Painting wiring on firewall

[Redisetta]

I have done a couple of searches but didn’t see anything on this topic. I was wondering if anyone has any tricks they use to paint the wiring without out it becoming a sloppy mess lol   Here’s an example I think of a 69 Impala with a lot of wiring detail 

[Brian_R]

Micron pens

[gtx6970]

'New' black sharpie 

[johnyrotten]

A steady hand and good brush. I also made sure the paint will flow and came back with touch ups. Those brushes are a spotter and round. 

 

Edited Monday at 10:28 PM by johnyrotten
More information

[StevenGuthmiller]

I’ve come to the conclusion that painting firewall wiring never really looks all that great in most circumstances, and often makes the engine bay look worse than if you just sprayed the entire firewall black, and left it alone.

It’s for that reason that I’ve begun to sand nearly all of the firewall detail off and have started replacing it with real wire and more realistic looking parts.

Yes, of course it’s more work, and you can’t always see all of the changes, but the modeling journey is far more important to me than the finished product.

I build because I love building.

Not because I need or even want rows and rows of shelves full of finished models.

One model meticulously done gives me much more pleasure and pride than a dozen done quickly to average standards.

 

 

 

Steve

Edited Monday at 11:11 PM by StevenGuthmiller

[sidcharles]

a gateway procedure to the above final method would be to paint the firewall solid color, and the glue wire of whatever color you want using the molded wire as a path.

most of it would disappear into the shadow if your new wire was applied to the topside & viewing surface.

a betcha a cookie after 2 or 3 like that, you'll be ready to sand down to flat and run the wires to suit.

you can see the results are well worth the effort.

[bh1701]

For fine details (usually chrome trim on a body or interior), i will use a craft store acrylic paint. I'll brush it on using a very fine brush, but there will still be spots where the paint is and shouldn't be. While the paint is still somewhat fresh (or even after it has dried somewhat). I will use a toothpick that has been sharpened into a really fine point to remove the paint from along the edges of whatever I am painting. Sometimes I will wet the end of the toothpick a bit to help with the paint removal. The toothpick can follow the edge of the edge of the detail and pretty cleanly remove the unneeded paint. If too much is removed, just apply more paint in that area and repeat the process.

While I have never tried this on a firewall, I imagine it would work for firewall details, too.

Bart

Edited yesterday at 12:26 AM by bh1701
Added info

[1972coronet]

I've had good luck with Sharpies ( couple of different colours ) , followed by Tamiya Panel Line Accent (typically, the dark grey ) for "depth".

[Ulf]

Assuming you are working with white primer or painting without primer on white plastic, you can try painting the cables black first and wiping off excess paint with a cotton swab or brush dampened in Tamiya Lacquer Thinner before painting with the body color. When the paint has dried, the black shines through and it is enough to paint a little black gently on the cables. I sometimes fill in the door gaps with black or gray or a darker shade before painting the body.

try Google ”pre shading”.

[Redisetta]

Thanks for all the great ideas guys. I have really gotten into engine bay detail lately. I really like your idea of sanding down the firewall and adding real wire , thanks for that Steven. They were all great ideas, you guys are my go to “research center “ lol. 
I usually don’t post much, but I’m here every day lurking and learning. 
Ray

[Bugatti Fan]

A difficult one as moulded on wiring and piping detail will never quite look right. It's one of those situations where we can learn a lot from our figure modelling brethren with regard to highlighting and fine shadow effects.

One could possibly take a sharp pointed tool to slightly underscore each line and wire, but would need a dead steady hand to pull this off before painting those details. Very tedious to so and it would probably be easier to remove all the details and replace with real wire as Steve G suggested in his post.

[StevenGuthmiller]

Another one that was done by replacing firewall details.

 

 

 

Steve

 

[Redisetta]

Amazing,Steve

[espo]

22 hours ago, Redisetta said:

I have done a couple of searches but didn’t see anything on this topic. I was wondering if anyone has any tricks they use to paint the wiring without out it becoming a sloppy mess lol   Here’s an example I think of a 69 Impala with a lot of wiring detail 

Many great suggestions on how to detail your firewalls. Try them all and see which works best for you to accomplish what you're looking for. One additional idea to add that I didn't notice has to do with the use of markers or paint brushes. I outline anything that I maybe painting with a #11 to create a stop line for any paint or ink. In my case I don't really get too carried away with the detailing the firewalls though I sure enjoy looking at what others do. 

[gtx6970]

1 hour ago, StevenGuthmiller said:

Another one that was done by replacing firewall details.

 

 

 

Steve

 

Amazing work Steve, But its not an option for guys such as myself that build mostly box stock stuff.

But I will be the 1st one to applaud the guys like yourself that go that deep. And truly enjoy looking at them. Plus watching them come to fruition in pictures 

 

I have A LOT of kits I want to build , cars i want to replicate while I still can. And taking months on months on one kit is not in the cards 

I'm afraid the days I go that deep into details on a model car,,,,is well behind me.  ( and I have never gone as far into details like yourself. ) 

But, Thats me and me alone.

I spent nearly a year on one single build many years ago. And vowed never again 

 Im doing simple fuel lines and spark plug wiring on one right now. And there is already a voice in the back of my mind starting to wish I hadn't opened that can

 

 

 

 

[StevenGuthmiller]

1 hour ago, gtx6970 said:

Amazing work Steve, But its not an option for guys such as myself that build mostly box stock stuff.

But I will be the 1st one to applaud the guys like yourself that go that deep. And truly enjoy looking at them. Plus watching them come to fruition in pictures 

 

I have A LOT of kits I want to build , cars i want to replicate while I still can. And taking months on months on one kit is not in the cards 

I'm afraid the days I go that deep into details on a model car,,,,is well behind me.  ( and I have never gone as far into details like yourself. ) 

But, Thats me and me alone.

I spent nearly a year on one single build many years ago. And vowed never again 

 Im doing simple fuel lines and spark plug wiring on one right now. And there is already a voice in the back of my mind starting to wish I hadn't opened that can

 

 

 

 

I get that, and I’m kind of in the same situation.

I’ll never be able to build everything that I would like to either, and I’ve resigned myself to that fact.

So my approach has morphed into rather than fretting over what will get left unbuilt, which will inevitably be many kits regardless of how I build them, I’ve decided that the process of the build is what is more important to me than populating my shelves.

I discovered along the way that I get much more satisfaction out of playing with the little stuff and discovering how to do things that I’ve never tried before than I did when I was putting time constraints on myself.

I haven’t spent hardly any time at all in my shop over the past year and a half, but I’m at peace with that.

Even if I never build anything ever again, at least I am very satisfied and content with what I have done to this point.

I just had to tell myself that I can’t build them all, so build what you can to the best of your ability.

I would rather that my legacy be quality rather than quantity.

Who knows, maybe when I’m too old and ready to get out, maybe I’ll be able to make a little money back on the ones that I have built to put towards a vacation or something.  😁

 

Steve

[Calb56]

Steve, I find your work amazing. Downright unreal, from under the hood to interior.

Tbh, I'm trying to learn enough about the mechanics to make mine appear realistic, though, I'm definitely tempted to fall down that rabbit hole...but returning to this from my teens, then a bit in my 40s, having to get rid of everything and now almost 60... my wife insists I finish something, anything.

Charles 

[Brutalform]

Sometimes you can enhance a firewall by simply dry brushing over the details. Maybe try painting the firewall flat or semi gloss black, and dry brushing a silver, or a gloss black over it. 

[StevenGuthmiller]

 

34 minutes ago, Calb56 said:

Steve, I find your work amazing. Downright unreal, from under the hood to interior.

Tbh, I'm trying to learn enough about the mechanics to make mine appear realistic, though, I'm definitely tempted to fall down that rabbit hole...but returning to this from my teens, then a bit in my 40s, having to get rid of everything and now almost 60... my wife insists I finish something, anything.

Charles 

The easiest way to paint convincing firewall and fender well detailing without going to the extreme of removing and replacing detail is to pay attention to how you’re painting the model and the materials used.

The right combination of materials can make painting small details such as this WAAAAY easier.

If you’re painting with lacquer, then it’s just a matter of using enamel or acrylic for the detail paint.

This combination will make it much easier to pick out the details as carefully as you can all of the way down to the firewall surface, and if you make a mistake, it’s just a matter of removing the mistake with sharpened tooth picks if the paint is still somewhat wet, or with the same tooth picks moistened with the appropriate thinner for the enamel or acrylic if the paint is dry.

This insures that no damage is done to the underlying lacquer.

I haven’t always replaced firewall detail, so prior to that, this was the general approach that I used.

A few examples.

 

 

 

 

Steve

 

 

Edited 5 hours ago by StevenGuthmiller

[gtx6970]

22 minutes ago, Brutalform said:

Sometimes you can enhance a firewall by simply dry brushing over the details. Maybe try painting the firewall flat or semi gloss black, and dry brushing a silver, or a gloss black over it. 

Agreed

 

EXCEPT,,, for myself as example I build Chrysler Muscle cars  and the only black firewall , is in a black car 

[Redisetta]

Steve, could I respectfully ask about the wire you used in the example of the wiring harness, what size or what type it is ? Again I’m very impressed with your work, its builders like you that cause me to strive to become a better builder  

Ray

 

[sidcharles]

the other point to emphasize is that it's not an either 'this or that proposition.'

combine and use a couple of each idea on the same model and see what suits you or works best in a given situation.

dry brushing and Tamiya panel line accent paints can go a long way towards improving a cast firewall (or anything) without getting too deep down the rabbit hole.

 

 

[StevenGuthmiller]

27 minutes ago, Redisetta said:

Steve, could I respectfully ask about the wire you used in the example of the wiring harness, what size or what type it is ? Again I’m very impressed with your work, its builders like you that cause me to strive to become a better builder  

Ray

 

I really don’t know the gauge of the wire used in that circumstance.

It was just taken from a larger copper strand wire.

 

Steve

Edited 2 hours ago by StevenGuthmiller