Can anyone give me a link to a model car building forum? I got a Hemi Cuda model for X mas and have a couple of questions about the Boyd pearl paints(Testors). I figured those folks might have the right advise that I need. (no offense guys, It’s just not a train thing) Any help would be great. (I’m not defecting, It’s just a one time thing[8D])
Here are 2 links for forums that I hang out in once in a while.
http://www.finescale.com/FSM/CS/forums/
http://www.scaleautomag.com/sca/community/forum/default.asp
There are a lot of talented modelers on these forums and most are glad to help out with questions. Also, there are a lot of tips that I have found over the years that can be applied to trains as well
Dan Pikulski
www.DansResinCasting.com
Model cars is a second hobby for me. What questions do you have about the Boyds paint? Boyds paint is pretty good, they are enamel which means they take weeks to dry. If you don’t want to wait that long for the paint to dry then you might consider some Tamiya or Model Master Laquer. They are tough and dry pretty quickly, days to be exact.
Dan has you covered with some links. They are probably the best around.
I’m going to assume you are going to airbrush or spray paint the car so here goes: paint the body with a silver or silver metallic (gold can also be used) for a basepaint as a base coat (pearl and metal flake/metallic paints are fairly transparent and will be tinted by the underlying colors) apply the paint in very light coats over the base to bring up the color of pearlescence or metal flake. Since it’s a Mopar the underside of the hood, the engine compartment and front wheel wells should be painted body color also if you are going for correctness the rear wheel wells go flat black. Wash all parts before you paint to remove any mold release otherwise the paint might not stick properly or go dull from finger prints (don’t ask). Stick with either waterbased or oil based paints if you try using both types make sure they are TOTALLY DRY before you apply oil based over waterbased or vice versa (possible chemical reaction that’ll bubble the paint and make a heck of a mess).
I also do some car building. The Scale Auto Mag site is a good one. Also, some of us may be able to help.
For example, if you want to use enamel’s, some good surface prep is in order. Basic things like trimming off the flash and molding lines and so forth. If the model is molded in red or yellow plastic then you will probably want to shoot primer onto the model so that the color doesn’t bleed through your prized paint job. This is true even if you are keeping it the same color. If you model is molded in, say, white plastic, this is not quite so necessary. If you are using laquer paint then you will have to do the same surface prep, plus you will definately have to prime no matter what the color of the plastic as the chemicals in the paint will attack the plastic.
When I build, I usually use enamels. I paint the major pieces like the body, chassis, and interior bits first, and then set them aside for a week or so, then decal them and wait overnight for that to dry. Handle the model gently when doing this and try to avoid handeling it in the middle of major panels. Handle it on the underside if possible. I then seal it all in a clearcoat, gloss for a new car look and weathering and dullcoat for a used look (done much like you weather rolling stock). Then wait another week or so for everything to dry. I can’t stress how important it is to let it all dry in a clean, dust free enviroment. When it’s fully dry, I then flip it over and brush paint the inside. In the mean time I work on the engine and other sub assembly’s. This gives me a good amount of time to really detail them.
By the way, an airbrush can be a really good friend to you duing all of this, particularly if you’re doing laquers. If you do use the rattle can, get a pan of warm, not hot, water and set the spray can in it for a 5 minutes before you shoot paint. Keep the business end dry and towel the rest dry before you shoot. This will help the paint lay down better and give you a smoother finish.
Here’s another link for you: http://www.briansmodelcars.com.
Berk-fan- I was wondering if I needed some kind of primer with this paint. I’m useing the Boyd Grape. I wanted to paint the inside of the body semi flat black. (other than the areas you mentioned that should be color) I figure I should mask the outside of the body off and do the inside first.(right?) Then mask the inside and paint my silver base and final coat on the outside. (right?) I’ve painted and built a lot of funny cars and dragsters in the past but they didn’t have interiors I had to worry about.
Thanks
PS-I’m using Testors and Boyd spray cans.
Thanks for the forum links. That Scale Auto community looks like a great source of info.
lothar,
I’d definately do the inside first if you’re going to spray it. I bru***he inside of my own usually, so I do that after. (I’ve gotten pretty handy with a brush so I can do it without leaving brush marks.)
For the boyd grape paint the only primer you need is the base color (usually, but not always, a metalic color). I’ve used this color a few times with different color base coats under it.
Some of the brighter silvers make the purple look bright and sparkly. The darker silvers, like German Silver are more subdued. I haven’t tried it yet, but I suspect this would be an easy way to add ghosted in flames. Do the base coat in the light (or the dark) silver, and do the flames in the opposite color silver. Then just shoot the grape over the top.
Gold looks real good under the grape too. It gives it a real warm rich tone. Very fancy looking.
One that I tried that I thought was interesting was copper as a base coat. It gives a darker fini***hen the gold, without quite as much “bling-bling”.
I’ve also played with a white base coat. It didn’t have the sparkle that a metalic does, but it did give a nice, light but rich, tone to the paint. I might concider it for a more “factory” look.
I’d definately go with what Berk-fan said about lots of light coats. It gives you a much more even coloration in the finished product and also, this paint is quite slippery. It runs VERY easily. Thats kind of the nature of candy and translucent paint.
I’d practice on a scrap sheet of styrene first, before you shoot that prized model. Matter of fact, you could run stripes of the different metalic basecoat colors vertically across your test piece before you shoot the grape. Then you can decide which base color you like best.[8D]
P.S. - Sorry, I know your question was directed to Berk-fan, but I thought I might be able to contribute. When I answered your question earlier I didn’t know if you had any exp
To add to pcarrell’s tips use a part of the sprue from the model as a paint test piece to see how it looks and to see if the paint(s) will react with the plastic or the other paints. Also if you want to paint the white lettering on the tires use an oil based paint, enamel paint will just about never dry (bitter experience) and makes big mess of the tire sidewalls. Painting in detailed chrome plated areas you can gently wipe the paint off with a paper towel to take the paint off of the raised areas leaving the paint in the lower areas, this will really liven up the appearance of grills & wheels.
To pcarrell and Berk-Thanks guys !!! I went out and did some test paint strips today.(just puked my guts out do to lack of ventilation)[:(][:O] I guess my lungs are used to Polly S. I did a seven layer for the Boyd paint.1- primer, 2-gold, 2- Boyd grape pearl, and 2 crystal clear.Looks great and had no drying problems.(dried every coat in front of a heater, this was just a test run). At the same time I did another test useing a can of Plasticoat blue metal flake that I had laying around. 1 primer, 2 coats blue, 2 coats clear.
I’m worried about the Boyds collecting and puddleing around the body details. (door handles, name plackards, air vents and such.) The Plasticoat seemed to work better on the fine details.(less coats). After I quit puking and clear my head, I’ll have to make a decision.(they both look great)
The sacrifises we make for our hobbies[B)][xx(][D)]
If you decide to go with the Plasticote metalflake blue , another optional paint step is to use some Testors Transparent Blue spray paint (actually it’s a pearlescent blue) over the metalflake blue (thin coats again) it will tone down the metalflake but give you a very deep and shiny blue. This will also work with metalflake red and Testors Transparent redspray paint for the same effect also. Try out the Plasticote on a piece of sprue first to make sure it doesn’t melt the plastic or react with the other paints on the same kind of plastic as the car.
Multiple very light coats is the key to getting these paints to set right without puddling. It also deepens the color greatly.
Berk-fan’s comments about the raised white letters is spot on. Don’t use enamels, you will regret it (first hand knowledge also). I usually gently sand off the raised lettering using very fine sandpaper, or if the backside of the tire is clear just use that, and then use dry transfers for the lettering. They make transfers just for this. Then just dullcoat the tires to seal it.
The grill and wheel wa***echnique is a good one. I usually use India Ink for this. It is thinner then paint and so it settles down in the low spots better then paint. It sets down and leaves even the small grill bars showing. On your cuda you’ve got those gill slits for a grill, and inside each of those you’ve got a grill mesh. The ink will let the mesh show and only darken the slots in between. I just brush some ink (not a ton, just enough to cover the surface) onto the part and then use a napkin from a fast food place to wipe it off the high spots. I use the napkin because it’s not as absorbant as a paper towel, and sinse the ink flows so easy thats important.
These are mearly the ways that I do it. Berk-fan’s ways are also correct and equally effective. It’s kind of like what my dad says, “It’s six of one, and a half dozen of another”.