SPA Modeler

Seriously, Joe. Beautiful job.



I know enough to know when a color coat looks like “second skin,” the clear is going to take things to another level!

Heya Bruce,
I'm using Testors "Wet Look" Lacquer Clear. It's the absolute best clear I've ever used. You'll have to be careful with it in dispensing due to the air bubbles that accumulate in it when it's sprayed out of the can. Dispense it into your paint jar and WAIT . You're gonna see ALOT of air bubbles and I mean ALOT. You have to wait for it to "gas out" before it gets shot through an airbrush. When you can't see ANY air bubbles in the clear it'll be safe to shoot it. When shooting go with a couple of mist coats to prep the surface for the wet coats. Wait a couple of minutes for the mist coats to dry somewhat and then open 'er up for a wet coat. You're gonna like what you see after that........................I guarantee it. Don't waste time getting your coated product into a dust free zone after you've finished getting the nice and smooth finish you want and just leave it there for 3-5 days to fully cure. Don't freak out if you get a dust particle or anything like that in it either. Just put it in the dust free shelter and wait 3-5 days. Wet sanding and polishing will take care of dust or anything small that falls on your finish. That..................we'll cover later.

mustang1989 wrote:Heya Bruce,
I'm using Testors "Wet Look" Lacquer Clear. It's the absolute best clear I've ever used. You'll have to be careful with it in dispensing due to the air bubbles that accumulate in it when it's sprayed out of the can. Dispense it into your paint jar and WAIT . You're gonna see ALOT of air bubbles and I mean ALOT. You have to wait for it to "gas out" before it gets shot through an airbrush. When you can't see ANY air bubbles in the clear it'll be safe to shoot it. When shooting go with a couple of mist coats to prep the surface for the wet coats. Wait a couple of minutes for the mist coats to dry somewhat and then open 'er up for a wet coat. You're gonna like what you see after that........................I guarantee it. Don't waste time getting your coated product into a dust free zone after you've finished getting the nice and smooth finish you want and just leave it there for 3-5 days to fully cure. Don't freak out if you get a dust particle or anything like that in it either. Just put it in the dust free shelter and wait 3-5 days. Wet sanding and polishing will take care of dust or anything small that falls on your finish. That..................we'll cover later.

I hear my MG is calling me....

- Kari

Looks great Joe! Keeping it particle free is tough. Every clear finish I apply I am reminded of our cats fur being everywhere......

Kari: Go for it!!

Brent: Thanks buddy!! LOL! I've gotta keep my red heeler groomed as well ya know!!

Thank you so much for your advice and thorough reply, Joe.



Like Kari, I am busy scribbling your words down in my big book of modeling goodness. Your advice about drying is especially helpful and another mantra. Don’t try to effect any repairs or fixes until after. And bud, are you spraying down upon the object or in a changing series of orientations? I’m finding that I can follow the direction of airflow by holding the a/c nearly vertical when painting...

No problem Bruce.

When I airbrush anything I spray it holding the subject in front of the airbrush. I don't feel the need to shoot vertically really..............that's just me. I always start at the bottom of the body (like the bottom of the door sill plates and all) first because that area is commonly overlooked during the painting process and it's better to hit it first that way you've got adequate coverage throughout the whole side of the body. I try NOT to spray in an arc, meaning when I spray I do not merely pivot the brush back and forth. I move in a straight line with the body keeping the AB straight with the body all the way through each painting pass just like auto body shops do it. This keeps the distance from the AB to the painting surface constant. When pivoting and/ or shooting paint in an arc the distance from the painting surface is varied causing different textures throughout the paint work. Keep the distance constant and the paint will lay down in a consistent manner.

It's something I had to learn as well Bruce. My first attempts at gloss through an airbrush weren't really all that great. I mean I had excellent coverage where it counted I guess.................meaning where most folks focus their attention at when viewing any given automobile but a second look revealed the mistakes.

Ok folks , I wet sanded out the dust particles in the painted hood this morning and dug out the flame masks.



I chose the third set down from the top to use on this project. So I applied the mask and broke out the Alclad Polished Aluminum and sprayed a very light coat onto a test subject. Although there's a little camera movement in the following photos, they still depict what I'm trying to accomplish here which is a subtle "ghost flame" in which the finish will vary with different lighting against the black base coat.

Under direct light:



and under an indirect light:



I'm really looking forward to seeing how this is going to look under a good gloss coat.

Oh I do like those color choices. Subtle indeed!