Alan R Posted August 17, 2016 Share Posted August 17, 2016 (edited) Hi All, I seem to have got a bit of enthuisam back for modelling again! This has been on and off my bench for a considerable while. I'm not sure how long I have had this beast. Several years at the least... Cover picure: I think that this muscular beast will look good with my Mazda Mx-5. Two totally different cars, both with the idea that driving can be fun... Anyway the obligatory sprue shot: As you can see, there are a number of bits removed from the sprues, that's because I started on this model a fair while ago, then for lack of enthusiasm, I packed it all up, and more-or-less forgot about it. By the way, the clear parts were missed out in the photo, but I still have them... I re-discovered it while waiting for some paint (or cement, I can't remember to be honest) to set on the Revell Ferrari 308. I thought that I would get it out and have a look. The main body parts were all primed ready for a top coat, So I sanded the primer coat with some recently bought Tamiya 'Lapping Film'. This is a very fine abrasive that can be used to smooth paint or plastic surfaces prior to painting. It's pretty amazing stuff. The finish I got was pretty good, so I decided to have a go at painting it. I sprayed it with Humbrol Gunmetal acrylic using my trusty Badger air-brush (Must be nearly 30 years old, and still going strong). I thinned it using a 50:50 mix of Johnson's Klear and distilled water, So the final mix was about 35% paint to 65% thinner. I then hooked up my new Tamiya air-flow regulator to the compressor and set the flow rate to quite low. The regulator has no pressure gauge, so it's a bit of guess-work to establish the correct air-flow, but with a bit of practice, you get a really fine flow, but you do have to thin the paint quite a lot, or it won't crawl out of the bottle The Tamiya regulator is a really nifty piece of kit and not terribly expensive, about 8 quid from HLJ. This is where the various parts are now: Finally the bonnet (Hood): Once the paint was dry on the various body parts, it was a lovely matte shade (I think Humbrol gun-metal is matte anyway). It needed some 'shiney-ness'. I had some Halford's clear lacquer left over from other jobs, and tried it on the bonnet. After a few mist-coats followed by a couple of heavier wet-coats, it was glossy but a little orange-peely. So, after some elbow-grease with 2000 grit wet 'n' dry, the Tamiya lapping film and finally, Halford's rubbing compound, I got a pretty good high shine on the bonnet. The next stage is to get some more Halfords clear laquer, and finish the job on the body and fenders. Once that is done, I can get on with the interior, and final assembly. It's still a long way from being finished, but I feel that I have made some good progress. More to come. Cheers, Alan. Edited August 17, 2016 by Alan R 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Air Hockey Propellers Posted August 22, 2016 Share Posted August 22, 2016 Hello Alan, Nice car! What do you mean by "orange peely"? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan R Posted August 26, 2016 Author Share Posted August 26, 2016 (edited) Hi Alberto, By 'orange-peely', I mean that the finish is not perfectly level, but rather resembles the skin of an orange. It's where the paint hasn't levelled properly. Hence the need for lots of careful sanding. lapping and polishing afterwards. Cheers, Alan. Edited August 26, 2016 by Alan R 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Air Hockey Propellers Posted September 3, 2016 Share Posted September 3, 2016 Hi Alberto, By 'orange-peely', I mean that the finish is not perfectly level, but rather resembles the skin of an orange. It's where the paint hasn't levelled properly. Hence the need for lots of careful sanding. lapping and polishing afterwards. Cheers, Alan. Hello Alan, I looked up "orange peely" in google images, and I'm wondering if this is a problem of spray or airbrush painting since I never get that OP effect from brush painting. Also, I'll soon be building a 1/24 1992 Toyota Cresta but I don't have an airbrush and I guess painting the body with a brush is suicidal, so I'll have to do it with spray paint. My plan is: 1) brush on a primer coat 2) sand of any imperfections with a 2000 grit 3) apply spray paint 3a) apply spray laquer if matt paint was used 4) polish using compunds. But I'm wondering if applying the primer with a brush is a good idea and if gloss spray paint is ok, in your opinion,,, FYI, the body does have some imperfections unfortunately and I know from experience they'll be magnified with the paint... Regards, Alberto 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MetroRacing Posted September 3, 2016 Share Posted September 3, 2016 Hello Alan, I looked up "orange peely" in google images, and I'm wondering if this is a problem of spray or airbrush painting since I never get that OP effect from brush painting. Also, I'll soon be building a 1/24 1992 Toyota Cresta but I don't have an airbrush and I guess painting the body with a brush is suicidal, so I'll have to do it with spray paint. My plan is: 1) brush on a primer coat 2) sand of any imperfections with a 2000 grit 3) apply spray paint 3a) apply spray laquer if matt paint was used 4) polish using compunds. But I'm wondering if applying the primer with a brush is a good idea and if gloss spray paint is ok, in your opinion,,, FYI, the body does have some imperfections unfortunately and I know from experience they'll be magnified with the paint... Regards, Alberto Not wanting to take away from Alan's excellent thread but this is my method for painting car bodies. 1. Sand the body imperfections I can see with 240 grit, then 400 grit. 2. Prime with a spray can with either White or Grey primer depending on final body colour. 3. Repeat step 1 until the body is perfect, then re prime. 4. Lightly buff the whole body with 800 grit to prepare the surface for paint. 5. Lightly spray the paint on in mist coats till the body it fully covered. 6. Sand the paint flat with 400 grit, then 800. (don't be scared to sand through the paint. The key is an even finish) 7. Paint a 'wet' coat evenly over the whole body. 8. Wet sand with 800 if needed. 9. Apply and body decals (optional) 10. Spray a wet coat of gloss clear. 11. Sand with 400 if needed. Otherwise sand with 800 then I move up to 2000 grit. 12. Repeat clear and sanding steps until happy. Be careful not to lose details with too much paint layers! Clear coating is optional if using a gloss paint but the essence is the same. Paint and sand until the paint is smooth. I don't sand with anything higher than 2000 but you can if you wish and then move onto polishing compounds. Save applying too much paint and losing details, but also risks 'burning' through the paint. Ashley 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan R Posted September 5, 2016 Author Share Posted September 5, 2016 I agree with Ashley, Preparation s the key word here. I always do the following with body-work (Car or plane) Remove any seam lines with a relatively coarse wet 'n' dry (240 grit should be ok, anything coarser and you get deep grooves that will need filling) Follow up with finer grades (I use 600 & 1200). That should 'polish' out any scratches from the first step. Wash the body in warm soapy water, rinse and drain-dry. Apply the primer coat until the body is completely covered. Leave the primer coat to dry for at least 24 hours (48 is better) Rub back with a fine-ish grade (600 grit should do). This will remove some of the primer. Don't worry. Repeat steps 5 & 6. This will leave the body smooth for the top coat. Once the paint is hard, probably after 24/48 hours, you can then spray the top coat. In my experience it nearly always goes 'orange-peely'. It's probably my crap air-brush skills Spray the top coat in two or more light 'dusting' coats. We are trying to get coverage, not a complete finish. Depending on the paint, you may have to wait between 10 minutes (for acrylics or cellulose) and 40 minutes (for enamels). Spray over this with a heavier 'wet' coat. Just try to avoid the paint running... Rub-back again, and apply more top coat where you may have rubbed through if necessary (!) Then apply a clear lacquer, using similar techniques to above. I use Halford's clear auto-lacquer here in the UK. There should be similar products in all countries. I usually finish with a rub with an automotive rubbing compound. Not all aircraft will need the gloss coat, I would cover it (after applying any decals) with a satin lacquer. I know that seems a lot of effort, but base prep takes time, but the results are usually worth it, and if they fail, the model disappears into a dark place in the man-cave.... Hope that helps, Alan. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Air Hockey Propellers Posted September 7, 2016 Share Posted September 7, 2016 Thank you guys for your suggestions. I finally understand the basic principles of painting professionally. It is a big step ahead from what I was doing (!) I also find it interesting that you can rub the gloss paint until it's flat (matt) and still make it come out glossy with the laquer. I would have never thought of that and thinking about it, wouldn't it be better to paint the cars in flat (since painting with flats is always easier than gloss, right?) and then give it the gloss with the laquer? Can anybody tell the difference? Alan, how the Merc coming? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan R Posted September 8, 2016 Author Share Posted September 8, 2016 Hi Alberto, The Merc is 'stalled' at present as I need to get some gloss lacquer for it from Halfords (Our UK automotive supplies store), and due to family commitments, I haven't had the time to get there. Also, I promised to make my daughter a FIAT 500 model (She's mad keen about them and wants a real one...), so that has taken precedence at the moment. Never fear though, the Merc will progress.... All the best, Alan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan R Posted September 16, 2016 Author Share Posted September 16, 2016 Some progress! Not much though. The engine is in place: The exhaust is painted and ready to install: The rear end is being primed ready for painting (No pictures yet) More to come... All the best, Alan. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan R Posted October 22, 2016 Author Share Posted October 22, 2016 More progress! Finally I have the front and rear suspension installed: You can see the brakes here, not particularly well, I admit... This, I think is a bit clearer. You can't see it but all the springs are painted in semi-gloss black, then I high-lighted the spring coils with a silver high-ligher gel pen. This is the front-end: This is the back end: You can just see the coil springs below the swing-arms. I always like to drill out the ends of the exhast so that it looks a bit more realistic. I simply drill into the end (very carefully), then ream it out using a No. 26 scalpel blade. A touch of matt black finishes the job. May not be very noticable, but I know that it's there... I started on the glossing of the body, but at the moment it lokks a right dog's breakfast! Hopefully, a bit of elbow grease and various grades of abrasive, I can make it look as good as the bonnet (hood). When it looks better, I'll post pictures. Until then, all the best, Alan. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Air Hockey Propellers Posted October 23, 2016 Share Posted October 23, 2016 It's looking good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan R Posted October 23, 2016 Author Share Posted October 23, 2016 Thanks Alberto. As I said in my previous post, the lacquer coat looked like a dog's breakfast (i.e. Very Messy) It was full of pits and didn't look too good. I suspect that the lacquer had aged in the can and was drying as I was spraying it on and not allowing the lacquer to self-level. However, after much elbow grease and time (about 2-3 hours of vigorous sanding), starting with 600 grit wet-n-dry, followed by the absolutely amazing Tamiya lapping film, I got the paint work to look quite reasonable. It wouldn't win any prizes in an exhibition, but I am happy with it. So, here it is: The pictures do seem to make the finish look quite matte, but I suspect that is the lighting, as the finish is quite shiny. Well, that's the exterior, apart from the fiddly details done. On to the interior. More updates soon, Alan. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Air Hockey Propellers Posted October 24, 2016 Share Posted October 24, 2016 Still a lot to go it seems. Cant wait to see it finished, though. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan R Posted November 17, 2016 Author Share Posted November 17, 2016 (edited) More Merc Werke! The passenger cabin is coming along. More to do yet, but here we are: The seats are a fetching shade of satin black (My own concoction mixed up from GW Abaddon Black and Humbrol Gloss black, 5 - 1 ratio). The tub still needs a bit of work, as can be seen... The dashboard: I like the way the instrument panel came out, shame it will be almost invisible when installed in the body... There is still some touching up to be done on the centre console, don't look too carefully, but the air vents and stereo are a bit over-painted. I need to deal with that! The seats: The seatbelts are picked out in Matt Black (Can't really see it, but it shows on the actual seats) and the buckles are high-lighted using my trusty silver gel pen. More to come. Best regards, Alan. Edited December 11, 2016 by Alan R typo 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan R Posted December 11, 2016 Author Share Posted December 11, 2016 (edited) Some more progress. The body and floor-pan are united... It's beginning to look like a Merc. I decided that it looks much better with the hood down, so I am making it an 'open top'. Most British drivers drive their cabriolets 'top down' no matter the weather. Apparently, the UK is the highest 'per capita' owning nation of cabriolets. A triumph of hope over reality, I think . I have started using zero paints 'Crystal Clear' adhesive for attaching the windows, and other vulnerable items (headlamps, indicators, etc.). This seems to be a good glue so far. It dries completely clear and doesn't fog clear parts. I think that it's some kind of PVA glue. The bottle I have should last quite a while... I 'glazed' the rear view mirror (not that you can see it very well) with 'chrome' sticky tape, the sort you use to tape Christmas and birthday presents up with. It's not as flexible as bare metal foil, I suspect, but is easily pushed into the recesses of mirrors etc. I use a sharp pointy thing (cocktail stick) to push it into the corners. A quick (very careful) cut with my swann-morton scalpel, and hey presto! a rear-view mirror. I stuck that into place using 'Crystal Clear' as well. It seems to be holding well at the moment. Still a long way to go, but progress all the same. Cheers, Alan. Edited December 11, 2016 by Alan R 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOUSTON Posted December 11, 2016 Share Posted December 11, 2016 'Nuff said Alan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan R Posted January 6, 2017 Author Share Posted January 6, 2017 It's finished! it's in the 'Ready for inspection' topic: http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235014880-tamiya-124-mercedes-benz-amg-500sl/ Cheers, Alan. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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