1hobby1 Posted February 15, 2015 Posted February 15, 2015 (edited) Hello everyone! So I recently started a new project and I actually really like the color the mold came in. The kit is the Tamiya Morris Mini and the molded body is green. Now I would love to keep it this shade of green. I do plan on doing the roof a gloss white. I have the LMG polishing kit and was wondering if sanding the body from around 4000grit-12000grit will help bring out more color in the mold. Has anyone ever polished a body out of the box before? Or should I just prep the body for paint and paint it a similar color? Any advice, input, or ideas would be great! Thanks all Steve Edited February 15, 2015 by 1hobby1
Nacho Z Posted February 15, 2015 Posted February 15, 2015 I have done a couple of models this way. They were both white cars molded in white plastic. This one is a Tamiya. There were very small mold lines that needed to be cleaned up. There were no swirls in the plastic. I did what you said and I may have used Novus or the LMG compound, (not sure, it was a long time ago). I had no problems with the decals.
Snake45 Posted February 15, 2015 Posted February 15, 2015 Oh my yes. I often polish the body if it's a color I like and seems solid and opaque. I do it whenever I can, in fact, just to show off.
1hobby1 Posted February 15, 2015 Author Posted February 15, 2015 This is better news than I expected! The body seems solid, in my eyes at least. Here is a picture of the body. What grit do most start at with a body that's not painted to receive a good shine?
disabled modeler Posted February 15, 2015 Posted February 15, 2015 On old promos I just keep polishing it till I have the luster I am looking for....always works for me.
Greg Myers Posted February 15, 2015 Posted February 15, 2015 (edited) Long ago I was ask to judge a model contest my brother put on in our neighborhood. One of the cars didn't win because it "Wasn't Painted". It just looked like he polished the plastic body. Much to our surprise, the model was painted. White. It was a very good paint job, inside and out ( topic of another thread, painting where one doesn't normally look.). So, this can go either way. I've judged recent regional shows where models weren't painted, just polished.It took a second look. One did trophy. Heard a lot on this board: "Build it your way". Edited February 15, 2015 by Greg Myers
Snake45 Posted February 15, 2015 Posted February 15, 2015 Here are a few of my favorite polished plastic jobs:
1hobby1 Posted February 15, 2015 Author Posted February 15, 2015 Snake - those look great! would you mind me asking where you recommend starting with the polishing pad grit?
Snake45 Posted February 15, 2015 Posted February 15, 2015 I've never used polishing pads. I've done some sanding with #1500 or #2000 grit Wetordry sandpaper, wet. The TRIM brand nail polishing boards sold at Walmart are great, too. Most of my polishing has been done with Wright's Silver Cream, available in the housecleaning stuff section of Walmart (just bought a new tub yesterday).
Nacho Z Posted February 15, 2015 Posted February 15, 2015 Snake - those look great! would you mind me asking where you recommend starting with the polishing pad grit? If the body is in good shape, I would start fairly high, say, 6000. If you have to knock down some mold lines you may need to start a little coarser. The plastic should be smooth right out of the box and not need a lot of work. You should have some sort of polishing compound in the LMG kit. This or Novus is what I use for the final touch.
1hobby1 Posted February 15, 2015 Author Posted February 15, 2015 If the body is in good shape, I would start fairly high, say, 6000. If you have to knock down some mold lines you may need to start a little coarser. The plastic should be smooth right out of the box and not need a lot of work. You should have some sort of polishing compound in the LMG kit. This or Novus is what I use for the final touch. Great, thank you! And yes the LMG kit came a scratch filler and a polish. I'll try going with the 6000 first on a small section and see the outcome before I attack the entire body.
Mike_G Posted February 15, 2015 Posted February 15, 2015 5000 grit followed by Novus #2 works real well
1hobby1 Posted February 15, 2015 Author Posted February 15, 2015 So I went ahead and gave it a polish with my LMG kit. Started with a good wash. Let it dry, and began. Started with 6000, then 8000, finished with 12000 After 12000 I put the LMG swirl remover and gloss finish on the car, topped it off with some Mothers car wax and I am very happy with the outcome. Thank you everyone who helped me out today! Very happy with the outcome!
Nacho Z Posted February 15, 2015 Posted February 15, 2015 (edited) "Thank you everyone who helped me out today! Very happy with the outcome!" That is the most important thing, Steve. Glad it came out well for you! Edited February 15, 2015 by Nacho Z
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