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Post by mrversatile on Nov 13, 2020 15:36:50 GMT -7
Hey everyone! I am in an unscheduled break from my Mustang GT4 project because I somehow lost the part which includes the paddle shifters. I was prepared to fabricate one when I reached out to Tamiya USA and promptly got a response stating that they would be happy to send me the part but it may take a few weeks, thus this new WIP to fill the void. I have been on a Tamiya roll recently and wanted one more trouble free build, so I opted for the Ford GT. This will be painted in Gravity Colors Ford "Liquid Gray" with dark wheels, red calipers, and a black stripe. The interior will be a dark gray with red accents.
I have already sanded the body, primed it, and painted it. The lines on this body are not like anything I have worked with before and it has a unique tunneling at the rear quarters. This requires the fenders/roof parts to be painted separately and then assembled afterward. As most of you know, this can be problematic later when it comes to the fitment since the paint process will add some layers to the mated surfaces. Anticipating this, I masked off the contact areas at the roof so that it will fit flush after it is painted.
The basecoat is complete. I still have to clear coat it.
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Post by mustang1989 on Nov 14, 2020 6:09:32 GMT -7
Oh man oh man oh man!! REALLY looking forward to this one Gil. I've had my eye on this kit for a while now.
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Post by pete on Nov 15, 2020 15:46:49 GMT -7
I have one of these in my stash...Cant decide how to do it yet...  |
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Post by mrversatile on Nov 19, 2020 14:49:52 GMT -7
I regret to inform everyone that this project has met a "bump in the road" so to speak. Out of all the car models I have ever built, this is the first that I had to totally strip the paint and clear coat off with brake fluid. The colorcoat over Tamiya primer experienced some etching of the plastic which translated to patches of lines in the finish. On top of that I clear coated and found that it accentuated it more and in the rear quarter tunnels I experienced some "lacquer overspray." A total disaster probably attributed to user error. I used the same method I always do but I think I rushed things and applied too much basecoat over too little primer causing the lacquer basecoat to get down to the plastic. Looks like this project will require a bit more work than anticipated. I ordered a can of Lacquer Reducer to slow the drying of the clear to help in that regard. Here is a picture of the stripped body. You can see the demarcation where the etching occurred.
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Post by stitchdup on Nov 19, 2020 15:57:21 GMT -7
I'm sure you'll manage to save it
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Post by mrversatile on Nov 24, 2020 21:26:10 GMT -7
Take two for the Ford GT! I shot it with Mr. Surfacer 1000 and sanded it down to smooth the defects caused by the crazing. I then overcoated it with 2 coats of Tamiya fine primer. It looks good as new and ready for color and clear. I also obtained a can of lacquer reducer to add to the clear to prevent the dusting overspray I experienced when I painted the unique three sided tunnel on the rear quarters. This reducer, when added to the clear, should resist the drying of the expected overspray whilst painting in this area.
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Post by mrversatile on Dec 3, 2020 16:17:37 GMT -7
It has been rescued! What you see is the culmination of stripping the paint, cleaning, sanding the crazed plastic, priming with Mr. Surfacer 1000, sanding, repriming with 2 coats of tamiya fine primer, reapplying the basecoat, then the clear coat which was another disaster. I used a different thinner, one that I thought was slower drying and the result was a grainy finish so I just went with it and applied more coats tobe removed through polishing. I then polished this for hours repeatedly and rubbed through a couple of edges that I had to touch up. For that I ended up pulling out an old bottle of "CobraColors" clear and shot that un-thinned which worked perfectly. I finally got it finished but the angles on this car made it way more difficult to polish. I am not 100% satisfied with it but it will have to do.
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Post by stitchdup on Dec 3, 2020 16:35:40 GMT -7
You got a nice shine so your work was worth it
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Post by pete on Dec 3, 2020 17:09:37 GMT -7
Paints too heavy, solvents cant flash off quickly soo...They eat paint, plastic... A little over reduction of the paint will give you a smoother finish (If that's possible with lacquer, lol) and still allow the solvents to flash off between coats without lifting the primer or crazeing the plastic. Glad you saved it though, gonna be killer when you finish it.
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Post by mustang1989 on Dec 4, 2020 7:53:53 GMT -7
Sorry to hear of your misfortune on this one Gil. Looks like your recovery efforts are paying off though. Hope to see more progress on this one soon. Great to have you around again pal.
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Post by mrversatile on Dec 4, 2020 16:23:57 GMT -7
Thanks guys and Pete, I see your point about the over reduction. The problem I had though, which was a catch 22 situation, is that the angles of the rear quarter tunnel created alot of overspray, especially when further reduced. This area as well is very difficult to correct through sanding. So, I was looking to actually retard the lacquer to avoid this situation and prevent it from drying too quickly in the air as I painted this area. Unfortunately the reducer I ended up using the second time around, which I thought was slower drying than the lacquer reducer I usually use, did just the opposite. The clear coat I use exclusively is decanted from a spray can and I further reduce it. I think in the future I am going to get some retarder and add a little with lighter coats to allow it time to level better.
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Post by pete on Dec 4, 2020 16:44:26 GMT -7
More flash time and lighter coats with the retarder is a must. I hear yah on the tight spaces/weird angles stuff too. Cut your fan size down and your fluid flow too. If your already over reduced/retarded it will still flow out. You can cheat too if you give the area a wet cross coat (Usually the last coat) The other option is to mask the disparate facets. Paint one side...Mask it...Paint the other side...No overspray at all that way. Just gotta contend with the tape edge. Still, it looks darn good from here!!
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Post by mrversatile on Dec 5, 2020 9:15:21 GMT -7
Yep, I knew I was on the right track and you offer some good advice. Thanks Pete!
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Post by mrversatile on Dec 12, 2020 9:20:20 GMT -7
Here is an updated picture of the near completed body. Of course whilst applying the stripe decals, the one on the hood tore and I had to fix it with paint and multiple applications of Future which then had to be polished to a smooth finish to hide the tear. Will nothing go right on this build? Still, the body is came out satisfactorily in the end. As a side note, the headlight assemblies in this kit are engineering works of art. The complex assembly is recreated with 10 different plastic parts and 3 decals PER headlight.  |
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Post by leon on Dec 13, 2020 4:27:49 GMT -7
Body turned out great Gil!
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Post by mustang1989 on Dec 13, 2020 5:34:24 GMT -7
That's some fancy foot work on that body and paint Gil. Glad to hear that you made it through ok on the decal issues. I know the feeling of things not going well on models dude. ......aaallll too well. Hang with 'er bud. Looking forward to more.
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Post by pete on Dec 13, 2020 9:44:30 GMT -7
Yeah, You ironed that one out nicely Gil!!! Looks great!!
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Post by mrversatile on Dec 23, 2020 19:45:53 GMT -7
I finally finished this Bi.......!!!! And I say that with no apologies. Anyway, below are the pictures of the Ford factory interior option called "Launch Control" which includes the orange accents to the dash and seats. Of course, the mating of the body to the chassis wasn't easy which seemed to be the theme for this build. For some reason the body wouldn't sit flush and produced a gap beneath the doors which was more pronounced on one side. This seems to be a problem with these as I have seen others blog about the issue with no clear solution other than fiddling and inserting glue to force it closed. Got it done and presents a nice representation.
Interior
Finished car. I will create another post with more pics in the "on the road" thread |
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Post by mustang1989 on Dec 26, 2020 5:52:01 GMT -7
That really looks like a work of art right there Gil. Hate to hear that it gave you so much trouble throughout and then again at the very end. You've definitely produced a great result with this build though. Glad you're here brother....good to see you building again.
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Post by transammike on Dec 26, 2020 10:06:22 GMT -7
Gorgeous Gil!!!!!! Love everything about it  |
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Post by pete on Dec 27, 2020 9:16:54 GMT -7
Definitely whipped this one into shape Gil...Looks terrific!!
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Post by lowlife on Dec 28, 2020 9:40:20 GMT -7
Very sharp build, looks faultless you`d never guess you had trouble with the paint ! !
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Post by mmthrax on Jan 7, 2021 20:44:17 GMT -7
WOW!!
Turned out great despite it fighting you.
Outstanding work sir!
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