1949 Mercury

[walt francis]

Keep up the great show Mr Bill this will help alot of people out.

[charlie8575]

I've heard of people using Future as a sealant before, and after seeing this demonstration, I can see it does work quite well.

I've got some Tamyia white primer in a little square bottle (sort of like the old Testors cement bottles,) and when brushing it on, I'm not thrilled with the coverage (very thin,) but it does actually seem to prime decently. I might try the spray stuff next time I have a few bucks and see how it goes.

Charlie Larkin

[BKIN10SECS]

Don't worry, if things work out, that "accident" won't happen until both of us have said "I do".

Spoken like a true Gentleman.....If you have been in this hobby for awhile, we all know there are many a builder who will not share tips or secrets, but then there are guys like Bill...Thanks Bill.

Edited September 28, 2009 by BKIN10SECS

[lowriderphil]

keep up the good work Bill, I always enjoy your builds

[MikeMc]

Thanks for the compliments..........I'm trying not to go too overboard with this although it's tempting. I'm considering a lot of the new ones here whom I don't want to be intimidated by what they see if I get too crazy!

So that means no rotor in the distributor!!!

[pharr7226]

This very helpful. Thanks again Bill. Keep it up.

[Custom Hearse]

This has been great to watch Bill! The engine color is excellent also!

My best to you and your lady!

[asco]

Got to say, this is the post we were talking about in our forum here at Finland... It was mainly pointed to newbies, but I have to say we all have been watching this our eyes rolling huh... I've been tinkering with these plastic pieces and glue since about 1984, I guess, and I've been doing most of these things wrong and harder ways. Damnit... Great to see and read this article, keep it coming.

[HGLOVAL]

This is an awsome build. For a long time I've wanted to get a model to look decent and the topics covered so far have answered a lot of questions for me. Most of the people at the LHS are advanced builders and the advice they give is good, but again advanced. Regarding the Future polish. It's nice to see it actually used. I have one question though. I have a sci fi model (AMT biker scout figure) that will require the same kind of filing and filling as the engine halves. I would like to know if the future will work with flat paints as well as it does for gloss? I figured I could coat the figures seams with future (after prepping) and then paint the flat black. Any advice would be appreciated. Again, thanks for a great build.

[MrObsessive]

I have a sci fi model (AMT biker scout figure) that will require the same kind of filing and filling as the engine halves. I would like to know if the future will work with flat paints as well as it does for gloss? I figured I could coat the figures seams with future (after prepping) and then paint the flat black.

It certainly should! Future works because the surface itself is "neutral". In other words it's an acrylic, so flats or glosses go over it with no trouble at all. The fact that's it's water/acrylic based is also a plus for the hot lacquers and polyurethanes.

I've seen military builders put the hottest paints available over plastic coated with Future and their was nary a crazing of the plastic.

[BKIN10SECS]

Bill if I may, This is the first time I have heard of Future being used this way,Thanks. I do alot of emblem removing, seam filling, molding etc. So with that in mine and ghosting body work always being a concern, do you recommened airbrushing Future on the entire model to act as a sealer, barrier before applying primer? I know I have heard that Future is self leveling but would there be any reason to wet sand Future or even if it could be. Thanks

[MrObsessive]

Jay and Roger, to answer your questions about Future------yes, just about any paint 'cept for the very hottest and caustic ones, will go over Future without crazing the plastic.

Here's a few pics of models that were first airbrushed with Future on the bare plastic and then painted over. The Future is self leveling, and shouldn't need any sanding...........also I would turn the pressure down to 10-15 psi when spraying as it can run quickly if the pressure is too high.

'05 Corvette hood with Sunset Orange automotive paint straight from the paint jobber over Future........Note that there's NO crazing!

'06 Magnum............

'05 Mustang............

I picked these three out simply because they are the newer Revell releases with the "soft" plastic that crazes easier than previous years. When I started hearing the horror stories that guys were having with the newer Revell stuff when they had no problem before, Future immediately came to mind.

Those that have seen these models in person can vouch that there's nary a crazing area anywhere on the bodies.

I personally don't care for Future as a clearcoat-------I'd rather use regular automotive paint or Tamiya X-22 for clears. And even then I don't like to clearcoat anything except for metallic colors.

Hope this helps!

[BKIN10SECS]

gonna give it a shot.....

[93Z34]

So Bill, let me get this straight. You're saying if I brush Future on a bare plastic body it will "level out" without having to be sanded or otherwise treated? Like many others, this is the first I've heard about using Future as a barrier coat. All the other times I've heard of it's use, it's been for clearcoating.

I just wanted to verify this with ya.

[MrObsessive]

Brian, I've known of guys who used a "foam brush" to put Future on whole bodies. When they painted over it, I saw no brush streaks or anything to indicate that there was some other brushed coat underneath the spray painted body. I personally airbrush Future on-----it takes some practice to not get it to run, but if it does you can have a paper towel nearby to wick up the excess as it may run to the corner of the body.

On the pic you see above for the engine block, the Future did level out after I brushed it on before I sprayed the primer and color coat.

Now I recommend multiple coats of Future as it does shrink when drying.........that's up to you to determine how many coats though.

[93Z34]

Thanks Bill. I have already started utilizing alot of your other previously mentioned methods with my current projects. Still need a bit of practice with some, but I do see a big improvement over previous subjects I've tackled before. Still have a ways to go on the polishing cloths as i seem to have the uncanny knack of polishing through the paint and then having to start over again. I'll get the hang of it though.

[MrObsessive]

Stay tuned Brian........after I finish the engine (hopefully over the weekend), rubbing out and polishing the body and such with the cloths will be next.

Have some "important" things to do before I go out of town around the middle of next week, so maybe I can squeeze that in.

[MrObsessive]

Yeah Dave, my face now is not as fuzzy and bushy as my avatar pic, but those even with a short goatee and mustache should pay close attention to make sure the respirator is snug as a bug.

[Roger U]

Bill, This is a GREAT tutorial, with perfect timing for me. After being away from model building for a long time I'm planning on starting again and this is just what I need. Thank you very much for all of your time and effort on this project.

[LVZ2881]

I applied Future to this Mustang using a 1" wide foam brush, it works pretty good, but there is build up( almost a run) at the bottom of the rear quarters..

it gave a nice shine..my biggest advice is make sure the brush you use is clean, otherwise any dirt in the brush will transfer to the model in the future.

[bigdodge88]

I just want to say a bog thanks to you Mr. Geary. I used to do models when I was a little kid for fun. Now that I am a little older I am getting back into static models (been building Scale RC Trucks for a couple of years) and this write-up/tutorial has been a ton of help. And I can use most of it for my scale RC's as well. I am looking forward to seeing how you buff and polish models to make them shine just like 1:1 cars do.

Once again, thanks a ton.

Justin

[Fletch]

Bill, thank you for the time and effort you spent putting this together. Even for those of us who have been building for years it's always a good thing to go back over the basics. Sometimes we get so set in our ways of doing thinks we overlook the simple things of building. I have to admit I'd never heard of the liquid cement over modl lines before, but you can rest assured it is a new tool in my arsenal to use for those pesky line that just won't go away and stay away.

I agree with you completely that the Tamiya Putty is about the best spot putty to use. I know here in the NW we're having all kinds of trouble getting it in the stores. But, I understand Hobby Link Japan has it in 3-packs that including shipping is about the same cost as it was in the LHS prior to getting taken off the market.

Thank you again for the great information and insight.

Fletch

Edited October 1, 2009 by Fletch

[MrObsessive]

Sorry for the looooong delay in updating this thread fellas! After being out of town last week and a lot of catching up to do this week, I've just gotten around to building some more on the Merc.

Last time I was on I was working on the engine...............here's the latest so far........

It's always a good idea to have a TON of reference pics for whatever you're trying to build. A good source of pics is eBay Motors and Google.

Generally the more the asking price is for the car, the better the pics will be which should include undercarriage pics as well as interior and trunk pics.

As you can see I have a BUNCH of cars listed on my laptop, and behind each of those folders is a whole lotta pics! What's on the screen right now is a stone stock '49 Mercury which was on eBay recently. The perfect color as the interior is the exact color I want to paint mine in.

Getting a firing order diagram is also a nice idea for you replica stock builders, Yeah, I know the engine isn't going to run------but it looks better if the wires are running in different directions from the distributor, not all neat and orderly. NO cars from that era had wires that ran neat and orderly!

I usually I drill the holes out ahead of time when I want to add plug wires, but in this case I forgot! Anyway, I covered the bottom of the engine with Parafilm to keep the smudgies away.

Once again, I need plug boots for the heads, so I sliced and diced some wire insulation to represent plug boots.

These were then inserted in the heads.

I then started to wire the engine according to the diagram-----at least as best I could! I think I miswired a plug or two!

Notice how the wires "sag" and not bow outwards...........important if you want realistic looking engine wiring.

Exhaust manifolds.............folks remember to get rid of the mold lines if present here!

Completed engine! Not a lot of detail for this type of build, but enough so it doesn't look too lonely in the engine bay.

The radiator hoses I'll add after the engine is set in the chassis to get a more positive location to where they should be.

Okay, as promised------I said I would do a mini tutorial on rubbing out and polishing. Early this morning I was doing just that, and took some pics. I'll be writing up what I did after this gets posted--------hopefully within the hour, I can have it put up.

Stay tuned!

[MrObsessive]

Well here it is! The way I rub out and polish paint on my models.............I didn't do the entire car for time's sake, but just to give a general idea on what to look out for when doing what I think is the most important thing to a model.

'Cuz in the end, it won't matter how many bells and whistles are on the model, if the paint job is a mess, it will be all for naught!

Here's the roof section before any rubbing out is done with the polishing cloths. Years ago I would do endless rubbing out with wax to get rid of the orange peel-------The polishing cloths take care of that in no time, but one has to learn how to use them.

Here are my somewhat well used Detail Master polishing cloths. I'm going to start with the 3600 grit and work all the way up to the 12,000 grit cloth.

Since this is a solid color with no clear coat being rubbed out, I'm going to use the water method in rubbing out the paint.

Just a few drops of dish detergent in water should be sufficient.

If this were a metallic color with clearcoat, I would not use the water method as water tends to "hide" your progress. Next thing you know you've burned through the clear coat and now have to paint that spot.

Not my idea of fun!

Simply dip the cloth in the water and do a back and forth motion with the cloth on the roof. If you're working with a really flat surface such as hood with no ridges, then you might want to use the foam block that's available with the polishing kit.

This will ensure you get a nice even surface when rubbing it out. Here I'm simply using my fingers being careful not to create any "troughs".

Oh BTW, please DO rub out the trim around the windows! I've seen a number of models done in the past where the BMF while put on neatly, had a rough, craggy, appearance due to the surface underneath NOT being rubbed out!

BMF will NOT hide errors in the paint, only magnify them!

Okay, here's the roof after all the grits have been used.

Here's what I've been using to polish out bodies for at least 20 years now. A chamois (pronounced phonetically SHAMMY) cloth which can be picked up at most auto parts stores.

I dip my fingers in the wax, which in this case is Meguiar's Car Cleaner Wax, and with a circular motion rub the wax on.

Then I take the chamois cloth and wipe off the wax. I usually don't wait until the wax is dry--------directly after I put the wax on, I'm taking it off with the chamois.

And here is the result after just a few rub outs. There are still some fine scratches to get rid of, but after I get done there will be none.

Chamois cloths are great as opposed to using a t-shirt or flannel as they can leave scratches after each time they are used.

Well, I'm going to go ahead an completely rub out the entire body-------those of you who paint and polish cars for a living know that this is no overnight job! You have to do each section at a time. First the roof, then the fenders(s), then the trunk, door's, etc.

IIRC, when I built the '61 Caddy a few years ago, it took the better part of a week working and hour or so at time to get the results I got with the dark blue paint. This one I'm sure will be no different.

Any comments or questions ask away!--------Thanks for looking!

[Tony T]

Who is that masked man?

Great stuff once again, Bill! Thanks!