Edward Gore Posted May 19 Share Posted May 19 😍 That’s right there will be stripping and masking going on in here for your viewing pleasure 😍 Polar Lights POL960M/12 VW Beetle 1/25 scale My friend down the street was building this Beetle as a double memorial for two of his car club member who had passed. Each side represents their respective car to the extent of what is already included in the box. He laid down the paint pretty well but he used the wrong type of tape to mask. Once it bled he masked again to try to paint over the mistake but then it bled under the other way. Three times. He was so over it by then he just asked me to help out with that part of the build. It looked like something that I could handle but we’ll see. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edward Gore Posted May 19 Author Share Posted May 19 (edited) First thing to do is strip the paint off. The Purple Pond was too shallow because of the container but then I switched to a smaller footprint container that fit the body perfectly under the Pond. The beige side was painted with Testors enamel which came off easily but the metallic purple was Testors lacquer. This required a lot of scrubbing to remove and I didn’t get it all off. Edited May 19 by Edward Gore the photographs order of apperance Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blubaja Posted May 19 Share Posted May 19 Deng. I had assumed these were all molded in red. Especially the cococola ones🤣 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CabDriver Posted May 19 Share Posted May 19 Yeah, that Testor’s lacquer is TOUGH to remove for sure…had the same battle with (I think) that same purple 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edward Gore Posted May 19 Author Share Posted May 19 Yes, the Testors Lacquer had to soak for 3 days. I scrubbed some paint off each day after work. I stopped after the 3rd day because it looked good enough and I was getting bored with this step. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David G. Posted May 19 Share Posted May 19 Dang! That was some rough masking work. It looks like the paint will clean up well enough though. David G. Thanks for the link BTW! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
espo Posted May 19 Share Posted May 19 Makes you wonder what type of masking tape he was using. On the large container for the pond. I have the same issue, but I just put a scrap piece of an old 2x4 under one end and that makes the other end deep enough to cover most model bodies. I do like the container you ended up using and now I have to find something like that. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edward Gore Posted May 21 Author Share Posted May 21 @blubaja Maybe they are. Maybe SuperClean "purple pond" is really that good! 😁 @David G. Yes, it cleaned up just fine. Well enough anyway. @espo I actually did that at first as well. A little part of the roof was still above the surface to I opted for an old, empty laundry detergent container. My Spyderco quickly removed the top 🗡️ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edward Gore Posted May 21 Author Share Posted May 21 Some putty work was needed on the edges some parts and the roof had two sink marks. While this was curing, I built the suspension and interior. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edward Gore Posted May 22 Author Share Posted May 22 The “glass” is all one part. I masked to paint the weather stripping* and to paint the edges black to block the prism effect. This makes the “glass” look more to scale. I’ll post a bunch of pictures of this because I haven’t built and painted an aircraft model in a long long time so I was very stoked on how this turned out. * there's that word again ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David G. Posted May 23 Share Posted May 23 The glass canopy looks great Bobby. When I built the Herbie version of this kit, I achieved much the same effect using flat black brush paint and a silver Sharpie. It's not as tidy looking as yours but I think it got the job done. Do you plan to add some chrome trim to the window surrounds? Most of the U.S. Beetles had chrome trim around the windows and it add a little depth and visual interest to the finished model. Unless of course you're building this one as a Cal-looker. cheers, David G. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edward Gore Posted May 24 Author Share Posted May 24 That chrome detailing you added looks great on your Beetle. I don't have the skill yet to keep it that consistent all the way around each window like you did. My friend said that just black all around is what he wants anyway so I lucked out 😁 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edward Gore Posted May 25 Author Share Posted May 25 Sanded putty, primer, then sanding a little more, then final primer. Then repaint base coat with Testors Tan flat enamel. I’ll let this sit for a week ⏲️ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Geiger Posted May 25 Share Posted May 25 Nice recovery! One comment for your friend... use Tamiya tape, at least at the critical separation mark. As you have painted the lighter color first, once you have the tape in place, spray the mating tape line with the lighter color (then let it dry) before spraying the other side with the purple. Then at least any paint that has crept under the tape would be the lighter color! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David G. Posted May 26 Share Posted May 26 That cleaned up pretty well. It looks good and smooth which is not always the case after a trip to the purple pond. David G. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edward Gore Posted May 28 Author Share Posted May 28 Hi @Tom Geiger, This is a good technique when spraying the same system paints. The paints he gave me to work with are tan enamel and purple lacquer. Both Testors but I don't want the lacquer to attack the enamel. I'm waiting 1 week for the tan enamel to cure (Wednesday). I don't for sure if the lacquer will do anything funny with the enamel. I just don't want to take chances. Hi @David G., Yes, the plastic is fine. Just the stubborn purple lacquer didn't want to come completely off. Had to use sanding sticks then light coat of primer then sanding sticks then light coat of primer, etc... Got it to where I needed it to be tho Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edward Gore Posted May 28 Author Share Posted May 28 Waiting for the enamel side to cure for a week (Wednesday) before masking. In the meantime I’ll work on the wheels. Different wheels for each side. I couldn’t use the wider slicks with mags because the diameters are different so the bug won’t sit level. I have to file material down to accept the same tires as the left side. Left side represents a Dodgers fan so Dodger blue rims and a Tamiya metallic blue wash into the VW. White walls out. Flat black over the chrome rims for the right side. White walls in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edward Gore Posted June 2 Author Share Posted June 2 I have a roll of Scotchcal 220 by 3M. It’s a vinyl material that I cut into strips for masking. This was very helpful for this project. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David G. Posted June 2 Share Posted June 2 Great progress on this Bobby! I'm really curious to see how this comes out. David G. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edward Gore Posted June 8 Author Share Posted June 8 @David G., Thanks again for following along and commenting. So-far the masking worked. The different paint systems worked together as well. Testors enamel and Testors lacquer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edward Gore Posted June 8 Author Share Posted June 8 The paint cured for about a week before clear coat. I was concerned that this UPOL product would be too hot for the enamel side. First time using this and sprayed it right out of the can. I lightly misted all over a few coats before the thicker wet coats were applied. This worked because the enamel did not react. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edward Gore Posted 12 hours ago Author Share Posted 12 hours ago Finished pictures here: https://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/topic/192568-polar-lights-vw-beetle-repaint/ Thank you all for looking in and for your comments and compliments 🙏 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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