Painting N scale cars in FXD build thread

[chicken45]

Closeups of the model. I'l looking for input on how to do some precision sanding.

[wazzou]

Wow, those vertical surfaces, particularly the tires, both bumpers and the grille look pretty rough. 
I assume this is post Bestene bath, correct?
I'll be watching very closely to see how you address this model as it will really influence my purchasing and finish decisions.

Thank you for doing this.

[chicken45]

Wow, those vertical surfaces, particularly the tires, both bumpers and the grille look pretty rough. 
I assume this is post Bestene bath, correct?
I'll be watching very closely to see how you address this model as it will really influence my purchasing and finish decisions.

Thank you for doing this.

Yeah, the grill DOES look rough, but, it's the best we got until someone casts one in resin. (cough @Rasputen  cough) This is after about 5 hours in bestine with no additional cleanup. I'll give it a good 24 hour soak and then start sanding.

I'm happy to do it and share my experience to help others the same way those have helped me.
This model is from rapidpro (there were a few threads here talking about his cars). I know @cbroughton67 did a sweet job on his, and @bbussey also raved about them. I need to be careful when sanding as to not sand any bits away.

[Philip H]

Not that I've done it, but perhaps applying one of the surfacing and THEN sanding is your best shot

[chicken45]

Not that I've done it, but perhaps applying one of the surfacing and THEN sanding is your best shot

I think in this case, that's not a good idea. This stuff is like a powder and it needs to go. It would be like spray painting sand on a beach.

[Chris333]

I would prime it first so you can see what is a rough surface and what is lines seen through clear material.

[Rasputen]

If you absolutely have to have a nice one of these, and you are convinced that no one else is going to come out with a die cast version, what I would recommend would be to:
1) get a 1:43 scale version printed out, with separate wheels
2) fix all of the flaws in the 1:43 scale model from the printing process (lots easier than filing and sanding a 1/160th one)
3) shrink the result down to HO scale
4) shrink the result of #3 down to 1/160.

You are talking about a few hundred dollars worth of materials, plus the labor.

Even an HO scale printed vehicle is too rough to start with.  I've already been down that path.

[sirenwerks]

John, is that FUD or FXD? [OK, I reread the thread title... duh.]

[peteski]

I think in this case, that's not a good idea. This stuff is like a powder and it needs to go. It would be like spray painting sand on a beach.

I'll quote Daniel here: The car will need to soak in Bestine. After that, I like to use an electric toothbrush with jewelers rouge. This minimizes the striations. After this I hit it with sandable auto primer.

What Daniel is doing there is similar to using air-eraser (mini sandblaster). He is using an abrasive to get rid of striations/fuzz.  I would even go a bit coarser and use a more abrasive material (like Bon Ami).  If you had an air eraser, you could use either the aluminum oxide abrasive or even baking soda to blast the fuzz off.

[daniel_leavitt2000]

Sandable auto primer? Like this stuff?
https://www.rustoleum.com/product-catalog/consumer-brands/auto/primers/sandable-primer-spray/
I'm showing my inexperience here so bear with me, aren't all primers and paints sandable?

I have some Model Master gray acrylic primer I can use. I'll def five the Tamiya stuff a go. Maybe a couple coats will fill in the fuzzies?

Some  primers are more sandable than others. There is also a "primer gray" floating out there that isn't a primer at all. I do prefer Rustoleum to Krylon. It's a lighter color and goes on a bit finer. It is also an exact match to the gray Walthers used in their PD hoppers.

[chicken45]

Is there a certain kind of jewelers rouge to use?

[muktown128]

A short primer on primers...

Primers are specially formulated for different properties including:
Corrosion resistance
Adhesion
Surface filling / smoothness

Sandable primers typically contain filler or extender pigment like talc (magnesium silicate) or calcium carbonate.
These pigments are softer and tend to powder up when sanded so they don't plug sandpaper.
They are also inexpensive compared to other pigments.
The resin system or binder and pigment to binder ratio or P/B ratio are also important and can affect sandability.
Not all primers are sandable., nor are they all intended to be. 

Regards,
Scott

[sd45elect2000]

I usually just use a brass wire brush to get the fuzzy off. Then I prime the model and sand it. I've used Testors primer , Mr. Surfacer and some of the Tamiya products, all of them seem to work well enough. I also have micro mesh sanding materials.

On my North Shore fleet I wet sanded the car sides while watching TV. After the bodies dry I applied another coat of light primer and applied the archer rivet decals. I like the results so far.

I especially use this this method on passenger car window openings.

Right or wrong its been working for me.

Randy

[sirenwerks]

The car will need to soak in Bestine. After that, I like to use an electric toothbrush with jewelers rouge. This minimizes the striations. After this I hit it with sandable auto primer. Additional sanding is sometimes required but not often. If sanding was done, prime one more time. Mask the Windows and hit with the base color.

@daniel_eavitt2000, is that a circular motion toothbrush like the Oral B, or a vibrating type (or sonic), like the Sonicare?

[C855B]

I think in this case, that's not a good idea. This stuff is like a powder and it needs to go. It would be like spray painting sand on a beach.

Yes. I always hit it post-Bestine with a SpinBrush (rotating and reciprocating) to burnish-off the powder. A quick hit is all it takes. That is actually unique to the Bestine soak method, the folks who use a degreaser like Goo-Gone are already scrubbing it. The scrubbing method gives me the heebie-jeebies, for fear of breaking off fine details.