CRX - replica of my 1:1

[RMP2]

Well hers is done, time for mine.

Its the Fujimi 1/24 CR-X Si kit, the one with the sunroof. Its based on the early spec Si/16v and the 1:1 is the later spec, but not to worry, I doubt many would notice.

Heres the 1:1 part way through post paint shop reassembly -

The only hurdle would be matching the Buddy Club P1 wheels, but I found that a few years ago Aoshima produced a set. Tracking some down took a while, but I got some in the end.

So, onto the build.

A previous kit had been stored under something heavy and the shell and glass got killed. A good source of spares for the inevitable "awwwww mannnnn!"s -

The new shell has seen brief use on top of the old chassis that was modified for more fun -

All primered up -

I only got a shot of the body after some top coat went on -

I used the rattle can touch up tin from the 1:1 and despite warmer the tin and a nice warm drying time it came out rather satin in finish. So Ive lightly flatted it back and hit it with some lacquer and is now drying off again.

Thats all for now.

[charley420]

Cool always liked the crx, especially the del sol

[RMP2]

The D.... De..... Del WHAT??!! That contraption is most definitely not a CRX.

Right. I have paint finish issues. Or rather lacquer finish issues.

I used Halfords plastic primer from a pre warmed can, gave that a rub with some fine micro mesh, washed it, dried it and gave it a pre warmed coat of Halfords Honda Frost White which looked very good when wet. Then it dried and came out rather satin which was a bummer.

Not to be deterred I meshed it lightly again, washed, dried and hit it with the (yep, pre warmed) lacquer, again when wet it looked even better. But now its dry...

Sprayed on too thick? Wrong drying conditions? Whats up with it?

I tried the same with her MX5 and it was fine.

I have a spare sunroof panel that I sprayed the same way at the same time so I gave that a rub with some T-Cut and some Turtle Wax Original Hard Shell Shine Polish - the thick stuff in a tub, and that produced this -

Which is ok-ish-sort-of in the centre of the panel, but around the edges -

Im thinking I put it on too thick trying to get that glassy finish and perhaps it dried to quick, creating shrinkage issues? I work with metal, not paint, so excuse my ignorance.

Thoughts on rectifying this?

Weapons at my disposal now are a 3000 grade micro mesh cloth

T-Cut Original

Turtle Wax Polish

600 & 1200 grit Wet & dry Paper

My only concern with rubbing back is not being able to get into nooks and crannies (like around the bonnet bump edges) and ending up with an uneven finish.

What to do?

[The Cameraman]

Morning,

A good mate of mine bought a red CRX, when they were first launched in the UK and it was a brilliant car.

Looking forward to following this build report.

As for the Del Sol, I must admit to having no knowledge of this version. So I did a quick Google image search and my goodness, what a way to ruin a CRX! That's horrible. Honda UK were wise enough not to bring the car to the UK!

Regards

Reggie

[Pete in Lincs]

I've had the same problem in the past.

Looks like too thick/shrinkage.... I tried rubbing them down too.

As you say, getting into the nooks & crannys will be tough.

So.....

You could waste time trying to rub it down.

Or, Bite the bullet & Oven Cleaner it back to bare plastic.

Tough choice, But.

Someone had to say it.

Like the condition of your 1:1 BTW. Always was smart little car.

Pete

[Parabat]

I was going to say oven cleaner, strip it right off and start again. Probably easier in the long run and less chance of breaking something?

[Rishi]

Hi,

Nice CRX. Is your CRX with a 2.0 ltr engine? I have seen a few here in Dubai, the local are crazy about them. The paint issue looks like Orange skin. I would not recommend sanding off plastic primer. Rather use a good quality etch grey primer on first base. Prepare the bare body shell with fine 800 -1500 sanding. Use a base colour white before laying the original paint. allow paint to cure fully between coats and sanding. Also airbrush with right pressure and paint consistency will help.

Rishi

[RMP2]

Thanks for the replies.

Unfortunately Honda did bring the Del Sol to the UK, but it didnt sell very well.

Yea, CRXs are fun. Ive had this one for 8 or so years and had a red one for 6 years before that. Mine has the 1.6 non-vtec engine because I like the feisty little thing, really have to drive it to get it going - the 2 litre engines from CR-Vs dont tend to last unless a good chunk of cash is spent on them building them up to deal with a higher red line, not my thing anymore and to my mind is cheating with a CRX anyway.

Right, oven cleaner then. Sounds frightening. Is there a right or wrong way to do this? Certain (UK) brands to use or avoid?

I will have a search, but the internet sometimes lies and I dont want to kill another shell, so any further help is much appreciated.

And for the CRX fans - heres mine in action at the local track - who says FWD cant "drift"?

[Pete in Lincs]

Not sure about UK brands, Someone else on here can sort that for you.

I use an American brand, Classic.

So nasty it should be banned under the Geneva Convention.

I bung mine in a big ziplok bag,

squirt the stuff in & leave overnight.

It usually works.

Good luck.

Pete

[RMP2]

Cheers, I will wait and see what people say on here. Shame that chemical weapons regs are tighter on this side of the pond.

So far all I have found is suggestions of general oven cleaner or dot 4 brake fluid. Neither of which I have to hand right now. Seeing as Im house bound for the day Im going against all advice and my gut feeling and am rubbing it back as well as can be, going for T-Cut after that, then a damn good wash & dry and a re-lacquer.

Bad plan huh? Ah well, worth a punt, keeps me busy and so what if it goes wrong again as its coming off anyway it seems.

[Pete in Lincs]

Yeah, Brake fluid....

I used to use it.

It does leave (obviously) an oily film

on the model so then has to be degreased.

It does attack some plastics & weakens them.

One to avoid nowadays.

The rubbing down certainly won't hurt,

It may work out OK after all, But there will,

As we said, Be some build up in the fiddly bits.

Pete

[Miggers]

Are you banging the paint on straight out the rattle can?

I always decant from a rattle and then run it through the airbrush.

Rattlecan droplets tend to be too big for models.

[RMP2]

Right, its wet n dried back with some 1200 under the tap. Ice cut through the top coat on the bonnet corners though... needs new top coat. Doh.

Cheers re brake fluid, I think I have some dot 5 but its posh stuff for trackdays, dont want to use it if possible.

I am using the paint straight from the can, yes. I got away with it on the red MX5 I did recently, even with the lacquer, dont know what Ive done different this time.

I got my first proper airbrush for christmas, not used it yet and Im a bit reluctant to as Im not sure the cleaner that came with it will get this paint out properly, I was saving it for my RAF jet collection and enamel paints as I know where I am with that stuff. Still, it might be the way forward, we will see.

Im just hoping I can get a decent finish with the top coat alone this time, thatd sort it right out.

[The Cameraman]

Thanks for the replies.

Unfortunately Honda did bring the Del Sol to the UK, but it didnt sell very well.

Well I've never seen one, so assumed they were an import. They must've been a sales flop (and rightly so). Almost as bad as the Suzuki X90!

Regards

Reggie

[triumphfan]

You have done the right thing by warming the can before use. Unfortunately, it looks like you have tried to get a glass like finish straight out of the can. In my experience this never really happens.

As with most things in life, less is more. Aim for an even coat of paint over the entire body, you need enough on the high spots to withstand a good polishing but not too much as you will loose panel line detail such as window surrounds and rain gutter channels, etc.

Once the paint has cured (I usually leave rattle can paint for a week) wet sand with 2400 micro-mesh adding a little washing-up liquid to the luke warm water.

You get a feel for this, try to keep away from sanding high spots so much and concentrate on the flatter panels.

When the body has dried off, after being rinsed in clean water, the surface should be an even satin/matt finish. You will probably be able to see small areas of gloss around the high spots where you have been careful not to go too far.

The paint is now ready to be polished back to a super gloss shine, the type you can read the writing on light bulb reflected in! This takes time, do the whole body in one go and keep going over it until you are happy with all areas. Don't press too hard, let the polish do the work, same goes for the micro-mesh cloths.

I really would go with the recommendation of decanting paint to an airbrush. If you intend on building more model cars, a good suggestion would be to buy one of the cheap copies available on ebay. A lot of these have PTFE seals which can withstand lacquer paints and 'hot' thinners.

I have a side feed cheapo with medium and large cups, it's been in use for nearly 5 years now and still lays down a nice, even coat of paint. The control you have with an airbrush is awesome.

Another way to go is to use paint like Zero Paints, available from Hiroboy. Steve is able to match manufacturers colours for almost any car make. The base coats he supplies MUST be overcoated with a clear coat though and Zero paints are pre-thinned ready to airbrush.

There are a few ways to clearcoat also. I use 2K lacquer these days as it is is tough and stable and gives a wonderful finish straight out of the airbrush. Be warned though, it is carciogenic and you will need the best quality respirator available AND keep your exposure to an absolute minimum.

Hope all this helps. With experience, you can achieve superb results in auto model finishes.

Regards,

Steve.

[RMP2]

Brilliant, thank you Steve. I was aiming for something along those lines of paint & polish it worked pretty well with the MX5 that I also posted up on here. Its far from perfect, but Im learning.

The paint does seem to come out a lot heavier than the red did for the Mazda. More pigment in the white? Generally a heavier paint being white?

Anyway - heres what Ive ended up with and I think I can work with it to get it good enough for my needs -

Less than ideal, but Ill see how it goes.

Its touch dry now, Ill leave it to cure off properly and then start rubbing back again along the lines of Steve's post. Thanks again for taking the time to write it all out for me.

[triumphfan]

That does look better. Still needs some polishing to give it a nice lustre. At least you still have good definition in the trim lines, easily enough to make the job of painting the 'rubber trim' easy. Nothing worse than having no line to mask to and ending up with wavy trim lines.

Looking good, can't wait to see more progress. Always nice to see 1:1 cars modelled.

Steve.

[RMP2]

I couldnt wait either... it "felt" dry enough and Im bored - house sitting a puppy with stitches where his balls used to be... its boring.

I had this brilliant idea that if the paint was still a little soft then the T-Cut would do a swift and good job of a quick rub down. Then, onto the wax, see whats what.

Stupid idea, but I got this -

The bonnet isnt ideal still, but I might just leave it at that. Its pretty close to the Mazda which I find acceptable, so yea, Ill give it a few more goings over with the polish wax stuff over the next few days I think. See how it looks then, meantime Ill do whack the undercarriage etc together.

[triumphfan]

Way to go...

I quite often do several polishing sessions whilst building a chassis/interior. The polishing can be very boring but you suddenly get to a point where it starts to look really, really good, that drives you on.

T-cut followed by Autoglym is a great combo and should yield a lovely finish (to be fair it looks good already)

If you feel like it, have another session. If not, leave it as is. It's always going to be done to please you anyway. Just be wary of rushing in to painting the trim,etc as any application of car polish after that is done will fetch enamel or acrylic paint straight off.

Looking good RMP2, looking good.

[RMP2]

Yes, the trim/bumpstrips/seals. In the past Ive used a marker pen with a bullet tip. When its done well, its great, quick and easyish.

I did try my first masking for a window seal the other night on the spare hardtop from the Mazda build and it worked out pretty good, but with a thick edge to it.

Unfortunately the hardtop suffered from rather over zealous "warmed drying" from a halogen lamp and isnt with us anymore. However, the masking worked, so I can do it.

Marker pen for the CRX trim/seals/etc or break out the virgin airbrush?

[RMP2]

Well the seats came out just ace... what am I going to do with those to replicate late spec 16 seats? Ok, I have matt black brush on paint stuff and the seat CRX logo is all sorted on the decal sheet. In white. Aaaaaahhh.




Redstuff innit.


Poor dash to doorcard fit.
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What you actually might see if you put your nose on the completed kit.




How Mark 1 does that look?





Well the seats came out just ace... what am I going to do with those to replicate late spec 16 seats? Ok, I have matt black brush on paint stuff and the seat CRX logo is all sorted on the decal sheet. In white. Aaaaaahhh.




Redstuff innit.


Poor dash to doorcard fit.


What you actually might see if you put your nose on the completed kit.




How Mark 1 does that look?


Im done.

[RMP2]

Getting there.

Still undecided on marker pen or virgin airbrush for bumpstrips etc. Its the masking that puts me off using the airbrush.

[Pete in Lincs]

Tamiya tape & a new No11 Scalpel blade.

It's the only way to go. Very therapeutic.

Marker pen, Even of you do get a straight line,

Will probably, Over time, Fade.

Glad you didn't have to strip it in the end!

Pete

[RMP2]

I was afraid that would be the best way.

So, lay the tape over the trim then cut it using the trim edge as a guide being careful not to mark the paint as I go?

[triumphfan]

You really need Tamiya tape, I have found nothing else as good for tight lines and appropriate adhesion. Use a cocktail stick to really get it into the edge and then a fresh blade with light to medium pressure to make the cuts.

You won't regret it. Remember, superior results are not achievable taking the quick and easy route.

Your replica is coming along really nicely, this will still be with you long after the real car has left you (probably)

Steve.