1/24 Fujimi K11 Nissan Micra

[Neddy]

I concur with the majority.  I think if left it'll always irritate you and there's summat obviously not right with that paint.  Choose another paint, test on a plastic spoon or similar before respraying.  Can I suggest you look at the Tamiya TS range of spray paints for something suitable?  They always seem to give a good finish.

[chrisrope]

I’ve drunk my beer now and have the Micra sat in oven cleaner

 

I couldn’t carry on throwing more paint on bad paint. I will look out for a more suitable paint and restart the process. 

[keefr22]

As @Neddy says, for spray cans I don't think you can beat Tamiya - I often use Hycote paint but always decanted and sprayed through my airbrush, as it always seems to me the pressure in car paint cans is higher than those intended for models and it's easy to put too heavy coats on - may just be my imagination?! But if I need a colour Tamiya do in a rattle can I'll always use it from the can to save the faff of decanting! 

 

Keith

 

[chrisrope]

So the oven cleaner bath was a big fat fail. Didn’t budge an inch of paint

 

Never had any bother before but that was usually with enamels or acrylics. 

Any advice on my next step? I’ve seen dettol used and heard mention of brake fluid but will it cut through car paint and not the plastic?

 

My other option is to wet sand and cut back the current paint as much as I can without losing detail and lightly prime and repaint. 
Ta

Chris

[Spiny]

Not a particularly cheap option (up to £10 for a litre, but you could reuse it after as a brush cleaner or if you need to strip a future model) but you could soak it in 99.9% Isopropanylalcohol. That doesn't harm the plastic but usually strips the paint.

[Anteater]

On 03/05/2023 at 22:30, chrisrope said:

I’ve drunk my beer now and have the Micra sat in oven cleaner

 

The correct way round, on paper at least.

[galaxyg]

I've used brake fluid a couple of times and it doesn't harm the plastic. If you want to test that anyway, use a bit of sprue from the same kit dipped in for 24h.

[keefr22]

14 hours ago, galaxyg said:

I've used brake fluid a couple of times and it doesn't harm the plastic.

 

Same here - except for once when I forgot I'd put a Tamiya Impreza body to soak in a brake fluid bath - and remembered about it 4 months later! But even then it didn't do much, cracked the windscreen pillars (clean break easily glued back together) and took the shine off the plastic.

 

I do seem to think you should use DOT4 fluid as the formulation of later fluids might have changed and they don't work so well? That may well be rubbish but I always use DOT4 anyway, so wouldn't know.

 

Keith

[Nytram]

Hi, Chrisrope. I had a lot of disappointment with paint sprays, not having an airbrush. Rather than splash out on an airbrush, booth, extraction etc. I decided to buy some small pots of spray paint from Amazon.  Timbertech do little pots of acrylic, ready thinned, and I tried applying it with a small sable brush. Magic. OK it took several thin coats but the finish was way superior to that I had achieved so far on previous models. Glossy and yet still reveals all the little details on the moulding. The 12 colours are endlessly mixable to achieve the shade you want. I paid Amazon £12.59 - just over £1 per pot - not bad to solve this thorny problem. The Routemaster 'bus I sprayed from a rattle can looked OK because old London buses don't shine! Saloon cars need subtlety. Good luck. Nytram.

 

Edited May 8, 2023 by Nytram

[chrisrope]

Long overdue update. After the oven cleaner failed to shift anything, I tried the brake fluid which turned out to be messy and not something I’ll be doing again in a hurry. It did soften the paint a little but nothing spectacular.
Nothing else for it but to just gently sand and remove all the old paint. While I was at it, I chose to modify the bumpers by removing the corner strips for a smoother appearance. I also removed the side repeaters and will add them after with some scrap clear sprue made to shape and painted clear orange. 
 

 

I got a fresh can of primer and got back to square one 

 

 

 In the background, you may notice this

 

An Arii Hellcat that I picked up at a good price. Yes it’s an F6F-3 and not an F6F-5 but I wanted to do a glossy all over blue in a restored Warbird look.

The blue is a Ford colour called True Blue, solid and a nice shiny dark blue. This is what the Micra will be finished too, well that’s the plan

[Pete in Lincs]

Shame about the paint woes, Chris. But it looks okay back in primer. The blue looks good on the Hellcat so should work on the Micra.

[keefr22]

Agreed, lovely finish on the 'Cat, will look great on the Micra!

 

Keith

[Toftdale]

22 hours ago, chrisrope said:

I got a fresh can of primer and got back to square one

I know how frustrating this can be, but that looks like a perfect foundation to work from, great recovery - Andy 

[Spiny]

Got to agree it's a shame you had to go down the paint stripping route, but I bet now you're moving forwards again you'll be glad you did. Lookign good now, should look good when the colour is on.

[chrisrope]

So I have an update but it’s not really a good one

I repainted the shell which came out just ok. I don’t really like the colour, dark and a bit bland

 

 

 

I have carried on a bit but I’ve decided to shelve this for now and focus on other builds.
I may revisit it sometime but I’m on the lookout for a replacement kit, learn from the experience and hopefully have a better ending. The kit is now out of stock everywhere so it might be a while. 
 

Thanks to everyone who followed and commented on the thread 

 

Cheers

Chris

Edited May 19, 2023 by chrisrope

[Spiny]

Can't help with it being a bit dark, but if you want to add a bit of life to the paint I would definitely steer you in the direction of Tamiya's clear pearl TS-65. That's the same one as I used on my K12 Micra, but it will probably show up more on your dark blue than on my white.

 

And for what it's worth I don't think the colour looks too bad - a bit of clear and a polish and it should come up quite nicely.

[keefr22]

1 hour ago, Spiny said:

And for what it's worth I don't think the colour looks too bad - a bit of clear and a polish and it should come up quite nicely.

 

I agree, I quite like it, don't really find it bland and the second pic almost looks like Ford Performance Blue which looks great on things like RS Focuses!

 

As Spiny says, give it a bit of finishing work and see how you feel then

 

Keith

[Pete in Lincs]

Chris, What a shame. If it were mine I'd stick some Subaru rally decals and big wheels on it. That should brighten things up and raise a smile!

 

[Neddy]

As it happens there's one near me that looks very similar to your model.  All those still on the road look a bit tatty and careworn now paintwork-wise, why not complete it as such - a real-world model?

[chrisrope]

I’ve managed to procure a second kit off one of the Micra Facebook groups which should be here next week. 
I will be going a lot more carefully with that one and probably continue with this one along side. 
@Neddy I think the shabby or abandoned look is the plan for this one, I can’t make it look worse 😆

[Spiny]

Hmmm, look what I've just come across while browsing.

 

https://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10986747

 

Fingers crossed for later in the year (EDIT: assuming there are UK stores stocking them) - I might have a Micra pair

[keefr22]

Cheaper here;

 

https://www.plazajapan.com/4968728047362/

 

 

Keith

[chrisrope]

23 hours ago, Spiny said:

Hmmm, look what I've just come across while browsing.

 

https://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10986747

 

Fingers crossed for later in the year (EDIT: assuming there are UK stores stocking them) - I might have a Micra pair

I’ll definitely be picking one of these up, never ordered from Japan so hopefully there will be a U.K. importer stocking them

 

On another note, the second kit has arrived  

 

And I picked up yet another colour to try, a solid purpley blue. This time it will undergo testing before it goes anywhere near the shell to make sure it’s suitable

 

Inside the box was this little good luck charm…….well that’s what I’m telling myself 

At least I have some spare parts if I need them and I can reuse the modified front seats. 

[chrisrope]

Trusty old Monogram P-47 to the rescue again. It has become my paint test mule so once primed for the second time ( it’s been various colours), I tested the new paint. 

 

 

 

This was just a quick blast to test the shade. 
A bit more purpley than planned and not quite like the sticker on the can lid but I like it, definitely suits a Micra  

I’m not getting ahead of myself this time and will be taking this one step at a time. I’ve got a full set of painted suspension parts so I can take my time on the body and avoid the mistakes I made on the first kit. 
Cheers

Chris
 

[chrisrope]

Still not got the replacement kit started yet, I’ve been working on the Hellcat seen before. 
 

 

Turns out the paint that went wrong on the Micra is pretty good for a Hellcat. Just a few bits to paint and it’s finished. 
 

I’ve actually been doing some Micra painting but something bigger than 1/24

 

I’ve already done the back bumper so finally got rid of the patchy grey trim on the front now, perfect weather for it. 
 

Turned out well I think