Rolls-Royce No Chemicals, No Paint, No Harmful Glues

[MarkJ]

There is a polish for model cars that comes in bottles that the name escapes me now and I don't know if you would be affected by the smell of it which isn't very strong but the finest level of it is good for getting rid of sanding scratches. Its buried in one of my stash boxes so hopefully somebody else can remember the name of it.

[Anglia105E]

42 minutes ago, MarkJ said:

There is a polish for model cars that comes in bottles that the name escapes me now and I don't know if you would be affected by the smell of it which isn't very strong but the finest level of it is good for getting rid of sanding scratches. Its buried in one of my stash boxes so hopefully somebody else can remember the name of it.

Thanks Mark . . . Maybe someone can remember ? . . . I have used WD40 on the Sharpie mark today, and it worked quite well. I can try the wet & dry sanding paper with water on the roof scratch later.

David

[Big Messer]

4 hours ago, Anglia105E said:

I am a little nervous about using sandpaper and water on the body surface, but if this body shell is ruined anyway then I don't have anything to lose by at least giving it a try out . . . You are right about the Dremel, and in my case the Blackspur mini grinder, they do overheat the plastic pretty quickly !

David

Look for wet or dry sandpaper grit 1000 to start, then finer down to the finest you can find, then polish as usual. They are available at stores that sell body repair supplies. As you said the body is damaged already, so what is there to lose?.

Edited September 7 by Big Messer

[Big Messer]

2 hours ago, MarkJ said:

There is a polish for model cars that comes in bottles that the name escapes me now and I don't know if you would be affected by the smell of it which isn't very strong but the finest level of it is good for getting rid of sanding scratches. Its buried in one of my stash boxes so hopefully somebody else can remember the name of it.

Tooth polishing toothpaste is probably a good choice also.

[Anglia105E]

22 minutes ago, Big Messer said:

Look for wet or dry sandpaper grit 1000 to start, then finer down to the finest you can find, then polish as usual. They are available at stores that sell body repair supplies. As you said the body is damaged already, so what is there to lose?.

Yes, I have 1200 grit wet & dry, and also 600 grit . . . 

[Big Messer]

4 minutes ago, Anglia105E said:

Yes, I have 1200 grit wet & dry, and also 600 grit . . . 

I found 1500 and 2000 grit at the local home "improvement" store. Will check the auto parts store later.

[Big Messer]

Got 2500, 3000 and 5000 grits at the auto parts store.

[MarkJ]

For fine scratches you need to start with 6000 and work your way up to 12000. 1000 will add lots of deep scratches. Hobby Lobby sells a pack that starts with 2000 and works up to 12000. When you get to 12000 you should be able to see your face in the roof like a mirror, especially because its black.

[Anglia105E]

2 hours ago, Big Messer said:

Got 2500, 3000 and 5000 grits at the auto parts store.

Okay thanks Jose . . . Will get hold of some finer grades locally.

[Big Messer]

One thing I do sometimes is rub two pieces of fine grits against each other to get a finer one I may not have at hand right away. Modeling in the wee hours may cause some inconveniences...

[Anglia105E]

3 hours ago, MarkJ said:

For fine scratches you need to start with 6000 and work your way up to 12000. 1000 will add lots of deep scratches. Hobby Lobby sells a pack that starts with 2000 and works up to 12000. When you get to 12000 you should be able to see your face in the roof like a mirror, especially because its black.

Wow Mark . . . 6000 grit to 12000 grit is way finer grade than 1000 grit to 1200 grit !!!  Not sure if my local supplier will have such fine grades in stock.

[Anglia105E]

The following two photos show the Silver Cloud body after I have applied a small amount of WD40 spray. This was done outdoors, and then rubbed gently with a cotton bud . . . What I intend to do next is to use some kitchen foil and PVA glue to chrome the window frame of the rear door, and also to chrome the strip that runs along the side of the two doors, immediately below the windows . . .

This will allow me to examine the area of the body shell that has been affected by the silver Sharpie spillage, and therefore to determine the overall appearance.

David

[Anglia105E]

Today I attempted to apply chrome to the driver's side rear door window frame, which has turned out to be the worst bare metal foiling that I have ever seen.

Although I say Bare Metal Foil, this was not done with the BMF product . . . I applied PVA glue around the window frame perimeter, and also inside the frame.

Then I measured and cut out a rectangular piece of aluminium kitchen foil, 40 mm x 22 mm, and placed this over the window frame area . . .

Leaving the foil to sit awhile, I returned later to cut away the centre portions of the foil with a scalpel knife. The edges were folded over onto the glued areas.

Despite smoothing the foil carefully with a cotton bud and also the rounded end of a cocktail stick, the overall result is messy and ragged.

I am not happy with the result . . . Just as you would expect a real 1:1 scale Rolls-Royce motor car to be presented with a high quality finish, my feeling is that a 1:24 scale model of this car should also be of the highest quality possible. I cannot accept this poor representation of chrome plating, so I need to rethink the whole approach to this build . . . Previously of course, Molotow Liquid Chrome would have been the product of choice for me, but I am not able to use this now due to my medical condition, and particularly with regard to the cleaning solution for the brush, i.e. Isopropyl Alcohol.

I shall examine the body shell tomorrow morning after overnight drying, and maybe clean off the PVA residue to see if there is any improvement . . .

David

 

[johnyrotten]

Don, is the thickness of the foil causing your issue? I've read a few "homemade bmf" tutorials and they all say the cheaper brands are thinner and what works better. Or is it an adhesion issue? Maybe the pva glue needs a bit of "tooth" to adhere to the foil,try brushing a fine scotchbrite pad or high grit sandpaper on the backside of the foil, and apply the glue to the foil. Another thought, but I have no experience with it,is silver leafing. Not sure if the glue used with that has any odor. 

[MarkJ]

Believe it or not. Acrylic paint is your best bet when doing chrome trim. get some very thin 1/16 of an inch black art tape. The one I show is 1/8 inch below, but you can get the 1/16-inch size and mask the moldings on their edges and just paint the moldings with silver acrylic paint, I recommend Createx but you can also use Vallejo thinned enough to go on smoothly and use a very thin tiny brush. I would show you my results but that would not work.  Believe me with a little patience and time you can do a very nice job.

[Anglia105E]

3 hours ago, johnyrotten said:

Don, is the thickness of the foil causing your issue? I've read a few "homemade bmf" tutorials and they all say the cheaper brands are thinner and what works better. Or is it an adhesion issue? Maybe the pva glue needs a bit of "tooth" to adhere to the foil,try brushing a fine scotchbrite pad or high grit sandpaper on the backside of the foil, and apply the glue to the foil. Another thought, but I have no experience with it,is silver leafing. Not sure if the glue used with that has any odor. 

Thanks for the tips John, and I did try to get the cheapest kitchen foil that was available locally, but it could be too thick as you say . . . Certainly foil adhesion is the issue here mainly. I can have a look at silver leafing, and gather some information about that method . . . Now that would be entirely appropriate, silver leaf for a Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud  !

David

[Anglia105E]

31 minutes ago, MarkJ said:

Believe it or not. Acrylic paint is your best bet when doing chrome trim. get some very thin 1/16 of an inch black art tape. The one I show is 1/8 inch below, but you can get the 1/16-inch size and mask the moldings on their edges and just paint the moldings with silver acrylic paint, I recommend Createx but you can also use Vallejo thinned enough to go on smoothly and use a very thin tiny brush. I would show you my results but that would not work.  Believe me with a little patience and time you can do a very nice job.

My narrow orange tape is 1/4 " in width, so if I can get hold of some 1/8 " or even 1/16 " wide tape that would be good . . . I do have chrome and silver Vallejo acrylic paints, which might go on nicely with the right brush. Thanks for the information and also the encouragement, which I do need at this stage !

David

[johnyrotten]

here's a tutorial, but the size(glue) is chemical based. There may be an alternative adhesive, or something water based.

 

[Anglia105E]

1 hour ago, johnyrotten said:

here's a tutorial, but the size(glue) is chemical based. There may be an alternative adhesive, or something water based.

 

Having watched the whole of the tutorial, start to finish and including the comments, I see this as a fascinating alternative to BMF ( and kitchen foil / PVA ).

Some of the chemicals and the procedures are putting me off trying silver leaf very slightly. I did notice the water based size as an option.

Personally, I have to admit to being rather clumsy, and especially with my hand movements ( hand to eye co-ordination ). You may ask why have I chosen to build scale model cars, mostly those that are smaller than say 1:12 scale ? . . . I have always been interested in everything to do with cars, and I have been interested in model cars since I was around 8 years of age. The very thought of me handling wafer thin silver leaf conjures up all sorts of nightmares !

David

[johnyrotten]

27 minutes ago, Anglia105E said:

Personally, I have to admit to being rather clumsy, and especially with my hand movements ( hand to eye co-ordination ). You may ask why have I chosen to build scale model cars, mostly those that are smaller than say 1:12 scale ?

No better way to improve on a skill than to practice,  especially when there is an interest involved.  I myself like problem solving, alternative options to reach a conclusion or solution. More than one way to skin a cat,so to speak. Model kits are a series of small "problems" to figure out. Any BMF ive ordered has come directly from them(freshest supply), and I store mine in a large envelope in my pantry where it stays cool.(another trick I picked up here on the forum).

[Anglia105E]

1 hour ago, johnyrotten said:

No better way to improve on a skill than to practice,  especially when there is an interest involved.  I myself like problem solving, alternative options to reach a conclusion or solution. More than one way to skin a cat,so to speak. Model kits are a series of small "problems" to figure out. Any BMF ive ordered has come directly from them(freshest supply), and I store mine in a large envelope in my pantry where it stays cool.(another trick I picked up here on the forum).

Yes John . . . That is something that I like, problem solving. Before I retired seven years ago now, I was a self employed technical support engineer, so working with all aspects of ' fixing computers ', both hardware and software . . . Each kit that I build these days leads me through a process of assembling the model and tackling every problem along the way. Such an absorbing hobby for that reason alone . . .

Whenever I have purchased BMF over the past few years, this has been through Ebay sellers usually, so not directly from BMF and it does vary in quality.

David

[stitchdup]

On 9/7/2025 at 10:09 PM, Anglia105E said:

Wow Mark . . . 6000 grit to 12000 grit is way finer grade than 1000 grit to 1200 grit !!!  Not sure if my local supplier will have such fine grades in stock.

if you look for albion abrasives on amazon, they sell packs of mixed sheets between 240 and 12000 grit. decent quality and around a tenner. i got 6 sheets of each in my pack and i'm still using the first sheet of the finer grades

[stitchdup]

18 hours ago, Anglia105E said:

Today I attempted to apply chrome to the driver's side rear door window frame, which has turned out to be the worst bare metal foiling that I have ever seen.

Although I say Bare Metal Foil, this was not done with the BMF product . . . I applied PVA glue around the window frame perimeter, and also inside the frame.

Then I measured and cut out a rectangular piece of aluminium kitchen foil, 40 mm x 22 mm, and placed this over the window frame area . . .

Leaving the foil to sit awhile, I returned later to cut away the centre portions of the foil with a scalpel knife. The edges were folded over onto the glued areas.

Despite smoothing the foil carefully with a cotton bud and also the rounded end of a cocktail stick, the overall result is messy and ragged.

I am not happy with the result . . . Just as you would expect a real 1:1 scale Rolls-Royce motor car to be presented with a high quality finish, my feeling is that a 1:24 scale model of this car should also be of the highest quality possible. I cannot accept this poor representation of chrome plating, so I need to rethink the whole approach to this build . . . Previously of course, Molotow Liquid Chrome would have been the product of choice for me, but I am not able to use this now due to my medical condition, and particularly with regard to the cleaning solution for the brush, i.e. Isopropyl Alcohol.

I shall examine the body shell tomorrow morning after overnight drying, and maybe clean off the PVA residue to see if there is any improvement . . .

David

 

i think you are on the right track but might need to do the pieces indivually rather than all at once. that way you could also follow the real trim for the pieces

[Anglia105E]

11 minutes ago, stitchdup said:

if you look for albion abrasives on amazon, they sell packs of mixed sheets between 240 and 12000 grit. decent quality and around a tenner. i got 6 sheets of each in my pack and i'm still using the first sheet of the finer grades

I found some sheets of 2000 grit wet & dry in my loft, so I will test this on one of the three body shells that I am not using for the build. Also, I will have a look at Albion Abrasives on Amazon as you suggest . . .

David

[Anglia105E]

12 minutes ago, stitchdup said:

i think you are on the right track but might need to do the pieces indivually rather than all at once. that way you could also follow the real trim for the pieces

Thanks Les, and I did consider cutting separate pieces of foil at first, which is how I would usually tackle this job. For some reason I settled on the one piece foil method, which has not gone well at all . . .

David