3rd gen Camaro

[MarkJ]

I realized I had already assembled the wheels and tires, and I needed to get the wheels free so I could repaint them with the Revell Chrom spray. I put them in the freezer for a while and they luckily came apart so I can do so. I will be removing the bare metal foil from the air cleaner and painting it at the same time I do the wheels. I might even do the expansion tank and of course I will be doing the valve cover breathers as well. Latest tracking shows it to be delivered this Saturday at 9 p.m. I'm waiting with Mucho anticipation.

[MarkJ]

Now I need to find out if I can just shoot these parts as is or if I need to have them gloss black like you have to do with alcladII chrome.

[MarkJ]

1 hour ago, MarkJ said:

Now I need to find out if I can just shoot these parts as is or if I need to have them gloss black like you have to do with alcladII chrome.

This was the best test I could find if you have 24 minutes to spare.

[MarkJ]

Finally got the engine painted but will have to fix the valve covers again. I matte varnished the engine after touching up around the fan belts and pulleys. I used a gold leaf pen to color the linkage on the carb. Got my Revell Chrom today so it's Christmas in August for me today.

[MarkJ]

I got my Revell Chrom on Saturday and decided to try it outside yesterday. I wanted to see how it would do on an over 90% humidity day. Wasn't good. First spoon I had to put too much material down to make it gloss so the material kind of puddled up and also looked like it had trash in it which it didn't. the second spoon I got too far away, and it blushed badly. I'm supposed to get a front on Thursday which will bring the humidity down in the 60% range. I hope I get better results then. And I hope the front actually comes through. We don't usually get cold fronts down here in southeast Texas in early September.

[MarkJ]

Okay, I'm starting to worry a little bit. I watched the video above again and realized the presenter was using like ten short bursts in a row on his spoons to achieve his very good results. I decided to try one more spoon using his method, and I got very good results even with the humid conditions outside. I brought the spoon inside into low humidity air-conditioned house and what had looked good right after I did it started to morph into cracks and weird spots ruining what I thought I had achieved. I'm thinking maybe I should give the plastic spoon a gloss black coat of rattle can tamiya for a base coat and see what happens. painting something black is easier to tell what kind of results you are getting then painting something white. Plus, I think the chrome needs something better to latch on to then just raw plastic. We shall see.

[MarkJ]

I cleaned up the wheels from when I painted them with alcadII chrome and will shoot them, with some other parts I want to chrome on Saturday, when the humidity is supposed to get down in the 50% range. I will shoot them with some black lacquer spray can paint from testors which says it has primer, paint and sealer all wrapped up in one product. I'm hoping to shoot them as glossy as I can get them so when I shoot them again on Sunday, which will still be low humidity, with the Revell Chrom. I'm hoping to finally get the results I'm looking for. I have found that it is the process of shooting which will either make the finish look chrome or not. So, it is up to the user to get it right. In other words, using the Revell Chrom is not a slam dunk as far as your results will be.

[MarkJ]

Will paint the parts on the plate today black and then hit them with the chrome tomorrow. The humidity will be lower but it's supposed to be windy so I will have to find a place in the back yard shielded from the wind somewhat.

[MarkJ]

Got the parts painted yesterday. Turned out the paint was metallic black, but it is lacquer so it's nice and dry today. It dried glossy which is what I was hoping for. The glossier it is the better the chrome spray will look. I added a spoon top without the handle to the plate to shoot first to get my action down pat before moving on to the parts. I will wait till I'm at optimum humidity level outside before I shoot. I'm going to let the parts cure for a few days before I handle them. Hope this works out okay.

[MarkJ]

I'm fixing to go outside to paint these parts chrome. I also finished the front part of the chassis where it fits into the nose of the body. If I never post anymore on this thread you will know what happened. The chrome was a major failure and I quit the build.

[Mattilacken]

Dont give up such a nice build on a failed paint session. Its just to stripp and re work it. Keep it up!!

[MarkJ]

5 hours ago, Mattilacken said:

Dont give up such a nice build on a failed paint session. Its just to stripp and re work it. Keep it up!!

Thanks, Anton, for stopping by for support. I have great news. The chrom came out so good I can't believe I actually did it. I think the difference was applying the chrom to a glossy painted surface instead of raw plastic and that I had 55% humidity to work with. When I get a chance, I will post photos of the pieces I painted. They look better than kit chrome on a sprue. If I can get these results, anybody can.

[kensar]

It's great when things work out, isn't it?

[MarkJ]

Sure is, Ken. Now I can move on and try to actually finally finish this year-old build.

[MarkJ]

Will leave these parts in the clam shell for a couple of more days. Want to make sure they are safe to handle without putting fingerprints in them. I might put a thin coat of future on them but I'm afraid it might dull them a little. I will have to put a lot of pressure on the wheels to install them into the tires. Not too worried about the other parts that much.

[MarkJ]

Took a picture of a cup car I did from this era of Nascar . I will use it as a guide to do the rear suspension of this car. After that, maybe I can start finishing up this build from hell. I've been handling the body so much I think I'm going to have to lightly sand it and hit it with a coat of clear just to bring the finish back. It's really starting to look dull and listless.

[MarkJ]

After taking the offramp for the Chrom I'm back to the build. Made some roll cage padding for where it's needed on the cage. Drilled out some 1/8-inch tubing and slit it down the side and installed it over the .080 roll cage tubes. It really helps to use a jar opener pad when drilling out the tubes. I'm going to call the roll cage finished except for the bars behind the windshield. Now on to the rear suspension.

[Pierre Rivard]

Revell chrome spray looks mighty impressive Mark. Curious to see if the parts can be handled after the paint has fully cured.

[MarkJ]

29 minutes ago, Pierre Rivard said:

Revell chrome spray looks mighty impressive Mark. Curious to see if the parts can be handled after the paint has fully cured.

Pierre, it is a great product so far. but like you say I'm kind of worried about the handling. We shall see. I'm going to give it a full week before I touch it and will wear clear plastic gloves to not leave any fingerprints.

[MarkJ]

Going to try to make a Halibrand rear axle for the build. I only have weird oblong too close ref pictures of it to use but will try to decipher them and use other ref pictures of Halibrand rear axles to try to make a believable one.
 

[MarkJ]

I'm getting new glasses in 3 weeks. Hopefully that will help the scratch work. After the results of my eye test, I'm surprised I can see at all with my cataracts. Going to have to do a lot of sanding on this deal to true things up a bit.

[MarkJ]

[MarkJ]

[MarkJ]

[MarkJ]