Sophisticated Finishes Rust

[John E. Bowers Jr.]

I bought the Sophisticated Finishes two part rust treatment about seven months ago but have not had the chance to try it out until tonight. I've found that after a thorough shaking and stirring the metal base coat won't seem to cover without a lumpy, clumpy finish. I want to achieve a rusty finish that would be accurate for a weathered, neglected paint type finish, but out of the bottle this stuff seems way too thick for that. It looks great for a rusty as heck underside, though. Does anyone here have experience with thinning this product for a realistic topside weathering project? Thanks in advance!

J.B.

[Olle F]

Some of those finishes, and I believe Sophisticated Finishes is one of them, contain real metal powder and they can be a bit lumpy when the pigments settle. You can probably stir it to get rid of the clumps, but it will still give you a pretty rough textured finish. The ones I have tried (sorry, can't remember the brands) looked a little bit too rough for 1:25 rust, IMO.

[VW Dave]

I've yet to feel the need to thin it, but I'd assume you could use water...it works for cleaning the brushes after use, so I'd say give it a go.

For subtle surface rust, I have had good results with a 1" foam brush and a little stippling rather than brushing. IMO I acheived pretty good first-time results on the front fenders of my Charger:

I pour a little of the base paint out on a coffee can lid and feather some of it out with the foam brush before applying it to the subject; lightly touch the tip of the foam brush where you need it, to avoid brush strokes. As the paint is very thin when applied this way, I let it dry longer than normal - more than a day - so that the etching solution doesn't simply wash it away. I also apply the etching solution lighter than normal, to help prevent wash-out.

To reduce the 'lumpiness' of the rust after etching, I have developed the habit of hitting it with a little dry 700 grit sandpaper(Testors red).

[DR Dubois]

VW Dave that Joe Dirt dodge is awesome!!! The rust looks great on this one! Couldn't bring yourself to dirtying up the engine compartment?

J.B. from everything I've read you apply the rust paints with a brush, not air brush?

Edited February 19, 2009 by DR Dubois

[VW Dave]

Couldn't bring yourself to dirtying up the engine compartment?

Two reasons why I left it that way:

1) the movie never showed the engine bay(also why I didn't add any wiring or other details)

2) the real car's underhood area is actually very clean:

Before the movie crew got a hold of the car, it was well on its way to becoming a plum crazy Daytona replica; it was originally a white 318 car.

As the base paint is very thick, and it has small metal particles/filings suspended in it, I'd say airbrushing is not recommended at all. I generally use cheapo model brushes or the 1" foam ones(pretty often on sale at Michael's @ 20 for a buck).

Edited February 20, 2009 by VW Dave

[John E. Bowers Jr.]

Thanks guys! I'll keep trying out some different methods with this stuff. Dave, the foam brush hadn't occoured to me so I'll try it. I did a Q-Tip test tonight so I'll see how well that works out in the morning. Please keep throwing the ideas and tips at me!!!

[VW Dave]

John - I'd worry about the Q-tip as an application tool, as it may 'shed' fibers into the paint; I use them to burnish BMF, and toss them out after just a few rubs because of that fact. Please keep us posted how it goes, and I'd love to see the results. There's always something new to learn in this hobby, and a lot of the stuff we use comes from 'outside the(model) box.'

I more recently used one of those foam brushes to apply mild surface rust to my junkyard '70 Monte, and I think it's proving to be a good method.

My wife does a lot of work with kids at her one job, so she also goes through a fair number of those foam brushes....needless to say, I picked up 60 a couple of weeks ago when Michael's had them marked 20 for $1.