Suggestions how to recreate fender texture on '59 Mercs

[hedotwo]

I'm about to start on a 59 Merc convertible that has a bunch of skirt rash.   I've done a hardtop 59 previously that had about the same amount of rash that I chose to just remove to smooth, then foil with a matt chrome.  Before I start the work on this convertible I thought I'd ask for any suggestions on how to possibly recreate the fine texture on the lower portion of the fender.  I'm attaching a photo of Steve Guthmiller's beautiful 59 for what it should look like.

Thanks!

[NitroMarty]

  On 1/25/2024 at 4:35 PM, hedotwo said:

I'm about to start on a 59 Merc convertible that has a bunch of skirt rash.   I've done a hardtop 59 previously that had about the same amount of rash that I chose to just remove to smooth, then foil with a matt chrome.  Before I start the work on this convertible I thought I'd ask for any suggestions on how to possibly recreate the fine texture on the lower portion of the fender.  I'm attaching a photo of Steve Guthmiller's beautiful 59 for what it should look like.

Thanks!

 

 

 

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Unfortunately I no longer have the car and, of course, it was done before I had a decent camera, but many moons ago I repaired the glue pocked trim on an old Merc built-up, by grafting in the trim pieces from Revell retractable hardtop kit.

[stitchdup]

1. you might find the texture your looking for in food or toy packaging. not sure why the 1 appeared in front of my post but it wont delete

[NOBLNG]

Could you possibly use a piece of a hacksaw blade with the appropriate “teeth per inch” or other fine saw blade as a scraper to either fix the body or make an overlay from sheet styrene that could be glued on?

 

Edited January 25, 2024 by NOBLNG

[StevenGuthmiller]

You could investigate some Evergreen #4525 "Metal Siding".

I use this stuff quite a bit for various situations, including some interior panel replacements.

 

It might be a little large for your application, but I suppose that Evergreen could possibly produce a finer one?

 

 

 

 

I used this for interior door panels and seat backs on my '64 Bonneville, and door panels on my '68 Coronet.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Steve

 

 

[hedotwo]

  On 1/25/2024 at 5:21 PM, NOBLNG said:

Could you possibly use a piece of a hacksaw blade with the appropriate “teeth per inch” or other fine saw blade as a scraper to either fix the body or make an overlay from sheet styrene that could be glued on?

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I like this idea and it's probably worth giving a shot.  I used to do german armor modelling years ago and got pretty good at recreating zimmerit by dragging razor saws across putty.  Trouble is, I didn't really care if the zimmerit was straight or not.  It never was in real life anyway.  But I could try on sheet styrene and even putty again (but the putty will need to be just the right consistency to get it smooth and straight I'm guessing).

Thanks

[hedotwo]

  On 1/25/2024 at 5:47 PM, StevenGuthmiller said:

You could investigate some Evergreen #4525 "Metal Siding".

I use this stuff quite a bit for various situations, including some interior panel replacements.

 

It might be a little large for your application, but I suppose that Evergreen could possibly produce a finer one?

 

 

 

 

I used this for interior door panels and seat backs on my '64 Bonneville, and door panels on my '68 Coronet.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Steve

 

 

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This is a great idea...  I'm going to be going to my local (even though it's 250mi away) hobby shop this weekend and it's a very well stocked shop that has lots of styrene from Evergreen and Plastruct.  Maybe I can find something there.  Thanks Steve!

Rich

[Bills72sj]

You may want to get a body from AMT's 65 Bonneville. It has that texture in scale. Though it may not have an entire section of the required dimensions.

 

Edited January 26, 2024 by Bills72sj

[StevenGuthmiller]

  On 1/26/2024 at 3:30 AM, Bills72sj said:

You may want to get a body from AMT's 65 Bonneville. It has that texture in scale. Though it may not have an entire section of the required dimensions.

 

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Another option might be to check out the old Revell ‘59 Ford kit.

The tear quarter moldings are separate chrome plated pieces in that kit.

Might not be the correct size or shape, but it’s certainly worth investigating.

 

 

 

Steve

[hedotwo]

  On 1/25/2024 at 5:47 PM, StevenGuthmiller said:

You could investigate some Evergreen #4525 "Metal Siding".

I use this stuff quite a bit for various situations, including some interior panel replacements.

 

It might be a little large for your application, but I suppose that Evergreen could possibly produce a finer one?

 

 Steve

 

 

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I picked up a pack of the 030 ribbed sheet and it looks like it should work with a bit of effort.  The ribs were finer than I thought they'd be.  This is the smallest Evergreen makes, and it didn't look like Plastruct had anything similar.

Thnaks Steve,

Rich

[StevenGuthmiller]

  On 2/2/2024 at 4:09 PM, hedotwo said:

I picked up a pack of the 030 ribbed sheet and it looks like it should work with a bit of effort.  The ribs were finer than I thought they'd be.  This is the smallest Evergreen makes, and it didn't look like Plastruct had anything similar.

Thnaks Steve,

Rich

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You’re welcome!

Once you have some of this stuff in your collection of materials, it’s hard to imagine being without it.

I find all kinds of uses for it! 
 

 

 

Steve

[hedotwo]

I made a template with foil of the rear quarter panels, taped to the ribbed sheet and then cut and sanded to fit.  Now, I just need to do the cutting of the existing panels (gulp) and then trying to get a slight bend under on these 040 thick pieces.  If they don't bend and stay I may try and sand them down to a thinner thickness and try again.

[gtx6970]

  On 1/25/2024 at 4:51 PM, NitroMarty said:

Unfortunately I no longer have the car and, of course, it was done before I had a decent camera, but many moons ago I repaired the glue pocked trim on an old Merc built-up, by grafting in the trim pieces from Revell retractable hardtop kit.

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This, Ive seen it done and it looks pretty good 

[ChrisBcritter]

Rich, there's a custom rear bumper in the AMT '66 Mercury kit; it has a finely ribbed pattern that should give you what you need. You'll need one for each quarter panel. Should be easy to find since the kit's been reissued so many times.

[hedotwo]

Thanks for the suggestion Chris...  had I known this I may not have bought a sheet of the corrogated, although I can always use it in the future.   Turns out the Merc rear bumper is the same as the Evergreen sheet as far as rib spacing and depth so I'll just use the two pieces I've already cut from the sheet.  Just hoping to get them to bend under a bit to match the existing.  This project is next in line on my bench... 

[hedotwo]

So I went ahead and did the quarter panels.  Turned out ok, but not great.  I used a PE razor saw to remove the old quarters and fortunately the body trim kept the saw nice and straight.  I sanded down the height of the ribbing a bit and bent the pieces just a bit by laying them on a 1/4" rod and pushing hard, just enough to get them to wrap under instead of being flat.  Not the smoothest result, but better than nothing I guess.  I added a couple of 030 strips to add strength to the pieces when I attached them. 

[Bainford]

That looks like a good repair. 

[StevenGuthmiller]

Looks pretty darn good to me!

 

 

 

Steve