Dave G.

In painting the real thing we always painted the lightest color first and masked that off. Bleed was generally found in areas where tape lapped over other tape, I used the back side of a single edged razor blade to make sure it was tucked in well, going over any rises and bumps. It also helps to not direct the spray facing any weak spots and shoot straight onto taped areas otherwise. Don't test the ability of the tape by directing the spray at the seam lines at an angle towards them all. Obviously on a model you will get some cross direction angles, unavoidable to some degree. Make sure your tape is tucked in nice and tight.

I've gone more and more to craft paints since diving into acrylics over the last 18 months or so. Stynlrez primers and usually Liquitex gloss varnish clear coat. But by adding 10% or so of Liquitex satin varnish into many of several different craft paints I find that to improve flex and adhesion/chip resistance. I heat set it then put it aside overnight before continuing on.. The finish on a car body is accomplished with clear coats with acrylics though, don't try to rub out the color coat. If someone wants to have a color buffed up and no clear coat stick with solvent based paints, at least IMO so far. Interiors I add a little more varnish to the paint to get the flat acrylics to the sheen I want, then that I do not clear coat. For thinning craft paints I've made my own thinner after experimenting with various brands and other peoples formulas etc. They spray pretty nice when mixed right and shot in proper temps and at correct pressure. The thinner is fine in the paints but Liquitex clear coat requires it's own airbrush medium as they call it because it will haze with other stuff and might fish eye as well, depending on the product used in it.. So on the acrylic front I'm going more and more this way. I've left most of the hobby brands behind at this point, not to say I won't ever use them but so far, why ?. However, what I do may not be everyone's cup of tea, I realize that. I also spray nail polishes which is lacquer. I'm working on a less fussy lacquer thinner for them. Right now what works best is Kleen Strip hardware store medium dry thinner. I'm going to add a little xylene to that to slow the dry some more and see what happens. I decant Rustolium clear lacquer and spray that with the airbrush when I want a clear coat. Thus far with this set up I've gotten spectacular results on my test prescription bottles but not painted a model with it yet. But you have to get the pressure and distance just right, hoping slowing the dry will be more forgiving. Why nail polish ? Because there are a few colors I see nowhere else and they gloss up gorgeous.

Here is a suggestion for you. Get yourself two little mixing cups. In one put in some milk. In the other put in some AutoAir of the color you want to use. Get yourself a mixing stick, a length of sprue tree will be sufficient. Mix the milk around, slosh it up the sides of the cup, watch how it runs back down, note the film it leaves behind on the cup sides, drip it off the end of the stick, really look it over as you do this till you know what it looks like. Now do the same with the paint ( any paint you go to use not just this auto air, least till you get used to that consistency). You want the paint to be the same viscosity as the milk, thin accordingly until it acts like the milk. Regular milk will work but the perfect consistency/viscosity is 2% milk. And I don't care if the paint company says it's ready to spray or not ! Like Badger Synylrez is ready to spray and it will spray, but really it's a bit too thick. It will spray but it will spray better thinned a little bit. Pretty sure you will find AutoAir needs some thinner ( their own dedicated thinner) and will work best with some 4030 added first, up to 15% or so ( aids in sticking to plastics and flow out on hard surfaces).. In a Paashce H 30 psi, no less than 28 psi working pressure. So if you get a drop in pressure at 30 psi when you push the air button that drops the pressure below 28 psi with air flowing, boost the pressure up a lb or 2 till your flowing or so called working pressure is 28 or higher.. End of suggestion.

Aluminum soda can material, just don't cut yourself getting it apart. On another note, I used to drag race and have seen my share of race cars with aluminum interiors and the tunnel configured square or rectangular if you will. Course I haven't been to the race track in 30 years lol ! But last I knew circle track cars were done that way too. I'd do it square if I was doing this personally but only because I've seen it in real.

Tough government standards to meet in the US for enamel and lacquer paints I imagine. We may or may not ever see these here. I have craft paints working pretty well for me actually, but it's a process most probably wouldn't want to get involved in. Lots of colors though.

A page from Tamiya on their LP ( LP stands for lacquer paint) bottled paints ( I have not read the whole page myself, just sharing it): https://www.tamiya.com/english/products/list/lacquer/kit82101.htm Edit: Hmmm, seems to be a color chart more than anything, though it does say that a dedicated thinner is available.

Are you spraying the same paints as before the cleaning ? I'm thinking you are trying to spray a thicker mix now than before, spatter is usually too thick a blend or partial clog. It can be clumps of junk in your paint too. Going on dry and sandpaper like is usually from spraying too far away from the subject. The position of the hole in the needle shouldn't matter but I tend to place it in the up position personally. Did your H come as a set with other nozzles and needles ? And 25 psi should work but that depends on the needle used and the thickness of material sprayed. I tend not to use less than 28 psi with mine and often shoot at 30-32. I've shot varnishes at 35. The Paasche H likes air, it's a hefty gun and siphon feed.

Looks like some of my wood working tools after a humid summer.

I've never built an AMT kit that wouldn't fit together and while it's been a long time since I built one I have built many. As to the 51 Chevy, that I have not built and probably never will,since a 51 Chevy doesn't particularly interest me. I would be curious to hear from some folks who have done one successfully though. I looked up some videos on what looked like nice builds of that model and didn't hear anyone complaining about fit.

Ya I do my test painting on empty prescription bottles. I go through the whole process from scuffing the surface and priming on up to what would be the finished model if it were one. You never know when you mix products at what stage things might take a dive.. But to answer your question, I'm using Liquitex gloss varnish on my acrylic paint jobs when I want gloss, I have it in gloss, satin and mat. And I mix the satin in craft paints to get the fabric luster on interiors. Very pleased so far. I signed up for Micheal's coupon program so when I get a coupon for a single item 40 or 50% off is when I buy the varnish. Makes it affordable. The stuff flows out like melted butter, dries crystal clear and has uv inhibitors in it. Works for me anyway.

The fine print says 60db. The CAT (California air tools) one I listed in another thread I believe is 58db and less money with good reviews, and I believe it's lighter weight. But this Master Force is rated to run finish nail guns fwiw.

I've ordered a few items from Amazon myself. I get my Stynylrez primer there and flow aid. I bought a second airbrush there in the past ( Paasche H). I bought new medium and heavy heads and needles there for my Badger 200. I recently bought an AMT 49 Ford Gasman kit there. Many things are on prime or otherwise free shipping if you keep your eyes open. We have a somewhat local Hobby store about 12 miles away, the problem is he thinks his stuff is gold lined, that Gasman kit for instance was $11 more there than from Amazon, plus gas to go drive there and back. The kit was delivered to my door step in 3 days through Amazon. When ever I'm shopping, whether it be models or what ever I find it worth looking at Amazon first and very often it's as far as I have to go.

If I was buying an airbrush only compressor right now I'd be entertaining the idea of this one, which is $92 at Amazon: California Air Tools CAT-1P1060S Light & Quiet Portable Air Compressor, Silver

I recently stripped some chrome parts from the chrome tree of a kit from out of the 80's era. I used Drano gel formula ( it's in a red bottle). It took the chrome off in about 3 minutes, just dissolved it and I rinsed it down the drain. It stripped it to bare plastic and the plastic seemed untouched and took primer very well the next day. I probably wouldn't leave it to soak over night, not sure what would be left in the morning but my experience was such that just a few minutes is all that was required anyway. I'd probably just sand down and paint over the flat black personally.

Casy, the backing plate are small, they should mount to the axle ends and the steel axle slides through them. The hole is larger than the holes in the wheels so the axle can rotate inside them. The custom wheels are a front dish on the tire basically like the stock front wheel ( chrome though etc). And on the front you would use the wheel back and the stub axle. for the rear I see no such thing. Two of the wheels should have a hole for the metal axle or else a backing with a hole for the axle but there is none as near as I can tell. The stock wheels have the hole, the deep dish racing wheels have the hole, two of the Cragar style wheels have the hole but not the custom wheels..

If you don't mind my asking what is the big attraction to white primer around here anyway ?

I see, it shows " axle pins" in the front wheel assembly. I;m sure it's there but I don't see a rig for mounting the custom wheels in the rear, not yet anyway.

Well I have to say I wasn't looking for stubs, wow you sure got back quick, thanks ! I'll look into that ..

For those who have built this kit in it's latest release. I recall the old original release of the 49 Ford back in the 1960's having two metal axles, this kit I just received has one in it. i see two shafts on a tree in the packaging about the size of the metal axle, by chance are those meant to be axle shafts ? The instructions make no mention of this but show a metal axle for the rear and that's it. Second question: there are no holes for an axle in the multi spoked custom wheels ( not the Cragar style wheel but the flatter ones) . What is with that ? Again no reference in the instructions so I appeal to those who have dealt with this kit already..

I would go with a mid gray primer personally, it's a color that pretty much covers any color molded and works well under most every color paint, except maybe pearls in lighter shades.. Primer coats can definitely effect color shade of your sprayed paint, mid gray is neutral ground as a starting point. Sometime when you have a few minutes to play around you should prime something in white, gray and black, then spray something like a powder blue metallic over them and see the difference. Especially the difference how long it takes and how many coats to build the color you want. I think white pearl paint as a base coat is the only time I like white primer.

I don't even care for 40's and 50's Lincolns but that thing is awesome !

Nice job ! I'd love that Olds engine for my 49 build lol. I like your build but really like that interior shot of the nice detail you put into it. Back in the day I must have built 8 or 10 of these things if I built one ( most circle track stock cars), the nicest one was a custom, candy red over gold as I recall then my 2yo cousin came along and squeezed a half a tube of Testors glue all over the roof. I had built it to enter a contest, so that was the end of that idea.

I made working suspension a passion in the 60's, used pen springs for coils in my 49 Ford builds and cut up pieces of tape measure for leaf springs, cut peaces of flat styrene for shackles. But that was then and this is now, sorry no photos exist.

I foil with foil tape actually, which in principle applies and works basically the same as bmf ( tends to be thicker). There is no reason to have large sections overlapping into the interior of the car regardless of the foil brand. Much as the others have indicated I have found the A pillars to be covered the most.I just paint over it. My headliner paint is usually Liquitex soft body paint which is very flexible/bendable when dry and bonds fine to metal. You would want the metal free of your skin oil of course. But Liquitex is not an out of the tube or bottle application it has to be thinned in model use. I have in stock bottles of the additives required to spray it well, including varnishes I add in to get the sheen I want.. I can't speak for other acrylics or lacquer. Liquitex sticks and enamel should, I know it stuck in 1:1 painting when we goofed up masking. As to cementing to the foil, I don't think a standard Testers plastic model cement is your answer there. It may stick initially but not over the long haul because plastic model cement melts plastic together, bmf is not plastic but metal.

I just watched a review video on the Gasman 49 Ford and I think I can use the slicks included in the kit and get them to fit inside the fender wells with the right wheel combo and some inner well trimming. etc..Actually alterations as already mentioned and spoken about within this thread. I just had an idea in my head that the Gasman slicks were larger than they are. Last I knew they had some of these kits listed at Amazon, if still so I'll order one up later today. Edit: Now purchased from Amazon for $21.99, should have it in hand Tues.