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Kitty Hawk Texan

ScottsGT
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JohnB

JohnB

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11 minutes ago, ScottsGT said:

John, you’re absolutely correct.  I have experimented around with yellows in the past and had a surprising discovery.  I cannot take credit for it since it was on another modeling website.  I read it and had that “Idontbelieveit” reaction.  But a white base under yellow actually came out a shade darker than a light gray base.   I took a sheet of plastic and painted one half gray, other half white.  Using Tamiya yellow rattle cans, painted the panel.  There was an obvious difference and I even scratched off the yellow on one side to make sure I didn’t turn the test panel upside down during painting. 

I keep a few cans of Tamiya white primer just for those times I have to paint something white.  I need to use them up and just buy the bottle of white primer.  FWIW, I hate spraying white.  Hardest thing I ever painted was a white VW.  Can’t tell shadows from light areas.  You learn to trust your spray patterns quickly or live with removing runs in the finished product  

We use to match the primer under paint on cars too when I first got in the business since red oxide primer use to be a big thing on ‘60 and ‘70’s cars. 
But hey, that white VW turned out great.  This was around 1986. It’s a digital pic of an old Polaroid photo. 
 

prXGtU.jpg

That's a good looking VW Scott. Whether you use white primer or just flat white paint (which is what I use) it makes any paint job easier. :)

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ScottsGT

ScottsGT

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Untaped and a few parts added. 
 

mcbFzJ.jpg

antenna in front of the football is just a dry fit. Should have dry fit these before paint since I discovered the layout of the two holes are too close for both to fit correctly.  Had to shorten the tab on the football and slot the opening a little.  

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Clunkmeister

Clunkmeister

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On 9/13/2022 at 7:52 AM, ScottsGT said:

Such a shame since they at least put out kits no one else would do.  But if folks aren’t buying them, can’t fund the business.  Ernie did mention that the Chinese IM plant made changes from their original design and made things worse.  Maybe I’m too much of a conspiracy theorist, but it’s kind of odd how bad the changes made were and then bought out by another Chinese company.  Intentional destruction of a company?   Trumpeter still has not released them.  Maybe reworking the bugs that were put in intentionally?  
OK, tin foil hat off.  

The CAD work was done here, and somehow, changes were made in China. It drove the people here INSANE. Ask Glen or Floyd about that. 
 

This build is looking AMAZING, Scott!

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Clunkmeister

Clunkmeister

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On 9/23/2022 at 9:08 AM, ScottsGT said:

Yep.  It’s what we did back in the autobody days when we would shoot lacquer paints.  We actually went a step further by spraying the blend area with straight thinner before paint to soften up the surrounding original paint.  After spot painting was done we would blend the edges again with straight thinner to “melt” the new into the old.  
Leveling thinner is a slower drying thinner that lets the paint sit on the surface longer while still wet.  Solids fall to the bottom and the clear carriers rise to the top for a deeper gloss. 
It will also melt in any dry edges like I had doing my touch ups 3 hours later.  Paint was still soft enough to not need the pre spray of thinner.  Think of it as Micro-Sol on decals. 
I have not tried it yet on something like a SEA camo job, but it will make the color transitions much smoother.  
Best tip I can give is to have great lighting and watch the spray pattern as it hits the model and make sure you don’t get too carried away because thinner runs very easy.  You’ve got to find that happy place between dry and too wet, oh crap it’s running. 
The tops of my wings were actually puddled up between all the rivet details until it started absorbing and then evaporating. 
Another tip is if you are using a paint booth that draws fresh air across the model is to leave the fan on a few minutes to evacuate the fumes, but then turn it off and let the rest of the solvents slowly evaporate from the surface.  Slower the better. 
 

I had to pile on a LOT of paint to get the full coverage of yellow.  In all honesty I should have broken this job up over two days to let the first 5 coats cure all the way before piling more on.  Back in the day we had issues with “solvent popping” which was something that happened a few weeks after the car left the shop.  You would get little blisters about 1/16” popping up and eventually coming off leaving a freckled appearance where you could see the primer below.  It’s a sign that the job was rushed by piling the paint on too fast. 
 

Remember hearing the old show car stories of “48 coats of hand rubbed lacquer”?  What was being done was 2 or 3 coats of lacquer was applied.  Car sat over night and was wet sanded very lightly the next morning and two or three more coats applied and sat over night for the same thing to happen the next day.  Plenty of time for solvents to escape and surface smoothed out again for more build up.  
 

I’m very curious to see if I have similar issues with all the paint I had to put on this Texan.  Probably not since it won’t be out in the hot sun and elements like a car is  

 

That’s exactly why I’m glad I wasn’t painting cars back in the old RM Miracryl enamel days.  
For part time hobby painters like myself, I just LOVE my PPG. DP90 might be stupid expensive, but to me, it’s the car equivalent of Mr Leveling Thinner. It’s saved my ass so many times it ain’t funny. Then PPG base/clear right over the sealer.  I love the stuff. At any point when I get my inevitable once per job sag, I can just stop, let it flash, the feather it out and continue along as if nothing happened.  Now my only real issues are cleanliness and guessing right for my reducer.  I’m doing a color change on my 55 Sunliner, have it lifted off the frame and starting with the underbody, then jambs, floor, and inside engine compartment so I can remember and relearn my techniques. The less I need to use that bloody buffer, the happier I am. 
Love painting, but your wife is like mine. She comes to the shop, sees me head to toe in dust, looking like a chimney sweep, and says “what are you doing out here, it looks the same as it did last month”.  It’s a good thing I really, really love her. 

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Clunkmeister

Clunkmeister

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For white finishes, I’ve alwzys thought you can’t beat Tamiya white primer, or even white Gunze Mr.Surfacer 1000.

Just apply 2 or three light coats, let it dry for a day, the rub buff it with a soft cotton cloth. IMHO, it’s 100x better than trying to deal with white paint, so unless you’re aiming for effects paint, primer is all you need. 

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ScottsGT

ScottsGT

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8 hours ago, Clunkmeister said:

That’s exactly why I’m glad I wasn’t painting cars back in the old RM Miracryl enamel days.  
For part time hobby painters like myself, I just LOVE my PPG. DP90 might be stupid expensive, but to me, it’s the car equivalent of Mr Leveling Thinner. It’s saved my ass so many times it ain’t funny. Then PPG base/clear right over the sealer.  I love the stuff. At any point when I get my inevitable once per job sag, I can just stop, let it flash, the feather it out and continue along as if nothing happened.  Now my only real issues are cleanliness and guessing right for my reducer.  I’m doing a color change on my 55 Sunliner, have it lifted off the frame and starting with the underbody, then jambs, floor, and inside engine compartment so I can remember and relearn my techniques. The less I need to use that bloody buffer, the happier I am. 
Love painting, but your wife is like mine. She comes to the shop, sees me head to toe in dust, looking like a chimney sweep, and says “what are you doing out here, it looks the same as it did last month”.  It’s a good thing I really, really love her. 

Yea, I’ve learned the hard way that driving a buffer is a young man’s game.  Last time I did it, it took three days for me to be able to walk standing up straight again. 
Have you ever tried Southern Polyurethanes Inc (SPI) yet?   I did my ‘66 with their clear.  Stuff is amazing. Owner of the company is available by phone 24/7 for questions. 

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Clunkmeister

Clunkmeister

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1 hour ago, ScottsGT said:

Yea, I’ve learned the hard way that driving a buffer is a young man’s game.  Last time I did it, it took three days for me to be able to walk standing up straight again. 
Have you ever tried Southern Polyurethanes Inc (SPI) yet?   I did my ‘66 with their clear.  Stuff is amazing. Owner of the company is available by phone 24/7 for questions. 

No I haven’t actually. English Color is literally 3 blocks from my shop so PPG is right around the corner. 
I had a guy try to sell me on Tamco, especially their DTA primer, but I’ve always saw Tamco as marine paint. 
For a casual painter like me, it’s nice to have a product line that you know works.  I’m to the point now where I really don’t want to beat myself up doing it, but again, if you want it done right, do it yourself. 
Running a buffer is just a bad byproduct of knowing it’s right, I guess. 

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Peterpools

Peterpools

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3 hours ago, Clunkmeister said:

She looks gorgeous, Scott. Dang! 
 

It’s actually a decent little kit, as long as you pay attention to what you’re doing, and test fit everything first.  It’s a kit that should have sold thousands more units, but just didn’t..

 

Ernie

Completely agree on the production numbers should have been much higher ... I just wonder why?

 

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