'49 Mercury

[Donny]

Got some paint on the Merc today, Luke's favorite color. Got some nasty scratches on the turret which I thought I fixed - I didn't, so tomorrow I'll have to rub it back and more primer. Then wait until the topcoat arrives from the hobby shop. Then I'll have a go at better photo's than I've just posted.

Don

[Glassparman]

You can never go wrong with black. I love the depth of black when it is polished out.

[Bainford]

The Merc should look good in black.

[Donny]

And the good news is, I went to work on it last night, and with Tamiya's polishing compounds got the scratches out of the roof, and its looking mighty fine  Now the rest of it........................

Don

 

[Donny]

The only color is black, as far as I'm concerned. I keep picturing James Dean leaning on his black Merc in the movie "Rebel Without a Cause". So it has to be black.

Don

[meechum68]

That's slick!! 

[Donny]

46 minutes ago, meechum68 said:

That's slick!! 

Thanks mate, just hope I can do the rest of it as good

Don

[FoMoCo66]

1 hour ago, Donny said:

Thanks mate, just hope I can do the rest of it as good

Don

Yeah, looks pretty slick, like a hockey rink. Black is by far the hardest to get right but it gives the biggest reward. Just don't polish through the black anywhere because you WILL see it.

[Zippi]

Looking pretty sweet there Donny.  Yup, Luke sure knows how to lay down a nice paint job.  

[Donny]

I abandoned the Chev for now, after another paint mishap. I got back to the Merc and got into the polishing, I think it's now ready to do the interior and finish it off. The body is about as good as I can get it (for me). I already fixed the scratch on the LHF door, the other marks are BLAH_BLAH_BLAH_BLAH on my phone lens. Just hope that the rest goes together okay.

Don

 

 

 

[Kutnplastik]

On 10/14/2025 at 2:04 PM, Donny said:

And the good news is, I went to work on it last night, and with Tamiya's polishing compounds got the scratches out of the roof, and its looking mighty fine  Now the rest of it........................

Don

 

Looks great! I have a model done in black that I simply can’t get the scratches out. Is the Tamiya compounds good? Assume there is more than one? What clear were you going to use?

[Donny]

4 hours ago, Kutnplastik said:

Looks great! I have a model done in black that I simply can’t get the scratches out. Is the Tamiya compounds good? Assume there is more than one? What clear were you going to use?

Mate I use all three of Tamiya Polishing compounds. Coarse, Fine, Finish, and they seem to work for me.

Don 

[Donny]

Big problem with the Mercury. Got to the interior today and there is a big chunk of the front floor with a hole in it. I noticed it before this, but assumed (incorrectly) that it would all work out once zi started to put it together, WRONG. At first I thought that was how it was supposed to be, something to do with how the trans would fit, that didn't feel right, and after some checking.............I was right, it isn't right. Pics tell the story. Contacted the seller, (I bought it on eBay), not that it will do me any good. 

Don   

 

Not too sure what to do with this now. 

[johnyrotten]

43 minutes ago, Donny said:

Not too sure what to do with this now

Don, if you have any flat styrene,  that's not that difficult of a repair. I would replace from just under the seat foward rather than fill the hole,but even filling that isn't bad. For the trans tunnel wrap the styrene around something round,slightly smaller. A dunk in almost boiling water for a few seconds followed by cold water. It will keep its shape. As for the details, I've done and seen all kinds of options, and you really don't see that area unless the doors are opened up. Another option is checking if another member here has a tub they're willing to trade.

Edited yesterday at 09:16 AM by johnyrotten

[STU111]

G’day Don, it’s what’s known as a “short shot”. Not enough liquified plastic goes through the mold, leaving gaps. As John says it can be repaired with styrene sheet, Evergreen is a well known brand and is available in hobby shops, bends easy in hot water, ( l made some wheel tubs for another build with it ). If you’re not up for that, put it out on the forum to see if anyone has a spare tub. Good luck with it. 👍🏻

[Donny]

John, thanks mate, I'll give it a shot. Never done anything like that, but I'll give it a go. I mean what can go wrong🙄😄.Damn, I was on the home straight with this. 

Thanks Stu, think I must have run over a black cat or something, the luck I've been having lately. I can get some styrene sheet hopefully tomorrow. Is there a recommended thickness I should get if I go with John's suggestion. Also can you tell me  what thickness styrene strip I should get, I've got a NSX body with a small crack near the hatch I have to fix. 

Thanks, guys, for your help 

Don

 

[STU111]

G’day Don. Probably around 0.5 mm, probably even thinner. Don’t want it too thick as it’s not going to bend easily. Have a look at the packs in the shop, see what you think. It’s handy to have some in your modelling kit. The sheets are fairly large so you can have a few goes at it until you get the shape you’re wanting. The footwells and firewall are easy as they’re flat.

[bobss396]

Got any scrap tubs around? Just cut out the bad and splice the "new" piece in. Sounds over simplified... 

[johnyrotten]

2 hours ago, Donny said:

John, thanks mate, I'll give it a shot. Never done anything like that, but I'll give it a go. I mean what can go wrong🙄😄.Damn, I was on the home straight with this. 

If you see this in time, Bill(Ace-Garageguy) has an awesome, detailed build where he made his own tunnel and floor. Many highlights on techniques and possibly issues. Very detailed instructions. 

[Donny]

Thanks John, I'll check it out

Don

[Donny]

11 hours ago, STU111 said:

G’day Don. Probably around 0.5 mm, probably even thinner. Don’t want it too thick as it’s not going to bend easily. Have a look at the packs in the shop, see what you think. It’s handy to have some in your modelling kit. The sheets are fairly large so you can have a few goes at it until you get the shape you’re wanting. The footwells and firewall are easy as they’re flat.

Thanks Stu, hopefully that will serve both purposes. Unfortunately, I'm grounded at the moment, my car is in the shop, and my wife is at her Mum's, she is her carer, so I'll have to do it on line, shouldn't be a problem though, just a delay. Patience Don patience. 

[Donny]

Hey Stu, how can I paint the interior, when I've repaired it, I cleaned all the previous paint from it which looked like a dog's breakfast, bad to start with, and even worse after the storm got to it, found it in the garden. I'd like to spray it, but can't work out how, it's such a small area, but I hate using a brush I can never get a good finish. I've watched stuff on Youtube but still can't get a good finish. Any clues? Thanks

Don 

[STU111]

G’day Don, I just spray my interiors. Either with the airbrush or a Tamiya rattle can. I really only brush paint small parts these days. 👍🏻

[STU111]

Hit send before I finished what I was saying! 😄 with a tub style interior, I lightly spray the floor then hold the can at an angle and spray the door trim lightly on both sides and keep lightly spraying the floor and door trim until I’m happy with the results.

[Donny]

Thanks Stu. I've never tried spraying the interiors with a rattle can, it seems to come out with a rush. I not very experienced with an airbrush, but that's what i normally attempt to do. I think I should just cheat and tint the windows LOL