Cobra Coupe - Le Mans - Model Factory Hiro 1/12

[belugawhaleman]

Sorry to hear that Rob. 

[DocRob]

2 hours ago, belugawhaleman said:

Sorry to hear that Rob. 

Thank you Paul, no need to feel sorry, sometimes you win, sometimes, you loose, that´s the way with challenges. There is still a chance to finish the Cobra halfway decently, but not how I wanted to finish it. I should have chosen a simpler kit, but the success with the Crocker motorcycle made me greedy. The Cobra is not the easiest choice, but others got it done, so I hopefully will pull through, however the outcome.

Cheers Rob

[BlrwestSiR]

Some real challenges there Rob. Sorry to hear of the fit trouble. Especially this point in the build. 

Don't think I have any real advice I can offer you. I'm hoping you persevere and finish it. 

[CANicoll]

Hang in there Rob.  The level of build may not be up to your usual standards, but the work you've already done is masterful. 

Regarding the CA fingerprint - oh yeah, been there, done that, smacked my head out of frustration.  Can you polish it out?  BTW, I use CA as the coating on my wood pens and I wet sand the CA to an amazingly clear finish.  Maybe you will be able to do the same?  Dry sanding seems to result in a frosted surface, but wet sanding provided a clear and hard finish.

 

[DocRob]

7 hours ago, BlrwestSiR said:

Some real challenges there Rob. Sorry to hear of the fit trouble. Especially this point in the build. 

Don't think I have any real advice I can offer you. I'm hoping you persevere and finish it. 

 

6 hours ago, CANicoll said:

Hang in there Rob.  The level of build may not be up to your usual standards, but the work you've already done is masterful. 

Regarding the CA fingerprint - oh yeah, been there, done that, smacked my head out of frustration.  Can you polish it out?  BTW, I use CA as the coating on my wood pens and I wet sand the CA to an amazingly clear finish.  Maybe you will be able to do the same?  Dry sanding seems to result in a frosted surface, but wet sanding provided a clear and hard finish.

Thanks for your supportive words, Carl and Chris. It´s nerve wrecking to prepare and finish all the sub assemblies, only to partly destroy them again and again during test fitting. Tolerances are extremely tight and that there is everything made up like in the real car doesn´t help either in the way of complexity. I will try to do my best salvaging the build.
For some reason, the primer and paint doesn´t adhere well on white metal and resin. Scratching and paint lifting is easily done, even with Kabuki masking, which I always de-tacked thee times. 
One of the CA marks on the body, I might be able to polish out. but the other resulted in a paint lift down to the resin. I oversprayed it carefully and will clear coat later, but it will remain visible. 
I had white CA fogging onto black painted parts, which look ugly. I will see, how much I can overspray there later on with a minimum of masking, because of the risks of paint lifting.

Cheers Rob

[CANicoll]

Rob, That is amazing that the primer didn't take.  ugh. I am feeling your pain, my friend.  Regarding the CA fogging - how about using a marker to redo the black parts? No need to mask.  Potentially.  Good luck!

[DocRob]

6 hours ago, CANicoll said:

Rob, That is amazing that the primer didn't take.  ugh. I am feeling your pain, my friend.  Regarding the CA fogging - how about using a marker to redo the black parts? No need to mask.  Potentially.  Good luck!

Thank you Chris, I will respray, where possible. The Tamiya LP-5 semi matte black has a distinctive sheen and a marker would be visible. In some delicate areas, I will use a brush.

Cheers Rob

[DocRob]

To do something productive and without destruction, I added details to the rear area. The rear lights were painted with Tamiya clear red, have a turned aluminum base and a small rubber ring around.



Next was the feared addition of the firewall, which fitted after a lot of sanding and grinding and is held in place wit a screw. Of course, there are a lot of scratches to be repaired. I also knocked off some parts during the process, which will be added later.



Then, I added the dashboard, which luckily was an easy task. Concerning CA fumes, if you are spotting into the foot wells, you notice chalky white residue. I never experience this kind of CA-fogging before and I always use the same glue and used the semi matte black often. Strangely the fogging reaches very far from the gluing area. 



Cheers Rob

[CANicoll]

That really is a mystery.  But the dash looks amazing as does the firewall.

 

[Landlubber Mike]

Hang in there Rob - it's looking spectacular!  

Take a look at VMS products.  They offer a number of CA products, some I believe are designed not to fog.  

[BlrwestSiR]

It's looking really good there Rob. 

I wonder if the fogging is because the fumes are trapped in a confined area and are thus a bit more concentrated. 

[DocRob]

13 hours ago, CANicoll said:

That really is a mystery.  But the dash looks amazing as does the firewall.

 

8 hours ago, Landlubber Mike said:

Hang in there Rob - it's looking spectacular!  

Take a look at VMS products.  They offer a number of CA products, some I believe are designed not to fog.

 

7 hours ago, BlrwestSiR said:

t's looking really good there Rob. 

I wonder if the fogging is because the fumes are trapped in a confined area and are thus a bit more concentrated

Muchas gracias amigos, The fumes of CA are not really trapped into the body. There are openings everywhere, there is no windshield and no rear window and the chassis is still missing. I never had an effect that strong. Maybe it has something to do with a very high humidity here, it´s about 95%. I use the same CA (Colle 21) since years for everything from wooden ships over plastic, resin and metal. Even with normal plastic kits, I often use it for ready painted parts and had no issues so far.

Cheers Rob
I will look into the VMS products

[ScottsGT]

Rob,  still looks great even with the setbacks.  Concentrate on completion and ignore the boogers.  Come back later and fix those. Don’t let them play a mind game with you.  
 

When I was an autobody tech/painter the hardest thing to learn during a paint job was if we hung a run in the paint was to ignore it and move on.  There’s no fixing it in in the paint booth with wet paint.  Focus on finishing the car as best as you can and address the little stuff later.  If we let a run get into our head, the entire paint job could easily be ruined.  

Pro tip for your next metal model or anyone reading this that is planning on a metal project.  DON’T USED PLASTIC MODEL PRIMERS AS YOUR FIRST COAT!  
Go get a self etching primer for metal.  Even a cheap rattle can of automotive etching primer is 100X better for your base coat primer.  If you cannot source it, we use to use etching fluid we would spray on bare metal and the wipe it dry with a clean cloth.  I’m sure it’s probably a common chemical anyone can find. ( I think it’s copper sulphate) 

Another option, but not as effective is to completely sand the surface with a 220 grit sand paper (we used 80 grit on an DA sander on cars) and then prime it and build the primer up and sand smooth.  The problem here though is primer can shrink over time and sand scratches will appear in the paint.  
 

Now the best option is an automotive etching epoxy primer.  Highly toxic if you breathe it in, so a charcoal filter respirator is mandatory.  And unfortunately it only comes in larger quantities than the modeler needs.  If you have a bodyshop near by, stop in and see if they would be willing to sell you 2-3 oz of primer and the catalyst. It’s usually a 1:1 mix.  Spray it on, let it sit 24 hours then spray on a primer on top to work out for paint.  But being an epoxy, it’s just like glue.  You’re gluing the primer to the metal with it as long as you stay within the recoat window.