sjordan2 Posted November 20, 2010 Share Posted November 20, 2010 I'm working on my first conversion of a diecast model, and I would like advice and comments on the observations below for doing this. This is in reference to a 1/16 Bburago Bugatti Type 59, which has a diecast body and everything else is plastic parts. I will need to find a machinist who can drill different-size holes in the body (some very tiny to accept straight pins), and a bit of grinding away of cast features, since I do not have and cannot afford the machine tools. • I'm told that the best paint stripper for the original is aircraft stripper. • The best adhesive for gluing metal-to-metal and plastic to metal is JB Weld. • Filling in existing holes of different sizes can be done with Evercoat. (But what about Bondo 2-part?) • I would assume that Duplicolor sandable primer and Duplicolor paint would be the best way to go. Are these good ideas? Or do you have better suggestions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Show Posted November 20, 2010 Share Posted November 20, 2010 I can only answer your second question. JB Weld is definitely the way to go for joining metal to plastic, or anything to anything really - I love JB Weld. There are no no mixing ratio problems since it's 1:1. In my experience it's not messy at all and easy to apply, and it'll hold the pieces forever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
von Zipper Posted November 20, 2010 Share Posted November 20, 2010 (edited) Good luck with your project, I've used the Aircraft stripper on some die cast kits from Testors and it took the paint off quick & easy-but after it's stripped, I took the parts to the local 1:1 collision shop and had them sand blasted to rough the metal suface so the primer/paint will have some thing to cling on to. The Dupli-Color primer is great - works great on plastic also. Edited November 20, 2010 by Zipper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
highway Posted November 20, 2010 Share Posted November 20, 2010 • I'm told that the best paint stripper for the original is aircraft stripper. • The best adhesive for gluing metal-to-metal and plastic to metal is JB Weld. • Filling in existing holes of different sizes can be done with Evercoat. (But what about Bondo 2-part?) • I would assume that Duplicolor sandable primer and Duplicolor paint would be the best way to go. Are these good ideas? Or do you have better suggestions? They sound like a good start, Skip. I've never modified any diecasts myself, but I've been watching DanielG's "Trans Am Sport Truck" diecast conversion, and he has been using JB Weld for his metal to metal parts. Here's a link to it just in case you haven't seen it: http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=35611 Also, from the various threads I've read here on the subject of putties, it seems from what everyone has said, the two part "Professional" Bondo Glazing and Spot putty is a very cheap alternative to Evercoat. I have also used regular Bondo on one of my current plastic projects with great results. You also can't go wrong with the Duplicolor paints, I use those on almost all of my builds and have used them for many years with great results, too. I would suggest that maybe for your first coat of primer, use their Sealer/Primer so that if the two part Bondo Glazing and Spot putty is a reddish color like the one part counterpart I use, it will give you a uniform barrier against any possible bleed through later. Then finish it up with the Duplicolor filler primer to take care of any sanding scratches or slight imperfections you might have looked over in your prep work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Modelmartin Posted November 20, 2010 Share Posted November 20, 2010 Sounds good. I would use epoxy putty to fill holes but if you use a catalyzed putty you should be good. You don't need a machinist to modify the body. You can file off what you don't need. For the holes I would use a punch to mark where you want the hole to be and then use a small drill or a moto-tool to drill your holes. I am a machinist and that is how I would do it. It isn't hard to do. I know you can deal with it if you can do all of the other things you have planned for this model. Good luck. I am a Bugatti guy, too. If you need any reference material I have over 35 books on Bugatti and would be happy to scan anything you need. Are you doing a specific car? Bugatti only built 7 of the things if I remember right and they did change from race to race and especially year to year as they aged. Nuvolari even raced a red one! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjordan2 Posted November 20, 2010 Author Share Posted November 20, 2010 (edited) Sounds good. I would use epoxy putty to fill holes but if you use a catalyzed putty you should be good. You don't need a machinist to modify the body. You can file off what you don't need. For the holes I would use a punch to mark where you want the hole to be and then use a small drill or a moto-tool to drill your holes. I am a machinist and that is how I would do it. It isn't hard to do. I know you can deal with it if you can do all of the other things you have planned for this model. Good luck. I am a Bugatti guy, too. If you need any reference material I have over 35 books on Bugatti and would be happy to scan anything you need. Are you doing a specific car? Bugatti only built 7 of the things if I remember right and they did change from race to race and especially year to year as they aged. Nuvolari even raced a red one! Hey, thanks, Andy. Yeah, I'm building a specific car that Bburago based their model on, which is 1934 chassis #59124. This was owned by Rodney Clarke and later F. R. Ludington from the 40s through the 60s. It started life as a GP racer and has been re-done that way today, but during their ownership it was a road-going car, with fenders and headlights. Bburago took a different GP car and added fenders and headlights to come up with this model. Interesting to note that although the packaging says it's 1:18, people at bugattibuilder.com and my own comparative measurements against 1:1 blueprints show that it's a tiny bit larger than 1:16. I've gathered a ton of info on this car and the T59s in general, including an exploded engine diagram, etc (if I can help you with T59 info, let me know). Man, if I'd known what I was getting into, I don't know if I would have started. I have to take the fenders and headlights from a built-up version, and nothing on the kit version (which is Grand Prix without fenders) fits properly. Anyway, I'm determined to make it much more accurate, and that means adding the signature rivets that hold the "safety wires" that keep the aluminum body panels from falling off. Plus a zillion more details that are unique to this car. I fell in love with this car when I saw it decades ago in a book called "The Great Cars" by Ralph Stein, and I found the Bburago diecast about 15 years ago. My commitment to this is such that I found a source for the (very expensive) piano wire wheels for this car in Italy and am anxiously awaiting delivery. Edited November 20, 2010 by sjordan2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanielG Posted November 20, 2010 Share Posted November 20, 2010 Good luck on this one, Skip, I for one will be following this mod. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjordan2 Posted November 20, 2010 Author Share Posted November 20, 2010 Good luck on this one, Skip, I for one will be following this mod. Hey, Daniel, I was trying to track you down because nobody knows more about diecast conversions that you do. Do you agree with the comments above? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuck Most Posted November 20, 2010 Share Posted November 20, 2010 • Aircraft stripper would be your best bet.... on the metal parts, of course! You can't go wrong with JB Weld. • EVercoat would work, but 2-part Bondo-brand putty works just as well, and is way cheaper. • I'd go with a self-etching primer first, then put my typical primer over that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeMc Posted November 21, 2010 Share Posted November 21, 2010 • Aircraft stripper would be your best bet.... on the metal parts, of course! You can't go wrong with JB Weld. • EVercoat would work, but 2-part Bondo-brand putty works just as well, and is way cheaper. • I'd go with a self-etching primer first, then put my typical primer over that. This is the most important step . If you do not etch the body (blasting or sanding) you might have issues with paint sticking. After a coat of etching primer sand , wash and another coat of etching primer. Now you can apply filler -primer and smooth out. If you did a lot of body work you might use the sealer now. I now shoot my base, white or silver, followed by color and clear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junkman Posted November 21, 2010 Share Posted November 21, 2010 To get the paint off diecast parts: - Put them all in a plastic container. - Fill with boiling water. - Add two tablespoons of caustic soda. After to minutes there should be no paint left on the parts. Should there still be some, repeat the process. Make sure you wear rubber gloves though and do it outside. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanielG Posted November 21, 2010 Share Posted November 21, 2010 Oh, Skip, I don't know that I know more than anybody re this subject! But, I will try to answer your query, can't comment on aircraft stripper, have not used it but if it does the job then OK. I only worry about stripping if thickness of the over-coat will be an issue. J-B Weld will work as a glue or a filler quite well (takes a long time to cure) but I also use CA as a glue (quite good if a largish area for gluing is available, and is FAST), and also as a filler to smooth out sharp joints... In above picture (I should have made sure the door was completely closed before shooting this pic!), CA was allowed to pool in the hollow at the base of the rear post to fill in the joint and provide a smooth transition from post to body (J-B Weld or gusseting should be used behind the joint for added strength, CA will crack if subjected to the wrong stresses, so J-B on all the Trans Am joints!). Milliput or such like putty is good for building up forms that need to hold their shape while curing although best results are obtained if a thin coat can be applied over a solid base shape that has been glued to the body, sometimes a putty will crack if built up too thick. I try to solder any brass components that I have to make but J-B is plenty strong enough to attach them to the body. I use Tamiya primers and laquers (cannot comment on the others mentioned), beware when using clear over-coat, the base-coats must be COMPLETELY cured or bad things will happen! Diecast 'paint-jobs' can be varied as to toughness, I have had some that refuse to be removed and others that almost can't wait to flake off. The rear deck of the roadster was carved from wood and soaked with CA then sanded smooth. Part of the trunk was built up with putty and CA flowed into/onto the ajoining surfaces. (This can be done on plastic models as well as diecast so I have posted this for everyone that may be interested intead of a PM to Skip) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junkman Posted November 21, 2010 Share Posted November 21, 2010 (edited) Notoriously tough to strip diecast: After the boiling water + caustic soda therapy: The paint comes off within seconds. The repainted model: Another example: Stripped in boiling water with caustic soda, again within seconds (sorry, no photo of the stripped model). Here is the repainted model: Oops, they aren't models. They are toys. Edited November 21, 2010 by Junkman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjordan2 Posted November 21, 2010 Author Share Posted November 21, 2010 Many thanks, everyone. This has been tremendously informative, and I've learned things I haven't found elsewhere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanielG Posted November 21, 2010 Share Posted November 21, 2010 Christian, what sort of working time before the caustic attacks the metal? Probably not something we want to walk away from? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junkman Posted November 21, 2010 Share Posted November 21, 2010 (edited) Christian, what sort of working time before the caustic attacks the metal? Probably not something we want to walk away from? It never happened to me. You take the parts out after the paint is stripped and the metal is still completely unharmed. We are talking minutes here. It would take much, much longer for the caustic to do harm to the metal. Edited November 21, 2010 by Junkman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanielG Posted November 21, 2010 Share Posted November 21, 2010 (edited) Thanks, Christian. Added interest, check out this guy http://silvestricreazioni.blogspot.com Edited November 21, 2010 by DanielG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junkman Posted November 21, 2010 Share Posted November 21, 2010 Thanks, Christian. Added interest, check out this guy http://silvestricreazioni.blogspot.com :o Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjordan2 Posted November 21, 2010 Author Share Posted November 21, 2010 Thanks, Christian. Added interest, check out this guy http://silvestricreazioni.blogspot.com Dang!! Superb!!! But why all that for a Seat?? He's making ten of them, so I suppose there may be a market for them in Europe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junkman Posted November 21, 2010 Share Posted November 21, 2010 (edited) Dang!! Superb!!! But why all that for a Seat?? He's making ten of them, so I suppose there may be a market for them in Europe. I'd say Spain only. Yes, the 1430 acquired some sort of cult status there. Edited November 21, 2010 by Junkman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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