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Restoring raised panel lines perfectly


turnerdad

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I was talking to a modelling bud recently and we got onto the subject of raised panel lines, and basically he said along the lines of: "Isn't it a pain that once rubbed down, they are lost for good? Especially across fuselage halves". I explained a tip I've been using for years that works very well, and is very useful when doing quick or commercial builds, when I just don't have the time to rescribe the model. Also, I just happened to be building a Tamiya Lanc for my bosses office, pretty much a straightforward OOB build, and so it looks similar to some of the models that we produce commercially. The tip goes like this:

I use 3M masking tape and have 2 thickness which covers pretty much all needs. Tape off the lost line, using the remaining line as a guide being careful to keep the thickness uniform.

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When happy, fill in gaps with masking tape of your choice...

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Then build up very light coats of Halfords primer (I like the grey plastic primer, I find the white stuff too thin). Keep the coats very light, too heavy and it could soak under the masking tape and you'll end up with a mess. This pic shows how much I generally mist on to start with. Leave it for a goo 15 minutes before adding more coats, as you need to let the primer air dry.

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After about 15 or so coats it should look something like this. I should add also that the later coats can be sprayed on much wetter, as the tape will be sealed by the primer by now.

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Then let the whole thing dry for a couple of hours or so, and carefully demask. Use a medium stiff brush to remove residues etc, and give a light nib back with fine sandpaper, et voila, got your line back. This can be run along other jobs, so it really doesn't take any time, and the Halfords primer is an aerosol anyway, so you don't need to worry about cleaning airbrushes etc. I also use this technique to restore fairings and other raised lumpy bits. Bet you're bored now. If you do bother reading this all the way through, my special secret article word is Catweasel, and I could probably write what I like now, but I won't as I'm a peace loving hippie at heart... :analintruder:

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Cheers all

Edited by turnerdad
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I've been nobbled, people really do read this stuff! :evil_laugh: Topic edited...

Thanks all, getting my modelling mojo back, not really been doing anything other than CAD and fairly mundane commercial stuff. Time I visited my stash I think...

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  • 3 years later...

Just getting back into modeling again and like to research things prior to starting something and reading you tip on restoring raised lines was perfect advice so it's really good you go to the trouble to post advice as there are modelers like me out there who never stop learning and require these tips so many thanks.

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  • 7 months later...
  • 4 years later...

Catweasle, isn't that the code word to get the lady with the whips to stop?

 

That said, awesome article, I was skeptical when I read the title, now I am a believer. Just hope I can find a similar product here in the Philippines. I also read an article about saving clear parts from damage and removing the seam that is often left behind as well. It was another "can't be done" fix that I didn't believe was possible, yet the proof is in the pudding as they say. Here is a link for anyone interested.

 

https://davidsscalemodels.com/tips-and-tricks/how-to-repair-clean-and-polish-clear-parts/

 

Cheers!

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@Stalker6Recon, morning, if you've never had the pleasure :blink2: of going around a Halfords? nothing too spectacular, just a big motor factors. The primer @turnerdad talks about is intended for ABS panels, so, any motor/auto body shop should carry something similar.

HTH

Paul 

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3 hours ago, PhoenixII said:

@Stalker6Recon, morning, if you've never had the pleasure :blink2: of going around a Halfords? nothing too spectacular, just a big motor factors. The primer @turnerdad talks about is intended for ABS panels, so, any motor/auto body shop should carry something similar.

HTH

Paul 

I found a pretty large tub of autobody filler at the hardware store today, if I post the ingredients, will that help define whether its good to use? The guy even told me the you can stray it thinned out, might be perfect using this application for restoration of lost details.

 

Also, been looking for a thinning agent for acrylics and enamels, or just a good brush cleaner, both air and regular, is paint thinner and lacquer thinner the same thing? I could not tell as both had generic labels with little detail. One did say that it was also known as mineral/white spirits. I remeber back in the day, the last thing we ran through our sprayers was mineral spirits as it cleaned the last residue and served to lube all the components within.

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Hi @Stalker6Recon maybe!

What I would have asked is, "does it work well with thermoformed plastics?" Some fillers contain chemicals that are 'hot' and will attack the plastic, so rather than filling they actually destroy the plastic.

@turnerdad was using the aerosol plastic primer to replace lost raised detail, my feeling is, for this job the tub of filler you purchased would be a little bit of over kill, and quite probably too corse for the job. Stick to using it to fill seams etc. provided it doesn't attack the plastic.

As most / all automotive paints these days, be they primer, undercoat or top coat, are water based (that doesn't mean automatically, you can clean up with water) and with his preferred method, a slow build up with a plastic primer is a safe way to go, if you mess up, no great loss and simple to put right, sand back and start over.

 

As far as I know there is nothing that will thin / clean both paint types. Enamels, strangley, are very easy to clean, any proprietary type of spirit / lacquer cleaner should be OK to clean brushes. For airbrush, when / if you decide to get one, my recommendation would be clean with the paint manufacturers own thinners and for the final clean use liquid airbrush reamer.

Problems occur with Acrylics, possibly with the exception of Tamiya, as their XF range are acrylic in name only, they are really a hybrid, as the Tamiya XF-20 thinners are spirit based.

Most of the 'proper' acrylics are water based, i.e. Vallejo, MiG, Gunze Mr Hobby Aqueous, and just turn into gloop when they come into contact with any spirit based cleaner / thinner. Best way to clean these is with running water. Be aware, unless applied to an undercoated surface (and at times, even when applied to undercoat) Vallejo particularly, doesn't  have the best grip and will lift when you apply masking to the painted surface, UNLESS, you apply some form of varnish topcoat to the dried paint before you mask. 

Regarding airbrush cleaning, things have moved on, by miles! The seals within the airbrush can be a little awkward!! as most I think are now teflon based? but don't do well with certain cleaners, so if you do purchase an airbrush, buy some extra seals at the same time, better safe than sorry!

If I made any howlers, someone will be along shortly to put things right!

 

Paul

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1 hour ago, PhoenixII said:

For airbrush, when / if you decide to get one, my recommendation would be clean with the paint manufacturers own thinners and for the final clean use liquid airbrush reamer. 

I bought a compressor from amazon, came with three airbrushes. Two have double action triggers with removable pots (is pot the right word?), the third is single action only, and the pot is screwed in from the bottom. I never used one like that, so it has remained sealed in the box. I also bought a paashe VLS1012. I have no idea if that is a good airbrush for modelling, but a few years back, I had a short window of opportunity where a friends mother was willing to ship me a lot of gear that I can't find in the Philippines. I took the offer and went on a buying spree, and I mean BUYING SPREE. So now I have the no name compressor (looks identical to the name brand compressor, just missing the name plate) and four airbrushes.

 

1 hour ago, PhoenixII said:

Be aware, unless applied to an undercoated surface (and at times, even when applied to undercoat) Vallejo particularly, doesn't  have the best grip and will lift when you apply masking to the painted surface, UNLESS, you apply some form of varnish topcoat to the dried paint before you mask

Note taken. Do you have experience with lifecolor? I have been talking to their office in Italy, given them my situation being in the Philippines with nearly zero modelling support. They have graciously agreed to sell to me direct, and apparently at a big discount. I like their FS system, far easier than tamiya, their call outs drive me nuts. I put out a call the Vallejo paints as well, but haven't heard back from them. Hobby lobby is next on my grovel list.

 

Thanks very much for the info paul,

 

Anthony.

 

PS. I did not buy the auto puddy, I just took a photo. My internet stinks right now, we just moved in two weeks ago and the phone/internet isn't hooked up yet. I will have to wait to post a pic, see what people think.

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  • 1 year later...
  • 1 year later...
  • 1 year later...

Every scriber I've bought, including some quite expensive ones, always have the same issue so am I doing something wrong?

 

They all cut a very fine 'v' shape as required but the plastic removed doesn't always curl back from the tip as hoped for but instead some is left as a burr on either side which then has to be rubbed down to remove and the line then gone over again. Not an issue for say half a dozen lines but when it comes to more intricate areas or having to scribe a whole kit it this is far too laborious to do so any tips please?

 

Pat.

 

Ps. my latest scriber is a 'Mr Scriber - Narrow' and I accept that variations in the relative softness of the plastic between manufacturers will have an impact

 

 

Edited by PatG
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