A word on sanding for paint.

[Arkgene]

I am an old geezer and have modeled some when younger. Smooth was for how to get gals. For a model paint it on thick and you filled the surface, it worked but didn't look great.

Then came my woodworking and cabinet building and that was where I learned to sand, sand, and sand some more. My granddaddy was a tool and die maker in the 1930's and his work had to be perfect. He worked metal so he used end mills, lathes and that kind of tools. He would get a piece done and before taking it out of the machine he had a thin pair of leather gloves that he put on and a little oil to help the suppleness of the leather and he felt around the piece. If it had z burr the glove would snag and hold and he knew more work and he could also feel the high and low spots.

The same applied to the wood. When you think you are ready to finish you don't need the gloves but your hands will feel things your eye even in the best light can not see. That is why blind people always are touching. You can tell color with your hands just from how warm or cool something feels a lot of the time.

When you are ready to paint your model wash it well and let it dry. Then put on a pair of gloves and rub over your pieces and if they still need work you can do it without ruining a paint job because of something your eyes missed. Hands seldom lie about your work.

[AMT68]

When not building scale models my other hobby is cabinetmaking and I find what you've said to be very true. Especially when building face frames and cope and stick doors. 

[Street Rod]

I totally agree! I did carpentry and woodworking/ furniture building for years. I will definitely say that your hands are the best eyes you can have for finding imperfections on a surface. 

[JollySipper]

And just like primer on bare wood will raise the grain, causing you to have to sand again, some primers on bare plastic will bring up the swirls in the plastic itself, causing you to need to sand and prime again.....

[peteski]

I have never sanded or rubbed out base or clear coat of  any of the models I have ever built (sans for some occasional spot sanding and touch-up of some schmutz that got into the original paint job.  I find my models glossy enough for my own taste, and many have placed first or 2nd in model contests.

If I had to resort to sanding, I would not enjoy this hobby enough to stay in it.

 

Primer: Tamiya Fine White Primer.  Base coat: Nail Polish. Stripes: AccuPaint White. Clear Coat: Testors Wet-look Clear.  No sanding no buffing, no rubbing.  Maybe I'm just lucky.  My "Secret" probably is that I airbrush minimal number of coats using heavy application.  The paint self-levels.

 

[Plowboy]

A trick I learned a long time ago when I worked in a body shop is to use a guide coat over primer. I'll spray a coat of gray and mist a coat of white over it. When I sand, any imperfections will show. 

[SCRWDRVR]

7 hours ago, Plowboy said:

A trick I learned a long time ago when I worked in a body shop is to use a guide coat over primer. I'll spray a coat of gray and mist a coat of white over it. When I sand, any imperfections will show. 

 

I learned the same thing the same way... Only thing I tend to do different is I will dust black just because it makes it easier to see and I will end up sanding all the black off anyway... Just my preference..

[JollySipper]

One thing I do when sanding primer (which is all I sand, not the paint or clear...), is while I'm wet sanding, to flow a stream of water over what I'm working on...... If the water flows out and looks slick, then the paint should do the same.

[W Humble]

The rituals of sanding paint are part of the whole schtick, of course.  Anyhow, when doing a 1/1 car body/paint job I absolutely rely on guide-coating; it seldom fails if done carefully!  Yep, it can be done on kit bodies, but it isn't much fun.  Still, it's foolproof, if a lot of labor. 

Hardest thing on a 1/25 body is color sanding the final paint; not wearing through those bulges and peaks is tricky as it can happen in a stroke or two -- and one doesn't want to paint too thick after all!  Even buffing compound can scour right through three coats, if one isn't cautious; personal experience!  

Ninety percent of the time, I use real PPG autobody finishes, 'cause that's what I use on 1/1 restoration, and also my retirement job was at a PPG store.  Shhh... but most other suppliers are equally good.  Adult modelers -- kids, they figure it's for vandalism! -- can often get mis-mixes at prof autobody stores for free, or nearly.  I have a full gallon of Hemi Orange, if anyone wants to come by with a bottle; we'll pour-off some!  

Keep your powder dry and your sandpaper sharp!  Wick

[bobss396]

I have heard about holding the primed model up to a mirror with a strong light behind it to reveal flaws. I tried it once in a bathroom setting... it does work. I usually take my glasses off and look it over carefully with a good coat of primer on it.

[Ace-Garageguy]

All good advice.

One trick I learned decades ago on real cars was to wear thin cotton gloves when checking a panel for waviness post-primer, when you think you're ready for paint.

The thin cotton keeps the nerves close to the skin-surface from picking up much information, so it's easier to feel waves as your hand slides along the vehicle side. Try getting an early '60s Continental "straight enough for black".

This doesn't have much relevance to model-car work unless you're working in very large scales, but thin cotton gloves are excellent at preventing fingerprints while handling/installing parts with sensitive finishes like pseudo-chrome or metalizers.

[W Humble]

Early Chevelle SS or '63 Pontiac GP are like the Lincoln; slab-sided (subtle, cool) but had to get anything like the OEM 'carry thru' reflection line, tho it obviously can be done.  Anything can be done, with enough $$ = time/materials!

My bought-new in '61 AMT Continental kit was begun 'back when' and I used the Styline front and rear pans, and then sanded off the rear-fended 'jog' (well, I was Kustomizing, wasn't I?), and as I am finally finishing it now, I realize that around the rear wheel-well opening, one fender has taken a slight indentation.  So, that puts an exclamation point on Bill's example.  I have too many similarly old kits to finish, so that issue will have to be ingnored; it's pretty subtle anyway.'

In '61 I also wanted to make it like the T-Bird 'Sports Roadster' conversion, so I blanked off the rear seat (with a piece cut from a soap-dish, all the sheet plastic available to salvage in our little western town, back when!!) and filled and relocated the 4-door lines to widen the fronts to a credible two-door length.  It's going to be JFK's "Hyannis Port Hotrod", in satin black lacquer with POTUS stickers on the doors, R-R Lucas P-100 headlites, a red telephone, etc.  Also a V-12 made from two 430 blocks -- the headers were a headache!  The big wire wheels and fat tires aren't too period perfect, tho.  OC, this was a promo type body, without opening hood, but it had the engine-bottom plate which gave 16-year-old me a start.

Cotton gloves: often used by photo-lab techs in the day, and available from Kodak, as I recall, and cheap, once.   Wick