Scribing body lines AFTER a few coats of paint

[Hawk312]

Is it possible? The risks are obvious, but I am trying to avoid stripping the paint if possible. One of the panel lines is just a little too shallow, and I have a few more coats of paint to apply. The line is there, I just want it to be a little deeper.

If anyone has a trick to accomplish this safely, it is much appreciated.

Thanks!

[stitchdup]

You could try running the sharp edge of a blade along the panel line a couple of times before you use the scriber, but i suspect the paint will still chip. You might be better using a darker panel accent instead

[espo]

Using stitchup suggestion, starting with a sharp blade may also cut the paint enough that it wouldn't chip the paint as you move up to a scribing tool. Try working up from the blade in stages.  

[Bainford]

Any time I have attempted anything like this I ended up with chipped paint. 

[Ace-Garageguy]

I tried it exactly once. Looked like I was going to ruin a decent paint job and quit.

[StevenGuthmiller]

Not only are you in danger of chipping the paint, but once you begin, where do you stop?

A scribed door is going to have a different appearance than an un-scribed one, so it’s not just a matter of scribing an inch or two on one panel.

You’re probably going to have to scribe all of the panel lines so that they all match.

 

 

 

Steve

[NOBLNG]

16 hours ago, Hawk312 said:

Is it possible? The risks are obvious, but I am trying to avoid stripping the paint if possible. One of the panel lines is just a little too shallow, and I have a few more coats of paint to apply. The line is there, I just want it to be a little deeper.

If anyone has a trick to accomplish this safely, it is much appreciated.

Thanks!

You could use some panel line accent to give the appearance of more depth.

[bobss396]

Since it needs more paint anyway, bite the bullet. I would sand down the area to avoid chipped paint. Mask the area off if you want to. I try to get my scribing done up front, lessons learned for sure. I use either the back of a #11 blade or a razor saw to open the lines.

[StevenGuthmiller]

2 hours ago, bobss396 said:

I try to get my scribing done up front,

There's the ticket.

These things need to be addressed in advance.

 

 

 

Steve

[Beans]

running some masking tape on either side of the panel line and using a very fine blade may minimize the amount of chipping that happens.  That being said, the amount of actual scribing you can achieve will be minimal and may not be worth the extra effort to avoid what will most likely happen anyway. 

[Ace-Garageguy]

You might try the Tamiya engraver tools, as they "scribe" by taking a very fine curl of material out of the cut, rather than brutally scratching like the "backside of a #11 blade" does.

Used very gently, they MIGHT work for deepening panel lines post-paint, but they're not cheap.

They are, however, worth every penny to me for the beautiful pre-paint scribing they're capable of delivering once you learn to use 'em.

[JET.]

I do this on airplane models. But you use the sharp side of the blade, It works great to get the finest possible lines with no “washes” which is more realistic 

on car models its best to just scribe everything ahead of time though.

[gman]

The majority of the time I scribe panel lines to deepen them, it raises the surrounding areas a bit. I like to use a sanding stick as a scale "long board" to true up panels on either side of the line that was scribed before paint. You won't be able to take care of this detail after paint, and depending on how much distortion you see in the plastic surrounding your scribed panel lines it may end up requiring some sanding and a repaint to look correct under subsequent coats.

[Ace-Garageguy]

4 minutes ago, gman said:

The majority of the time I scribe panel lines to deepen them, it raises the surrounding areas a bit...

...which is the reason for using a tool with a ground, hooked tip that cuts like the Tamiya engravers (which you can make yourself with a grinder) by removing a "curl" of material on the backstroke, deepening the groove without displacing material to either side.

[gman]

12 hours ago, Ace-Garageguy said:

...which is the reason for using a tool with a ground, hooked tip that cuts like the Tamiya engravers (which you can make yourself with a grinder) by removing a "curl" of material on the backstroke, deepening the groove without displacing material to either side.

I have a few of the Bare Metal scribers. One with quite a bit of wear on it plus a brand new one.

https://www.scalemates.com/kits/bare-metal-foil-bmf003-panel-scriber--321399

I haven't tried the Tamiya scriber, but will give it a shot if I can locate one locally.

 

[Ace-Garageguy]

On 3/19/2024 at 2:55 AM, gman said:

I haven't tried the Tamiya scriber, but will give it a shot if I can locate one locally.

The Tamiya engravers are pretty spendy for a tool you might not like.

This Trumpeter tool cuts a curl on the backstroke like the Tamiya tool, but is a lot cheaper, if you just want to get a feel for how they work.

I bought mine at HobbyTown.

[Beans]

Somebody makes a PE sheet of scribing blades that fit into an exacto knife handle.  I have them, they work well.  I just wish I remembered where I got them.

[Shardik]

If the panel line is fairly straight, I would try a piece of mylar backed sanding film (available from Squadron and others) folded in half, then sand the line deeper.

[NOBLNG]

4 hours ago, Shardik said:

If the panel line is fairly straight, I would try a piece of mylar backed sanding film (available from Squadron and others) folded in half, then sand the line deeper.

Once the paint in the panel lines is sanded enough to prevent chipping the surface coat, any scribing tool can be used. Caution required on the curved corners though.