1949 Mercury

[jfh]

Bill, thank you for doing this thread--it fits right into where I am at while I build up my skills.

It's now the 'No.1' link in my tips and tricks folder.

Jim H.

[my80malibu]

Another update so far!

Here's pics of what the Tamiya Putty comes in. I hear it's now discontinued (I don't know why).....it's too bad because this putty was perfect for small jobs as it DOES NOT SHRINK!

I now have a total of 2 1/2 tubes. I think I remember hearing about it being discontinued the last time I was at our local train shop. That's probably the reason why I bought the extra tube.

A little goes a long way with Tamiya Putty.

The hood needed some tweaking as it wouldn't sit right on the cowl. I believe the thickness of the hood is not consistent from side to side-----so I added a tiny shim to the rear of it.

I also cleaned up the back edge of the hood to match the contours of the cowl better. I want to make the hood so that it can lift off totally. Not that there will be much detail under the hood (remember this is Modeling 101!) but to make some visual interest just the same.

Now I want to do something about those fender skirts! There is NO positive location to place them on the body!

Sooooooo..................

While the masking tape is holding the skirt in place where I want it, I made a tracing on the inside of the skirt where I will place some plastic rod later.

As you can see a few pieces of plastic rod, have been added. The reason I'm doing it this way is I want to paint the skirts separate from the body.

That way there won't be any "pulling away" or "fuzziness" around the edges of the skirts when painted. It's also easier to rub out the paint, polish, then add the skirts afterward.

By making a positive location, you also lessen the chance of smearing epoxy all over the body when attaching. After the body is painted, thoroughly dry, rubbed out and polished, I'll then attach the skirts with Tamiya tape for positioning, then epoxy 'em from the inside.

Stay tuned for more...........!

Bill I have been told that this product can no longer be sold in the U.S.,(WHY? possibly environmental) From my LHS dealer. However he has ordered through Hobby link Japan and usually order's several tubes. for us to have when we need some.

[Alyn]

Bill, along with everyone else, I applaud you for offering your time and knowledge in putting this thread together. The descriptive text is nicely detailed and your photos show the steps in excellent clarity. Your demeanor appears to be a perfect match to the task

[Luc Janssens]

I learned a technique years ago by Ted "Chopper" Lear about using liquid glue to get rid of ghosting.

Great tip!!!

Thank you Bill!!!!!

Best Regards

Luc

[Zed]

Thanks for sharing your art Bill !

[MrObsessive]

As I mentioned in another post, I like to wait 'til somewhat near the end before I'll paint. With the detailed builds I do with opening doors and such, I want to make sure there won't be any hangups such as getting the interior to fit correctly, chassis fit troubles, etc.

This model goes together pretty straightforward.......so I won't worry about it at this juncture.

FIRST thing you want to do is WASH THE PARTS! This will eliminate LOTS of painting troubles I hear about on the board such as paint peeling off, not adhering in certain spots, and the occasional fisheye.

After the body parts have soaked for a spell, take a small toothbrush and scrub the parts. I've known of builders to also use Soft Scrub which will certainly clean the parts up as well as give them a very slightly scuffed surface which is good for the primer to "bite" into.

My soap of choice here was Ajax dish detergent with a degreaser. (Like Dawn)

After you're done and the parts all rinsed off, let them air dry. DO NOT dry off the parts with paper towels or towels you dry yourself with!

That's a sure fire way to get dust in the darndest place on your body, and it'll show up nice and noticeable when you start painting!

I could put this in the dehydrator if I wanted to speed things up, but let's exercise some patience here and let the parts air dry.

Okay! I'm one of those guys who is a STRONG believer in airbrushing! To decant aerosols into an airbrush jar, I take a "snowcone" cup, cut a hole in the bottom, and tape onto a jar.

Before you spray the first drop of paint, you want to make yourself safe and use some kind of dual chamber respirator. I also have a spray booth (where the camera was sitting when this pic was shot), and its fan is nice and strong to pull the paint fumes out of the booth vented to the outside.

Pay no attention to the startled look of me getting surprised by the flash!

For you bearded guys (like myself) you want to test the mask and make sure you got a nice and tight seal.

Cover the mouthpiece with your hand and blow-------if you feel your ears pop, you've got a nice seal!

Plastikote primer is what I'm using here for the basecoat------------just spray directly on the side of the cup and let the paint flow in.

In this case I had to add a bit of acetone to get that "consistency of milk" appearance to the paint which is ideal for me when airbrushing.

Stay tuned for more!

[MrObsessive]

Here's the body with several coats of primer. When painting, don't try to cover everything at once! Give the body a couple mist coats and then go just a bit heavier with each successive coat.

Another rule of thumb when painting whether by airbrush or rattle can, is to start your spray before hitting the body, and then stop spraying after you've passed the body.

NEVER START OR STOP ON THE BODY! This will save a LOT of grief such as spitting or "gobs" landing on your paint job. Especially you guys who are into candies this is important!

After I let the primer dry for a couple days, I did sand where the primer was a little rough.

Some places I used 400 grit followed by 600-----others simply 600 grit and let it go.

One tip I'd like to pass along that was given by Bob Black (awbcrazy) is using BMF to cover your scripts and such. After the body is color coated, I'll rub out the letters shown here, and the BMF should show up gradually as the paint is rubbed away.

This is a handy tip especially for restorers of older kits and there's no PE available to reproduce what's wanted. Thanks Bob!

Okay, I got the letters trimmed out as close as I could------I think we're ready to paint!

One thing I did want to mention before I forget-------when you finish sanding your primer if it's needed, you'll want to rinse off the body once again. If you feel more comfortable washing the body in the degreasing detergent, you can do so, but simply rinsing off the body with lukewarm water should suffice.

Note here on this hood how I "misted" the few coats on. I went heavier with each following coat.

..........And here she is all painted and pretty. She needs some rubbing out with a polishing kit. In fact, as part of this thread, I'm going to post a step by step process of how I rub out and polish paint jobs.

I gotta tell you......it's not an overnight job!

In fact, rubbing out and polishing your paint can take longer than painting the body itself-----------at least for me!

I'm gonna go ahead and put 'er in the dehydrator, and let her sit for awhile...............

As of this post, the body parts are pretty much dry as they were painted this time yesterday and I let them sit in the dehydrator the rest of the day while I slept, and took them out around 8:00 last evening.

I'm going to jump into another aspect of the build (engine), and then get started on the rubbing out and polishing later this week into next week.

Thanks for looking--------comments welcome!

[Harry P.]

Just one question.

When both your hands are in the shot... who's taking the picture???

[MrObsessive]

Just one question.

When both your hands are in the shot... who's taking the picture???

Why my cats of course!

No really, I have a timer on the camera--------I set it on a tripod, focus, set the timer, and start shooting!

That's why I have the kinda spooked look in the mask pic------I almost forgot the flash was on!

[walt francis]

Mr Bill, I really like what you got going here so keep it up this will help alot of people

[mageckman]

Bill, in the shot of the body and parts in the dehydrator, I noticed the body was not on a stand and the parts were laid down in the dehydrator. How long do you wait for the paint to "dry" before putting the parts in the dehydrator? I realize that paint through an airbrush dries quicker than paint from a rattlecan, but I would think you would want to let it dry for at least several hours before putting it in the dehydrator. To me this would be an important tip, as I wouldn't want to mess up a beautiful paint job by putting it in the dehydrator too soon, and getting fingerprints or worse in the paintjob.

[Janne Herajärvi]

Thank you Bill for sharing this project step by step. It really helps me and many others. There is great tips and ideas around it! Your models are incredible

[Dr. Cranky]

Very inspirational, Bill, so keep it going . . . I'm enjoying every step of this build.

[MrObsessive]

Bill, in the shot of the body and parts in the dehydrator, I noticed the body was not on a stand and the parts were laid down in the dehydrator. How long do you wait for the paint to "dry" before putting the parts in the dehydrator?

Chris, the body (and other parts) were left in the paint booth for a couple hours before I put them in the dehydrator.

Yes, you're right............paints tend to dry faster through the airbrush, but it's a good idea to let it set for a spell before sitting in the dehydrator. Since it's only the rockers touching the grid, I didn't worry too much about gouge marks (which it didn't get ) The paint is Krylon which is pretty durable and tough, so touch ups if needed are pretty easy.

Thanks for asking!

[Custom Hearse]

Must be a girl car... She's taking a bubble bath!

..........And here she is all painted and pretty.

Thanks for looking--------comments welcome!

That is really cool Bill! I love the color!

[RodneyBad]

Great How to you have going on Mr Geary.

I am watching closely too.

Mmmm, now to go find some snow cones cones.

A lot easier than using a lil funnel and having to clean it up.

I did not know about the Ajax dish detergent with degreaser for the a very slightly scuffed surface.

I've used Dawn soap since it cuts the grease.

Thank you again for teaching us.

[MrObsessive]

Not the Ajax Dish Detergent for scuffing the surface Rodney, but "Soft Scrub" for doing that. It's the same stuff folks use to clean bathtubs and bathroom sinks.

Soft Scrub is also good for dulling the finish on those vinyl kit tires which are always a bit too shiny.

[tuffone20]

Bill, Thank you for sharing this with all of us! I've pick up some great tips and will be watching this to the end.

Thank you!!

[RodneyBad]

Not the Ajax Dish Detergent for scuffing the surface Rodney, but "Soft Scrub" for doing that. It's the same stuff folks use to clean bathtubs and bathroom sinks.

Soft Scrub is also good for dulling the finish on those vinyl kit tires which are always a bit too shiny.

Thank you again Sir.

I must have over read that part on my part.

[purplehornies]

This is fantastic.

Thanks for taking the time to show everybody Bill, your models are awesome.

[crazyjim]

I've been doing basically the same stuff that you've been documenting but my models don't look as good as yours. You're doing a terrific tutorial and I look forward to seeing more. Thanks.

[Tony T]

Awesome tutorial! Thanks for doing this!

[mr moto]

WOW! This is great stuff! A lot of excellent tips and a subject of particular interest to me. The first car I can ever remember was the 1950 Merc that my family owned when I was a kid. Back then they were just used cars - not classics yet! I've been wanting to build one completely stock. I've NEVER seen that done before. They're always chopped, channeled, etc. which is totally cool but they were pretty cool right off the showroom floor, too. I'll definitely be following this one!

[Dragline]

I wanted to thank you as well Bill. Seems like some of these techniques have passed me by.

A refresher and in depth lesson from a Master is exactly what the Dr. ordered for me.

Thanks Bill!!!!

Bob Frias

AKA: Dragline

[LVZ2881]

Nice job Bill!!!!

I actually use an old miter box with the top of a tamiya rattle can taped to it as a stand for my bodies when in the dehydrator....