Building cars!

[Guest]

Hey all!

I have 3 model cars that I am due to build within the following months. They are:

- Airfix Aston Martin DBR9 (1/36)

- Tamiya F1 Honda RA-272 (1/20)

- Tamiya F1 Lotus Coventry-Climax 25 (1/20)

I have only done two cars in scale (when I was around 12-14 years old) and obviously being that age and didn't know the tips and tricks they didn't come out fantastic.

Now that I am returning to cars I have been reading up on how to do them properly! Some processes I have read are WAY to complicated but some I have seen seem ok. I like things done simply and not over-complicated.

With the car shell I know to:

1) Wash the plastic in soapy warm water to get rid of any oils

2) Spray Primer

3) Spray colour of car.

My questions are:

1) How many coats of each is enough?

2) I have read everywhere that Tamiya Clear coat spray eats away the paint when sprayed on when dry. I saw a video online of someone doing the Honda and they use a polishing compound.

How can I spray the car body to achieve a great result?

Cheers!

[Guest]

Hi Stefan !

You can check my blog on Scratch Laboratory adn see if it was of any use to you. I hope I will be able to post some new threads soon.

Best regards,

Chris

[Guest]

Hi Stefan!

If you are after that shiny glossy show-room paint job, there is on way around doing multiple coats of paint and clear with lots of sanding and polishing in between. I start out washing and sanding the parts, then I prime. Before first coat of paint I wet-sand the primer (Grit1000-2000), Depending on colour I put between 5-10 coats of paint with wet-sanding in between. And after that an equal number coats of gloss-clear with lots of wet-sanding between layers. For the grand finale I use coarse and then fine polishing compounds.

Check out Alex Kustovs tutorials here:

Preparing Plastic Kit for Paint

and here:

How to Apply, Polish, and Wax Your Paint to Perfection

Generally his web-site is a gold-mine of tricks and inspiration when it come to car modelling.

Good luck!

/Daniel

[Ian M]

Hi Stefan !You can check my blog on Scratch Laboratory adn see if it was of any use to you. I hope I will be able to post some new threads soon.

Best regards,

Chris

Or instead of promoting your own web blog, you could for example give a worthwhile reply here.......

(Vi are Vatching you, Ya!)

Ian M

[Guest]

Or instead of promoting your own web blog, you could for example give a worthwhile reply here.......(Vi are Vatching you, Ya!)

Ian M

OK, I ll do that next time !

[Guest]

Cool! Is sanding the entire car body required? What does it actually do?

Hi Stefan!If you are after that shiny glossy show-room paint job, there is on way around doing multiple coats of paint and clear with lots of sanding and polishing in between. I start out washing and sanding the parts, then I prime. Before first coat of paint I wet-sand the primer (Grit1000-2000), Depending on colour I put between 5-10 coats of paint with wet-sanding in between. And after that an equal number coats of gloss-clear with lots of wet-sanding between layers. For the grand finale I use coarse and then fine polishing compounds.

Check out Alex Kustovs tutorials here:

Preparing Plastic Kit for Paint

and here:

How to Apply, Polish, and Wax Your Paint to Perfection

Generally his web-site is a gold-mine of tricks and inspiration when it come to car modelling.

Good luck!

/Daniel

[Guest]

Thanks for the link to ur site and them Alex Kustovs tuts! They are fantastic!

[Guest]

Cool! Is sanding the entire car body required? What does it actually do?

Hi Stefan !

Yes, sanding the entire car body is a must - it will remove any imperfections left after molding process. After the first layer of primer - I suggest it would be a dark one - you will get a better contrast and most probbably see some other imperfections that could not be seeen before. The same goes with the "wet coats", especially the last one - polishing will give that extra shine. Otherwise, it is "just" a painted plastic !!!

As I said before, do not be afraid of eventually not having "fancy" equipment nor materials. Go gradualyy and with patience.

Best regards,

Chris

[Andy2035]

Check out Alex Kustovs tutorials here: Preparing Plastic Kit for Paint

and here:

How to Apply, Polish, and Wax Your Paint to Perfection

Generally his web-site is a gold-mine of tricks and inspiration when it come to car modelling.

Good luck!

/Daniel

Hi Daniel,

Many thanks for sharing them links, most helpful...:flower:

Andy...

[Guest]

Hi guys and girls

Does all this coats of primer and paint not start to hide the detail lines of the car? eg. the door handles

[Ian M]

Well Troy, the idea is to only put down very thin coats of paint. But it is always a risk that you can swamp the detail with to much paint.

Ian M