209 replies to this topic

[Dave Crevie]

The foam-backed blocking paper is great stuff. I use the 3-M product, since that is what the local body shop supply carries. 

 

In my opinion, getting the panels flat is the most important part of the whole painting process. Still, I have seen guys spend weeks getting an aluminum body perfect, then ruin it buffing out the lacquer paint ( because that is what Ferrari used ) with a buffer. The heat from buffing warps the aluminum. And sometimes steel as well. I hand rub all showable cars.

 

You are doing everything right so far. Keep it up.

[Mark Onofri]

In the first photo, you can see, I hope, how much the #3,000 mesh paper smoothed it out. It claims to be for polishing and the're not lying.
In the second photo, you can see what effect it has on the paint. The left side looks like ostrich boots. Although not perfect, the right side is significantly better. The eggshell is still there. Anyone have any idea what I need to do to correct that?

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[Bill from NH]

Eggshell indicates your paint is somewhat drying before the spray gets on your object. You don't mention what thinner you're using but try less of it or something not so hot.

[Dave Crevie]

Blow the dust off? If you sprayed it with an airbrush, there may be moisture in the line/tank. Some paints need to be strained through a coffee filter to filter out clumps of pigment that have coagulated while the paint was on the shelf. (Paint stores have filters for this purpose. You might want to pick up a couple next time you are there. And a few stores actually give filters free with the paint when you purchase it.) 

 

Lightly sand the lumpy area. Look very closely for tiny craters where the lumps were. This is a sign that the lumps were bubbles, either caused by water being atomized and mixed with the paint spray, or the air pressure is set too high, causing air bubbles to form in the spray pattern. If the sanded lumps appear to be solid, that could be dust on the model, or the pigment has coagulated during it's shelf life. 

 

Try over-reducing the paint (add more thinner) for the first couple coats. See if the problem disappears. This also allows those first coats to act as "tack" coats, which help the full coats adhere to the surface better. 

 

Try these things and let me know what you find.

[Bill from NH]

I bought an XL pair of pantyhose at the dollar store for paint straining fabric. The Russian lady working there gave me grief for the next 6 months every time I went there. I had told her I wasn't going to wear them. 

[Mark Onofri]

Bill, I'm not going to say it. I'm standing on my hands so I don't type it.
Damn, you walked right into that one. As soon as I regain my composure. I'll reply 🤣

[Bill from NH]

I knew the Russian lady at the store before the incident. But I didn't know the lady behind me in the register line who also got in on the fun. I also told them that I was straining paint.

[Mark Onofri]

Thanks guys, I'm pretty sure that, after your input, I definitely need a new regulator and, I'll try straining the paint. Definitely not through stockings 🤣.
While I'm thinking about it,is there just the front screw to mount the body and the two screw posts in the back are just there for no reason ? Or,am I missing a part or something?.

[Mark Onofri]

Dave, Bill, after contemplating both of your suggestions, I have come to the following conclusions.
1) yes, there was a little water in the tank
2) yes, the pressure was too high
3) it was as low as I could get it because, the regulator is a POS.
4) it wasn't the paint. It was residual baking soda on the compressor that was sucked into it. So much for a filter. For once I'm glad I splurged for the extended tail light warranty.
And also, the Testors enamel is, well, not automotive paint. So, parallel to this build, I'm doing a 89 Dodge D-100 to test the mods and colours before I finish mine. Therefore, it's getting the same paint. Not sure about a two stage yet.
Also,reducer and hardener are a must. I'm impatient and the Testors can't take the cutting compound all that well. It will to a point but, it definitely doesn't have hardener in it. Let alone reducer. Even in front of a heat source, it takes decades, light years, to dry.

[Bill from NH]

I'm not using my compressor a lot. So I leave my tank empty & the petcock open, When I'm going to use it, I run it for a few seconds with the petcock open before I close it & fill the tank. This eliminates water in your tank. Compressed air is warm. Warm air collects moisture. When your compressed air cools off, it rains inside your tank. If you get a new regulator, get a moisture tap of some sort too.

 

I only airbrush acrylics now, so I've never airbrushed Testors enamel. Some YouTube guys do & it comes out beautiful. It's not a paint to paint your body with in the raceway parking lot. 

[Mark Onofri]

What about HER body?
I've been watching
re re re runs of Laugh In. Odd, isn't it, working on slot cars and watching Laugh In. I guess we have:
" all been here
before"

[Dave Crevie]

Oh, Mark, Mark! Shame on you!  A light year is a measure of distance, not time.    Anyway, moisture in the tank is really hard to get rid of. And it always finds the worst time to purge itself.(like when you are spraying enamel where it creates fish-eye). Since my compressor is pretty large, I had a lot of problems with it. So I changed the tank from horizontal mount, to vertical mount. I changed the drain from 1/8th pipe to 1 inch pipe. That allows more volume of air to rush out, which helps clear condensation on the tank walls. With the compressor now separate from the tank, I added oil and water traps in the line between the two. I also added traps to the tank outlet, which is now at the top of the tank. 

 

A long hose can also condense water, so I have a 1 horsepower portable compressor I can drag out on the driveway to work out there, so I can use a shorter hose. It also has water and oil traps on the outlet. For airbrushing, which I now do in the Kitchen with the range hood on, I have one of those little oil less compressors. I have oil and water traps on it as well. They are not perfect, but they difinately help. 

[Mark Onofri]

I'm going back to watching Laugh In. At least Goldi Haun makes more sense to me than time travel.

[Mark Onofri]

Down to a snails pace. The front end proved to be harder than the roof.
In the first photo, you can see the difference between the left and right side of the front panel. A pig looks silly enough with lipstick, let alone eyeshadow.The crack wouldn't permit itself to be glued. I resorted to welding/melting it.
In the second photo, that tiny little piece was enough to make most people throw it at the wall.
Hope to make it to the paint shop this week.
In the meantime,on to the rear end.

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[Martin]

I have been using both a hot iron to melt (weld) and shape parts together. Also bought all the "weld bond" products out there to chemically bond plastic.

 

I do admire your patients and perseverance on this one. Sometimes I just have to take a break from plastic and do a project in metal.

 

Then I come back fresh and rebooted.

[Mark Onofri]

Thanks Martin. If I take a break now one of several things will happen:
1) I won't start again
2) I'll forget what I was doing
3) I'll loose the parts.
Anyway, this strain of plastic is not made for chemical welding (glueing). Had I taken a closer look before I started, I'd have third and fourth thoughts.
Due to the warpage of the glue used by the previous owner(s), I've had to resort to drastic measures.see photo.
On the bright side, these are available. Unfortunately, you can't see Dave in the picture. He's either ahead or behind the Stinger.

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[Bill from NH]

Is this what you're building?

 

[Dave Crevie]

Might be a start for a Yenko clone. 

[Mark Onofri]

Billnh, it's really close to what I did back when.
Dave, aside from not grabbing the crown mid engine kit I also
screwed up and didn't buy the following:
1) dual Webber 45 mm 3 brl carbs and manifolds
2) the fiberglass vertical fan kit
3) the fiberglass rear deck lid w/ spoiler & pop up scoops.
4) Mallory dual point distributor
5) reverse rotation cam.
I did buy the window fillers but, never received them. I ran into the alleged purveyor of the parts at a CORSA meeting. After expressing the necessity of good health insurance and the importance of knowing the number for 911, he gladly refunded my money. Should have done that with the painter.

[Mark Onofri]

If you're going to paint a car,paint a car. Don't screw around.

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[Bill from NH]

I used to have a local auto body supply shop I frequented. About 6 or 8 yrs. ago, it closed up & left the city. A chain with a dozen regular auto shops in the state closed about the same time.

[Mark Onofri]

My friend had a body shop and it spoiled me. Unfortunately,he passed last year.
Fortunately, I've done business with the paint shop before and have a ability to BS my way out of or ,in to almost anything. One thing I've found is,if you treat everyone like there human, you know, show them a little respect, there more than willing to accommodate you. Not sure if you can see it but, I got the clear topcoat for $10.00 . I would have had to buy a quart 😁 otherwise.

[Dave Crevie]

Cheap paint is not necessarily good paint. Beware of bargain prices. Paint has a shelf life, and you might be buying a can full of "cottage cheese".

 

My ELVA at the Stratford Court show. I shot this with 4 coats of GM code 74 Autumn Maple Firemist and 5 coats of RM clear. Both front fenders and both rear quarter panels were replaced with new ones I made, with the help of a friend who used to work for Ken Tyrell's ELF formula one team, pulled from molds we made. It won first place in competition cars at the British Car Festival. 

 

 

My E-type. I repainted this one after it was sideswiped in a parking lot. 4 coats of Jaguar Signal red, 7 coats of DuPont Diamond Coat clear. Won third place in E-types at the BCF the year before the ELVA. 

 

[Mark Onofri]

I'm guessing that your in England? For some reason I thought you were in the USA.
Nice rides. The purveyor of the paint is of repute. I'm sure it's good. Ironically, it's cheaper than Testors. I would have loved to have shot it in lacquer. This time, I'm going to setup a makeshift spray booth(box). I found a couple of inline moisture/oil separators but, I have to adapt them to the Passhae.
The one, of many questions I have, you might be able to answer.
Do I want to use a large tip and low pressure?

[Dave Crevie]

Born and bred in the U.S.  I sometimes joke that I'm American made from Scottish parts.

 

The ELVA I got through vintage racing connections. Frank Nichols brought it stateside to run in, IIRC, the 1961, Sebring 12 hours, where it DNF'ed with a trans failure. It was repaired with a Morris taxicab/ MG-B type box. (the car was built with a Morris "B" series, three bearing engine, the same thing that eventually was used in the MG-B. The blocks were eventually re-designed with a five bearing crank.) The car also ran at Nassau, Road America and Meadowdale that year. The car was then sold by the ELVA team to an American enthusiast racer, who, judging by the body damage, used it more as a pool cue ball than a race car. It sat in a shed for 20 years, when another vintage racer bought it, decided it was too much of a project, and sold it to me in 1982.  

 

The E-type was sold new by Foreman Imports in Chicago. The guy drove it for a year, and traded it in to Heritage Cadillac on an El Dorado. The Jag sat in their show room for six months, until they moved it outside to the used car lot. I stopped by, made an offer I thought reasonable, and drove it home. (the dealer wanted way too much for the car) Oddly, the salesman told me the guy traded it in because it was a PIA, in the shop more than on the road. I owned it from May of 1974 to Sept. of 2021 and it never left me stranded. I put 40,000 miles on it without a lick of trouble.   

 

If you are going to spray lacquer over plastic, be sure to use a barrier type primer, or the paint may craze the plastic surface. As to airbrush settings, you will just have to make some test passes on some scrap styrene. Too many variables. Type of reducer, reduction ratio, type of paint, ambient temp. Go with the lowest pressure you can get good atomization. Use a tip that gives good coverage without a lot of overspray.