How to deal with raised rivets when painting and finishing.

[4knflyin]

I really want to put this project to bed. I've been working on refinishing the body/chassis of a Lotus 78 build from decades ago. Not having a method for sanding around the rivets has resulted in costly setbacks because I've had to paint and repaint so many times. I'd like this last repaint to be the last, and that's going to require help.

How do you do it? Is it just a matter of getting the the paint down in a with a degree of precision that can pass without sanding? Seeing a couple of other builds of this same kit, Tamiya's 1:12 Lotus 78, and the splendid finishes on them, I hardly think that can be it.

This isn't the first time I've wanted to know how to do it. And like all the other times when, whether out of idle curiosity or when I was just a boy building airplane models (when, as I recall, all the rivets were raised) I've wanted to know how to deal with sanding and finishing a model with raised rivets without sanding them out of existence, my searches have come up empty. I'm and I'm afraid I may go to the grave without ever pulling it off 😭 (it's just so sad).

A couple of pics of an area of the body that I just last week had to finally replace rivets on because I needed to sand the surface in a way that I couldn't save the originals. I'm hoping the first pic makes clear the need to sand... or whatever it is that I haven't figured out!

Edited May 26 by 4knflyin

[Ace-Garageguy]

Unfortunately, as far as I'm aware anyway, there is no magic fix for this situation.

In my own experience, the only solution is to develop and refine your priming and painting processes to the point that your finishes lay out nice and slick and orange-peel and dirt-free, so that only very minimal (if any) post-paint polishing is necessary.

In well over 5 decades of painting railroad and aircraft and truck and race-car models with rivet detail, I've never found any other way.

But there's a whole lot I don't know...so maybe somebody else can help you.

[Bugatti Fan]

Sanding around individual rivets on this scale is virtually nigh on impossible if it is already an integral part of a built up old model that you are trying to restore.

If there is a way of removing the rivet detailed item from the model I would suggest that immersing the removed part in a paint stripper that will not affect plastic may be the best route to follow to get the thing back to bare plastic without damaging the rivet detailing itself.

[bobss396]

I would just concentrate on using a clear coat and avoid polishing at all.

I shoot mostly lacquers. This 1K clear goes down so well I get away without polishing.

[Fat Brian]

Yep, the only way is to git gud with laying down a smooth finish out of the can. You will need to start with a good paint, I would use Tamiya for this and use black primer so your color coat doesn't have to be super thick. Wet sand the primer with 1500 grit so it's as smooth as it can be, yes the rivets will probably pop through again. Then hit it with a thin coat or two of gloss black, the last coat should be a little wetter so it flows out good and dries as glossy as possible. Once it's good and dry fix any junk in the color coat and then hit it with a few coats of clear, I love Mr Super Clear even if its a bit pricey. Practice this process a few times on extra bodies, you can even buy paint tester body forms on Amazon. Getting this process down will make all your future builds better so investing now is worth it.

[Bainford]

I appreciate the problem, here. It is my practice to eliminate all body detail features such as door handles, wipers, door locks, etc during body prep (scripts and detailed side trim excepted) to facilitate cut & polish of the paint, and re-create them later. There are a couple of options for replacement 'printed' rivets, both self-adhesive and printed on decal film. I would be tempted to (or at least, tempted to consider) remove the rivets and develop a solution to restore them onto finished paint. There is no doubt this would be a huge nuisance, and one would have to consider carefully how to proceed before beginning (such as experimenting with the various rivet sources available, mapping or photographing the existing rivets before removing them, develop a method of installing them accurately). 

In the end, that all seems a bit much. One might only do this on a high-end project, and is probably much more work than 99% of builders are willing to undergo.

[bobss396]

I have used some really tiny brass brads to simulate rivets before. Only a few in a row.. and if the spacing/edge distance is off, it shows badly.

[lucky 130]

I believe Laski decals has re placement rivots that will give you a more in scale look. I have used the louvers in the same way. good luck.

[4knflyin]

Hey guys, thanks very much. I just logged on to include a couple photos of other peoples' work on this same kit as a way of maybe getting some feedback... only to find great feedback (though not good news) was already here and the problem was my notifications settings somehow got reset. Again, Thanks!

Now that I feel comfortable that I know what can be known about it, my solution after reading your input is to sand just enough to make it sort of passable, avoiding the space between the rivets entirely. Clear coating is a '?." I don't know if I have what it takes to deal with any more coatings on this one. The decanted TS-14 is extremely smooth once attended to, and sometimes right out of the airbrush, so it shouldn't hinder decaling by omitting a coat of clear.

The rivets that stand out in the pictures I posted are 0.5 mm lead "solder balls." If you think it's easy to mistakenly damage or destroy a molded rivet with errant sandpaper, try running a sheet across lead rivet.

(To do the balls as rivets: I made a tool out of a bamboo toothpick to pick them up and place them. I timed the process, not included drilling the holes, and it took 32 minutes to place 63 solder balls. I figure, including drilling at the locations of the existing molded rivets and the need to make a replacement tool along the way, it's a manageable 2.5 - 4 hrs. Also, the jagged line in front of the emergency access is not an error.)

I'm going to include the photos of the other builds. One is from John B. here ("Nacho"), and the other a polish guy. Both are from over a decade ago. The great finish they produce is easier to see on the Polish guys work, the second and third photos. I convinced myself they were carefully sanded and polished, but it may just be my lack of an experience-produced critical eye:

 

It was hard to pick a photo from this guys gallery. I chose this one because it shows the side and tops of the cockpit. In particular, it shows the the tricky area to sand in front of the shifter bump out, and also clearly the rivets on the top of the cockpit.

 

This is a bonus pic. Included because it focuses on the area I focused on in my original post.

[4knflyin]

I do have some questions/comments re: the feedback:

On 5/26/2025 at 9:41 AM, Fat Brian said:

... Then hit it with a thin coat or two of gloss black, the last coat should be a little wetter so it flows out good and dries as glossy as possible. ... you can even buy paint tester body forms on Amazon. Getting this process down will make all your future builds better so investing now is worth it.

Brian, "paint tester body forms." That's a new one on me. I think it's a suggestion I can't afford to pass up.

About your painting suggestion, are we talking thin coats allowed hours or days to dry, or just a five-minutes between sort of thing?

 

1 hour ago, lucky 130 said:

I believe Laski decals has re placement rivots that will give you a more in scale look. I have used the louvers in the same way. good luck.

Laski decals? Misspelled, out of business, or could you give me a link? Thanks.

 

On 5/26/2025 at 5:27 AM, Bugatti Fan said:

Sanding around individual rivets on this scale is virtually nigh on impossible if it is already an integral part of a built up old model that you are trying to restore.

If there is a way of removing the rivet detailed item from the model I would suggest that immersing the removed part in a paint stripper that will not affect plastic may be the best route to follow to get the thing back to bare plastic without damaging the rivet detailing itself.

Oh, you have no idea. The only parts removed that didn't fall off are the contents of the equipment bays. Even the engine came loose by itself. Otherwise, I'm working on a completed kit. Worse, the plastic has been uncoated and exposed for 45 years. I'm afraid that if I pry at an important part, I may not have much to work with afterward. Truth.

And the plastic is rotted. It took me a good six weeks to realize that the "scratches" showing through the paint and some other "painting defects" were actually the plastic underneath. It's falling apart and cracking. Some pieces I stopped perfecting because the were breaking. Even sanding that ancient bare plastic was a mistake. #600 didn't sand it, it clawed it. And no matter how far I went up the ladder of grits, and no matter how many added layers of primer and paint I through at it, those claw marks still show through.

Also, thanks for all your contributions. You're a good read.

[Fat Brian]

1 hour ago, 4knflyin said:

Brian, "paint tester body forms." That's a new one on me. I think it's a suggestion I can't afford to pass up.

About your painting suggestion, are we talking thin coats allowed hours or days to dry, or just a five-minutes between sort of thing?

Here's a link to some. I can't vouch for this particular seller, they were just the first one that came up.

https://a.co/d/fKBEnKv

Typically I give five to ten minutes between coats, just enough to avoid runs.

[Bugatti Fan]

Polystyrene plastic goes brittle due to deterioration when it gets old. Guess that's the problem you have. Sometimes, depending on the model, it can be rescued with a bit of scratch building of some parts where it is possible to do so.

You may have to bite the bullet and call it a day if you find that are flogging a dead horse with this one !

Some of the older kits also had rubber tyres rather than vinyl that might perish after a number of years.

 

Edited May 29 by Bugatti Fan