Building/Painting/Masking Tutorial: Heller Citroen 15 CV

[larchiefeng]

At the risk of sounding like an bottom here, I think that you need to experiment with the different edges and profiles by just wrapping some different grits of wet/dry sandpaper around the stick and see what happens. Start with something fairly light like a 600 grit and see if it is taking too little or too much off at a time. We all use all sorts of things to get into the nooks and crannies in order to get things sanded down; it's all about what works at the time. Not everything works all the time and when using the same pieces of sandpaper over and over again they start to lose their original grit so, what started out as a 400 grit can become a 600 grit through repeated usage. 

The bottom line here is that you just have to start doing it and don't worry about making a mistake; isn't this what this car is about? My understanding is that you want to learn something about sanding and painting here; there's no better way to learn something than by making a few mistakes. You may never remember what went right but, you never forget a mistake. 

[morty_3333]

Hi David!

 

I've just discovered this thread,and I'd like to note some findings of My own:-

 

I tend to spray almost all parts of My models,regardless of scale,purely because of (in My case) the better finish that I can achieve than with a brush,this is purely down to a lack off skill on  my part with said brush!

I do use rattle cans,but decant them out for the airbrush,which I find (again personally) gives Me much finer control of the coverage.

My weapons (airbrushes!) of choice are both Iwata, a CM-C plus for small areas and a TRN2 trigger airbrush for priming,large areas and varnishing/lacquering.

The extra work involed in masking I have adapted into,and come up with some 'tricks' as well- for example,on My Tamiya 1/32 MkIX Spitfire, the spare bulb holder on the cockpit sidewall (seen in the following photo),was airbrushed before fitting using the following method:-

1. Prime

2. Spray the item cockpit green.

3. Holding the unit with a clip,hold a small piece of paper against the green area so as to cover it,and spray the brass area.

4.Move the paper up slightly and spray the off-white for the bulb globes.

 

Done!  Time taken including airbrush rinses - 10 minutes!

The rest of the cockpit was also done with the airbrush,masking off areas during or before constuction,with some small details (pipes and wiring) done with the brush.

 

In the following photo was airbrushed (including the invasion stripes,done with torn masking tape),with the exception of the oil streaks, which were done with oil paint (!),applied with a pigeon feather.......honestley!

 

Also You asked about gluing parts together,I have two methods,one of which is careful scraping (for locating pins etc,) and the other is to cut very thin strips of masking tape and apply the joint areas and peel these away after painting to reveal bare styrene for glueing.

 

Airbrush cleaning;-

I find I only need to strip the airbrush down completely for medium change (acyrilics to enamel to lacquer etc.) and at the end of a work session, for colour changes I empty the cup,wipe out, add a small amount of thinners and slosh a brush around,empty,then shoot some clean thinners through into a cleaning station.  Done!

I can 'Field Strip' and reassemble My airbrushes now in about 2-3 minutes, so the cleaning element involved does not really phase Me any more,it just becomes second nature.

 

I hope this as given You an insight into My way of approaching finishing techniques.

 

Keep Sticking!

 

Cheers,  Pete

[vontrips]

On 22/10/2016 at 0:48 PM, David_64 said:

John,

 

Many thanks for your precious advice, and my apologies for my late response. I was quite busy with work stuff last week.

 

I would like to proceed as you suggest. However, I have a few questions:

 

1. The first thing I should do is to wash the body in soapy water to get the wax off. Is that correct?

 

2. I have kebab sticks similar to the one you show on the picture. It's not entirely clear from your explanation where I should stick the abrasive. Should I stick it on the small "vertical" edge on the left hand side of your picture OR on the longer "horizontal" edge on the bottom side of your picture OR on both?

 

3. Once I have stuck the abrasive to the kebab stick, should I sand the entire door panel, or just the "corner" parts where the previous polishing did not reach well enough. If you think I should do the entire door panel, should I then not also do the roof? If you need to see a picture of the roof before deciding, I can send you one.

 

4. How many passes with what grits should I do?

 

Best,

 

David

Hi David!

 

Yes, wash off any product first before sanding...if you have to repaint areas later you don't want anything on the surface - sanding will let all the products get down into the microscratches and you'll never get them out.

 

I would stick the abrasive to the wide flat surface for doing the doors. You want something relatively flat to glide across the door area. The handle should help you to prevent rocking the tool. Of course, you can stick wet & dry to the edges of another stick for detail work. Experiment - use various grades and various parts of the stick. I stick w&d paper to Stanley knife blades, scalpel blade (you name it) to make modelling sanding tools!

 

It's very hard to give advice from pics on a forum; as Chief also suggested paper grades wear out over use and only experience will tell you the ideal grit to use for a particular job. Grit grades vary from manufacturer to manufacturer too. I noticed recently some of the cheap (Far Eastern, dare I say) paper grades are way off the normal scale. Good quality paper will last longer too. You're in the right place to get the good stuff!

 

I would do the whole door as you still have a little texture in the middle. Be very, very gentle as you want to remove as little paint as possible. You have to feel through your fingers what's going on, and that's why it's difficult to explain from experience. As soon as the shiny spots go, then go finer grit. In truth , I often go from 2000 to final polishing, but again, I'm guessing it's because I've done a lot of it!

 

Another tip which may help and is something that I'm doing at the moment is work with only one narrow spotlight in a darkened room. Sand wet, but regularly wipe with a tissue so the surface dries matt and you'll see the shiny dips as you go. I've found it helps the mind focus on a specific area too! I did a whole 1:1 car body like this, but that's another sad story!