When to clear coat

[rossfox]

So, I have painted my 56 Victoria Blue and White and put it in the hydrator for several hours. I still need to handle it quite a bit to install the bumpers, metallic foil for the chrome, install the cabin into the body and etc. So, I need to handle the body quite a bit. Should I wear cotton gloves, latex gloves, no gloves at all?? Go ahead and clear coat it now to protect the paint??? I am going to use the chrome metallic foil paper for the chrome. According to the info on the package it says not to install it over slick surfaces. So would not clear coating cause the metallic foil to have a hard time sticking. I love building these cars, and even though I am just getting started in this hobby, I know I will do it for many years, providing I don't mess up. I raced slot cars until last month and the track closed down. No other tracks are close by, so this is now my main hobby along with Ham Radio. Any suggestions as to how to protect my new paint job?

[Fat Brian]

Whether to clear or not depends on the type of finish you're going for. It doesn't look quite right on period 40s, 50s, or 60s cars, especially for stock paint. Letting the paint get good and cured helps and I have started wearing a thin cotton glove on one hand when I'm foiling and detail paining.

I don't know which type of foil you've got but Bare Metal Foil sticks far better to glossy surfaces than flat. 

[rossfox]

3 minutes ago, Fat Brian said:

Whether to clear or not depends on the type of finish you're going for. It doesn't look quite right on period 40s, 50s, or 60s cars, especially for stock paint. Letting the paint get good and cured helps and I have started wearing a thin cotton glove on one hand when I'm foiling and detail paining.

I don't know which type of foil you've got but Bare Metal Foil sticks far better to glossy surfaces than flat. 

Okay on the glove. I think I will do that. Yes, it is Bare Metal Foil - chrome.

[RichCostello]

1 hour ago, Fat Brian said:

Whether to clear or not depends on the type of finish you're going for. It doesn't look quite right on period 40s, 50s, or 60s cars, especially for stock paint. Letting the paint get good and cured helps and I have started wearing a thin cotton glove on one hand when I'm foiling and detail paining.

I don't know which type of foil you've got but Bare Metal Foil sticks far better to glossy surfaces than flat. 

Where do you get the cotton gloves?

[peteski]

What specific kind/brand of foil are you using?  "Slick surface" is sort of strange statement.  Slick might mean waxed (not just glossy paint). 

Foils used to represent chrome trim on models all have pressure sensitive adhesive (like any other sticker). In my experience stickers adhere best to glossy surfaces.

[Fat Brian]

2 hours ago, RichCostello said:

Where do you get the cotton gloves?

I bought a cheap pack of a dozen from Amazon. They're not the best quality but I don't have to care about them if I get paint or glue on them. They're made out of thin T shirt material.

[RichCostello]

2 hours ago, Fat Brian said:

I bought a cheap pack of a dozen from Amazon. They're not the best quality but I don't have to care about them if I get paint or glue on them. They're made out of thin T shirt material.

Thanks!

[bobss396]

Final assembly, I just wash my hands quite often. No lotion on them. 

I make a "safe space" to lay the body during assembly. Usually a model box top lined with plain paper towels.

Not that I always take my own advice... but limit any fumbling around trying to install things like bumpers, etc. Those I pin, test fit, test fit again.

The worst is that body-chassis final mating ritual. I head that off early on, as not to fight with it.

For some unknown reason, model manufacturers make the bodies with excessive curvature towards the rocker panels and rear quarters.

What to do? I started a '71 Dodge Demon kit for a club project. Talk about an ungodly fight to get the body onto the chassis.

I used a Sharpie, marked out where I wanted to remove material from the frame side rails, about 1 mm and 1.5 mm from the rear chassis wheel wells, also took from off from behind the front wheels. I use a dial caliper to scribe my lines. Everything gets a radius sanded on it.

I may go back and look, sometimes I'll remove material from inside the body, thin out the rockers and the rear quarters. As it is now, the body goes on a ton easier than it did.

[rossfox]

On 4/24/2025 at 7:38 AM, bobss396 said:

Final assembly, I just wash my hands quite often. No lotion on them. 

I make a "safe space" to lay the body during assembly. Usually a model box top lined with plain paper towels.

Not that I always take my own advice... but limit any fumbling around trying to install things like bumpers, etc. Those I pin, test fit, test fit again.

The worst is that body-chassis final mating ritual. I head that off early on, as not to fight with it.

For some unknown reason, model manufacturers make the bodies with excessive curvature towards the rocker panels and rear quarters.

What to do? I started a '71 Dodge Demon kit for a club project. Talk about an ungodly fight to get the body onto the chassis.

I used a Sharpie, marked out where I wanted to remove material from the frame side rails, about 1 mm and 1.5 mm from the rear chassis wheel wells, also took from off from behind the front wheels. I use a dial caliper to scribe my lines. Everything gets a radius sanded on it.

I may go back and look, sometimes I'll remove material from inside the body, thin out the rockers and the rear quarters. As it is now, the body goes on a ton easier than it did.

Good information. I got some big soft sponges to lay the body on to do some more work on it. I have a hard time trying to wear cotton gloves to handle the model, even just on my left hand, so I gave that up. I will just keep my hands clean and if I smudge it up, then I will try to polish it out.

[bobss396]

On 4/25/2025 at 9:04 PM, rossfox said:

Good information. I got some big soft sponges to lay the body on to do some more work on it. I have a hard time trying to wear cotton gloves to handle the model, even just on my left hand, so I gave that up. I will just keep my hands clean and if I smudge it up, then I will try to polish it out.

I never tried gloves, to me they may nit have enough grip to them.

Also, make sure your fingernails are trimmed and have no rough edges. I was color-sanding a body over the sink and a thumb nail caught an edge and chipped it.