New to the life

[ProStr33t]

Hey guys how is it going.. i recently started building models again.... My dad and I used to build models when I was a child and I used to love spending that time with him.. He passed away in 2008.. My goal is to build realisting looking street cars with a pro street style all in his memory... We used to always tub out the cars and punt wider tires on and they look great....

I recently built a C5 corvette.. The engine and running gear all looks great!! However I am struggling with getting a good paint job on the body.. I will post pics later of the vette.. however I am looking for any tips that may help with my body painting.... spray distance.. prep, primer... sanding.. any tips would be great.. my dad used to get the smoothest most realistic paints and I would love to achieve that.... Thanks guys for the site.. looks great..

[vizio93]

First of all sorry to hear about your dad

Secondly welcome man, your gonna' love it here. there are plenty of people that love building prostreet cars and will love to answer all your questions, and comment on your builds. can't wait to see your builds (exspecialy that corvette, hint hint )

[ProStr33t]

Here are some pics.. Not as pro street as most.. more like a weekend drag car that runs 11's lol

The tail lights, mirrors and etc havent been placed on the body because I am still not happy with the paint job... I a, struggling to achive a smoth even finish... The rear tires are prom a ZR1 kit that was a 2n1 kit.. the tires are the street rod tires.. i had to cut the frame and chassis to get them to fit.. turned out great...

[envious8420]

Hey bro, welcome back to the addiction and welcome to the forum!

Building for your dad is an honorable undertaking, much respect.

as far as your painting woes, always start with a clean subject. a bit of dish soap and warm water will kill all the dirt and oils.

i start my prep by going over the whole body, smoothing any flaws with 400 grit paper wet wrapped around a good sanding block so everything is flat and smooth.

then if there is any filling to be done i do it now and repeat the blocking in the affected area.

wash again and dry well.

this is when i will attach the body to the paint stand and shoot a light coat of primer, were not going for coverage just a light coat to get started.

don't forget to shoot the wheel wells and hood, trunk, and other loose parts that are getting painted.

give it about 10 min to flash off and spray a second light coat with another 10 min. flash time.

after it has flashed off for 10 or so give it 1 last coat, this will be your coverage coat, if you did the first 2 coats correctly this one should be about as light as the first 2.

i usually give primer 4 hrs or so to fully dry before wet sanding it out with 1200 grit wet again.

this is just to flatten out the primer. do the whole body trying to use a block as much as possible.

wash and dry again.

heres where the fun begins, take your can of spray paint and put it in the sink and let hot water run on it for 10 min or so, let it get nice and hot. this will raise the pressure inside the can and will also let the paint flow a bit more. don't forget to shake well.

now we are back to the paint area.

lay down your first coat a tad on the light side, the trick here is like with the primer, light coats to build the color with 10 min in between again. again be sure to get the wheel wells and the other parts.

when spraying metallics and pearls, i will tape the hood and doors and such on to the body from the inside to minimize any color shift.

once all has been painted and allowed sufficient drying time, remove any taped parts (hood, etc...)

and affix them to their own stands/holders or whatever, for the clear coat/s.

if there are any issues/things you want to fix, ... now is the time. before the clear.

get everything set up on stands or whatever and after running the can under hot water for 10 min. lay down your first coat of clear, now don't expect some glass smooth gloss with this first coat, this is just to give the clear something to hold on to. it should be laid pretty thin, especially with metallics and pearls. if your first coat is too heavy expect the base coat to re-saturate and settle. very ugly. the key here is light coats again not forgetting the wheel wells, window openings, the bottom side of any body lines. after 2 mist coats of clear your can start building your gloss, 3rd coat should be of medium wet coverage. then on your last coat is when you get that wet look.

i go from start to finish minus the polishing part in less than an hour for a simple 1 color shoot.

let dry for however long the can says, then double it. then polish it out. some of us use polishing kits from micro mark and such, which are great. they included a great foam sanding block and polishing cloths from 2400 grit to 12000 (yes thousand) and a soft waxing cloth with a liquid polish.

i usually wait at least 30 days to let the paint fully cure before using any kind of wax.

Ive been painting 1:1s for years. take a look around in my photobucket to see some of my work.

I'm sure i missed a point or 2 in there that someone will pick up.

i use acrylic lacquers exclusively. these instructions are for acrylic lacquer.

i like the duplicolor line of paints for modeling, once in awhile ill snag something wild from the bodyshop, but thats another book.

again welcome and i look forward to seeing some of your builds.

Edited August 17, 2009 by envious8420

[lordairgtar]

Good detailed tips, envious. Well posted. From what I can see from the pics is some heaviness in the rear license area. Move the can back and forth more, don't hold over a spot too long. I also see some evidence of dullness on the front fenders. Not knowing what brand of paint you used, I can only guess that primer was not used and the paint tended to be a bit hotter and crazed the plastic underneath. This is not the end of the world. If you wish to remove the paint, you can dunk the body in a product like Super Clean degreaser. Just use a plastic shoebox sized container and let it soak in there over night. Don't use the disposable aluminum bread pans from the market, the SC will eat through it and create a mess you and your wife will not appreciate. Don't ask me how I know this. LOL. That flatness on the fenders could also be an indication of high humidity (summer day, a damp basement). This will cause paint to do that. I also would recommend Tamiya spray paint...stuff is pretty forgiving if you spray it as envious explained it in his post. I usually don't clear coat, but it is a great way to make a finish glossy. Other than that, I don't see that many issues with your paint job, so you are pretty much there.

Edited August 17, 2009 by lordairgtar

[george 53]

Welcome P Street to the BEST model car site in EXISTANCE! The guys here are the WORLDS BEST modelers, an they're ALL ready to help a fellow modeler out! Jus ask questions an see. Greg a Pete both had great answers, an they're talkin from 'spirience an ya can't beat that! Pull up a chair, open a can of pop(or your favorite beverage)an sit back an enjoy, caz your HOME now!!!

[ProStr33t]

Thanks for the welcomes guys .. Also thanks for the tips.. You are right.. i didn't use a primer and i live in North FL. So yeah, very high humidity on that day.. i recently aquired some primer and will be redoing this car in the near future... What do you guys think about how the body sits? The rear fenders are like 1/32 above the rear tires and I love it.... MY next project after this one is a Shelby GT 350... I'm thinking of trying a 2003-2004 cobra engine and drive train swap.. hopefully I can get it to work... About how far away do you guys hold the spray can?

[E St. Kruiser50]

Thanks for the welcomes guys .. Also thanks for the tips.. You are right.. i didn't use a primer and i live in North FL. So yeah, very high humidity on that day.. i recently aquired some primer and will be redoing this car in the near future... What do you guys think about how the body sits? The rear fenders are like 1/32 above the rear tires and I love it.... MY next project after this one is a Shelby GT 350... I'm thinking of trying a 2003-2004 cobra engine and drive train swap.. hopefully I can get it to work... About how far away do you guys hold the spray can?

WELCOME

I always recommend getting a package of plastic picnic spoons, and using those to spray your samples on, and getting the proper distance and 'Rythem" for getting the paint laid down the way you like.

The plastic spoons are made of styrene like your model kits, and will save $$$ on using your kit parts.

You can practice doing taping and when to remove the tape, and practice your clear-coating also.

Hope this helps - dave

[ProStr33t]

WELCOME

I always recommend getting a package of plastic picnic spoons, and using those to spray your samples on, and getting the proper distance and 'Rythem" for getting the paint laid down the way you like.

The plastic spoons are made of styrene like your model kits, and will save $$$ on using your kit parts.

You can practice doing taping and when to remove the tape, and practice your clear-coating also.

Hope this helps - dave

Thanks helps a lot as i have recently had a Gt 350 shelby primer blunder LOL

[lordairgtar]

Super Clean will fix that primer blunder.

[ProStr33t]

Super Clean will fix that primer blunder.

Where can I get this said "Super clean"?

[Jon Cole]

Thanks helps a lot as i have recently had a Gt 350 shelby primer blunder LOL

"Super Clean" is a cleaner/degreaser that can be purchased in any hardware or home supply store. I think even Wal-Mart has it. It used to be called "Castrol Super Clean", we usually call it "the purple stuff" or "the purple pond". Buy a spray bottle, open the top and pour it in a safe plastic container just big enough to hold the body, and let it soak overnight.

You can always use Google Image to find a picture of it.

[ProStr33t]

Great advice !! thank you..... Look for a new post from me.. i recently had a break through