BMF blues..

[mhadman]

I have attempted doing bmf on a few cars,and haven't gotten the great results i see here..Part of the problem is the garbage quality of my sheet that i bought.What do you all recommend?

Secondly,do you all suggest covering the areas to be BMF'd with either a liquid mask,or masking tape prior to paint?.Seems to me this would give you the smoothest surface to work with..I haven't tried this yet..

[Andy Wyatt]

One of my least favorite things to do on a model...BMF. First thing is make sure the moldings that you are foiling are free from mold lines, dust in the paint, whatever...anything that you can see before you foil will look ten times worse after you foil. Secondly, be sure you have a decent sheet of BMF. I store mine in a sealable one gallon freezer bag to keep the humidity from getting to it. If it is cracked and doesn't want to come off in one piece...throw it out and get some fresh. If it comes off the sheet okay but doesn't want to stick, try going over it with a hairdryer to sticky up the adhesive. Lastly, make sure you are using a SHARP blade for trimming. I use a brand new blade and strop it on a sheet of paper with polishing compound on it. BMF does have a shelf life...so stop building all those off-road things and do a street rod or a '50's cruiser once in a while!

[Guest zebm1]

and mark tha blade with a black magic marker...sos yu can see where tha knife is cutting....

:twisted: Zeb

[MonoPed]

Mark,

try taking a fine or extra fine sanding stick to the trim before you foil it. That should take any of the lumps and bumps off, and leave a smooth surface for the foil.

[RJWood]

Thanks for the tips, BMF can be a trying process.

But I read somewere that if you mask off the area,

and cut out the mask where the foil is to go, then put

the foil on and burnish it down and use the mask as a

guide to cut the foil. then remove the mask and the excess

foil will come off with the masking and what you have left is an

almost laser type cut. I havent tried this yet but planing to.

never thought of using a hair dryer to sticky it up, gotta remember

that one. also the magic marker thing is great. my eyes start freekin

out after about 20 mins. of BMFing. also, its done after you have the

painting complete. use a low tac masking tape. you dont want to pull

up your paint when removing the mask.

[PatRedmond]

Howzabout us who have no PATIENCE for BMF ?? :shock:

Grrrr........

[Steve H.]

Howzabout us who have no PATIENCE for BMF ?? :shock:

Grrrr........

Silver paint, a nice paint brush and a steady hand?

[Andy Wyatt]

Two words Pat...De- Caf

[PatRedmond]

Two words Pat...De- Caf

DECAF ???? NEVER !!!!!

[Guest zebm1]

Medical researchers say that caffine keeps tha alzeimer dogs away, that's what they say works for me. :wink:

Zeb

[bobss396]

Doing BMF is a challenge and you HAVE to be in the right frame of mind to do it well. Meaning, not being rushed by circumstances or deadlines. Also take human bites, don't try to finish the whole thing in one shot.

Bob

[62rebel]

yeah; don't attempt a 58 oldsmobile in one stretch....

some cars would probably be easier to chrome the BODY and paint in the COLOR later! or use aircraft model monokote type stuff on it.

[pettiner]

Practice , practice, practice. I use cue-tips, a seperate blade just for foiling and go slow. Also use more than you need on the area. Makes it easier to get off.

[bobss396]

I use one blade for cutting on the car. I got some of those surgical blades from work, takes very little effort to cut through the foil.

If I have to do a long straight piece, along the bottom of a rear window for example, I'll cut the foil edge carefully, line it up on molding so I don't have to cut it once I have it on the car.

Bob

[jbwelda]

hey zeb thanks for the tip on the black blade business. thats part of my problem: my eyes cant track the blade against the foil because they blend in together too much. part of the reason im thinking about switching exclusively to 1/8 scale. its a b*tch getting old. cue "mothers little helper" on the turntable please.