, it's going to shine just like that sparkle in your significant others eye when you asked her to own you for the rest of eternity. Cause that it what she'll hear. Heah! Heah!
I do my wet sanding right in the kitchen sink. I knew a dude who claimed he took the model bodies right into the shower with him along with black oxide folded and torn down to hobby size. Be sure to mark the grit on each piece backside with a Sharpie marker..  Start with the roughest grit- 400, and move on up through each grit. Don't skip anything. I may be so shiny at this time, you might just want to skip the wax. And you could, but you come this far, just wax it!
Oh, one final thing- I've never painted a model in water-borne acrylic. So consider that when you're thinkin' what to do. Ya see, I'm 66, and still learning.

If you're new to this, why not open a new Word File, and save this to it. Great for reference. And it just might come in handy one day.
If you put rubber ducks in that sink, that's on you! I won't judge.

Edited April 27, 2023 by Jon Cole

[beeRS]

That’s a beautiful Chevelle 👍🏼. 
the paint finish looks amazing now. 

[Tom99]

Beautiful!!!

[70 Sting]

Well worth the effort. Great finish on a very fine build. 👍

[Rattlecan Dan]

Nice hard shell look to it now. Good job. Jon Cole" knock it off!"

[drodg]

Very nice job.   

[TransAmMike]

Perfect factory shine to me Craig. Looks great👌

[espo]

Your efforts were well worth it. This color always looked good on this body style anyway, and with the polished finish it really shines. 

[Classicgas]

Beautiful.

[Dragonhawk1066]

22 hours ago, michelle said:

looks great nice work 

 

22 hours ago, Jim B said:

Beautiful Chevelle. 

 

22 hours ago, atomicholiday said:

That looks great!

 

17 hours ago, Jon Cole said:

Ain't nuthin' finer then a car that has the color coat been wet-sanded from medium-fine, up to ultra fine grit. Wipe it dri, and admire that shine. But NOOOooo, WAIT!  There's more!  Now you want to wax it! Automotive grade stuff. Best to use a soft clean facecloth, apply small amounts of wax, Not too much. Start in the middle of the panel, rubbing in circular motions, AVOID THE BODY SEAMS, and AIR GRILLS & VENTS. If you fill them with wax, just wash it away, wipe, and start over. Otherwise, that beautifully laid down dark paint will have door and trunk lines (amongst others) full of unsightly chock looking buildup.
If you FEAR the CLEAR and the occasional contamination issues, try wet-sanding. (IE: Before waxing.) Works best over clear, but if the paint finish was relatively smooth and problem free, just start from the medium grit, and work your way to the high end 10,000,000 grit {I recommend Sarcasm Brand.}
Nooo.... better still, have your local AB supply house set you up with a few sheets each of #400g; 600g; 800g; all in the black Aluminum oxide paper. 'ell em you don't need the whole damn packet OF SANDPAPER, as you plan on quitting model building the day after you die. See if that gets their attention.
They do have grits that go higher than 800, but honestly, when you're done water sanding like I described, it's going to shine just like that sparkle in your significant others eye when you asked her to own you for the rest of eternity. Cause that it what she'll hear. Heah! Heah!
I do my wet sanding right in the kitchen sink. I knew a dude who claimed he took the model bodies right into the shower with him along with black oxide folded and torn down to hobby size. Be sure to mark the grit on each piece backside with a Sharpie marker..  Start with the roughest grit- 400, and move on up through each grit. Don't skip anything. I may be so shiny at this time, you might just want to skip the wax. And you could, but you come this far, just wax it!
Oh, one final thing- I've never painted a model in water-borne acrylic. So consider that when you're thinkin' what to do. Ya see, I'm 66, and still learning.

If you're new to this, why not open a new Word File, and save this to it. Great for reference. And it just might come in handy one day.
If you put rubber ducks in that sink, that's on you! I won't judge.

 

17 hours ago, beeRS said:

That’s a beautiful Chevelle 👍🏼. 
the paint finish looks amazing now. 

 

11 hours ago, Tom99 said:

Beautiful!!!

 

9 hours ago, 70 Sting said:

Well worth the effort. Great finish on a very fine build. 👍

 

8 hours ago, Rattlecan Dan said:

Nice hard shell look to it now. Good job. Jon Cole" knock it off!"

 

8 hours ago, drodg said:

Very nice job.   

 

2 hours ago, TransAmMike said:

Perfect factory shine to me Craig. Looks great👌

 

1 hour ago, espo said:

Your efforts were well worth it. This color always looked good on this body style anyway, and with the polished finish it really shines. 

 

1 hour ago, Classicgas said:

Beautiful.

Thanks everyone, much appreciated!

[slusher]

Absolutely Stunning !

[KWT]

Holy cow.... I gotta learn that trick

[ATHU]

What an improvement, nice job!!

[Pierre_tec]

Once I try polished 2k clear, never got back to rattle or Tamiya clear.
All depends on what you want to achieve, cause in 68' there were all single stage paints

 

[TooOld]

Beautiful ! It was very much worth the effort !

[carrucha]

Big improvement.  Glad you polished it.

[deuces wild]

Looks like a gem....

[Dragonhawk1066]

On 4/29/2023 at 6:27 AM, KWT said:

Holy cow.... I gotta learn that trick

 

On 4/29/2023 at 10:12 AM, ATHU said:

What an improvement, nice job!!

 

12 hours ago, TooOld said:

Beautiful ! It was very much worth the effort !

 

1 hour ago, carrucha said:

Big improvement.  Glad you polished it.

 

2 minutes ago, deuces wild said:

Looks like a gem....

Thanks guys!

[Dragonhawk1066]

On 4/29/2023 at 6:04 PM, Pierre_tec said:

Once I try polished 2k clear, never got back to rattle or Tamiya clear.
All depends on what you want to achieve, cause in 68' there were all single stage paints

 

2K is great stuff, but I don't have the means or supplies to be able to use it at the moment.

[grodudulle77]

Very nice work !! 👍😀

[Ulbo]

Waw!!! nice built and the Finish is perfect👍