caudleryan Posted July 11, 2018 Share Posted July 11, 2018 No problems Joel. I find it just a tad bit harder to do automotive models because the finish has to be just about perfect. In my honest opinion, it's just learning another set of skills. But I do find it rather enjoyable to be able to pull off that fantastic shine to the gloss coat! I'm looking forward to seeing it come together! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Joel_W Posted July 13, 2018 Author Share Posted July 13, 2018 Well, it's time for another update. This time it's almost all about decaling. Gee, what a surprise that is. But 1st I had to deal with the headlight housings. On the 917s they are gloss Black rather then the color of the body. Makes little sense since the bulbs have chrome back reflectors to get as much light on the track as possible considering the speeds that they're doing. So how to best paint them? Air Brush of course. Paint was Tamiya Gloss Black cut 2:3 with Tamiya Yellow cap. Now comes the tough part, how to mask them as the body is already painted.I'm going to leave all the pictures till the end since I forgot to take pictures of the masked shell, and after the painting was finished. I tried to mask the housing with Tamiya Vinyl curveable tape, but it just couldn't make the tighter radiuses. Next up was covering the housing with Tamiya 18mm tape. It just covered the opening. Then I burnished the tape into place with a toothpick along the lip where the clear plastic cover will be attached. Then I carefully cut it out with a brand new #11 Blade. Low and behold, I didn't slip and cut the painted surface for a change. I then carefully masked the nose clip, then covered the rest of the shell with Blue painters tape. Shot the Gloss black, and when I removed all the masking, not a drop made it under the tape. Now there's a 1st for me. I decided after much thought that while the paint is really smooth, I just would feel more comfortable with a clear gloss sealer. So I used the MCW Lacquer Clear Gloss that is pre-thinned a little thicker then water. I AB'd it @ a flow rate of 18 psi, then I gave it a quick polishing the following day with a wet piece of Tamiya 3,000 polishing spunge. Silky smooth. The decals for this build are by Indy Cal. You need to cut out each decal as close to it as possible as the entire sheet is basically one large decal. Using my decal produres of Micro Set, Micro Sol, & Finally Solvaset, every single decal laid down perfectly. They have a Mat finish so a Gloss sealer will be needed. The chassis pan has a composite skid plate to protect it from the constant scrapping on the bumps. The plate is a bright White. So I masked it out and then painted it Mig Ammo Mat White followed by a coat of Dullcoat. It's so White that the sides of the chassis don't look nearly as white, but that's the perfect match for Martini White. I still have to decal both sides of the chassis, but I screwed up one side of the sponsor decals out of shear carelessness. Fortunately, Mike the owner of Indy Cals has this great "Oops plan". He'll replace the damaged decals one time for free. So I'm waiting for the replacements. In the mean time, I have plenty of work to do to keep me quite busy.Joel Insert other media.url Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dekon70 Posted July 14, 2018 Share Posted July 14, 2018 Nice! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Joel_W Posted July 14, 2018 Author Share Posted July 14, 2018 10 minutes ago, dekon70 said: Nice! Dekon70, Thanks for stopping by, and the thumbs up. It's much appreciated. Joel Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dekon70 Posted July 16, 2018 Share Posted July 16, 2018 (edited) Just wanted to tell you that your build has made me pull one of mine out of the stash. Going to be doing it as the 1970 Watkins Glen "Hippie Car" . Keep up the great work. Edited July 16, 2018 by dekon70 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Joel_W Posted July 16, 2018 Author Share Posted July 16, 2018 17 hours ago, dekon70 said: Just wanted to tell you that your build has made me pull one of mine out of the stash. Going to be doing it as the 1970 Watkins Glen "Hippie Car" . Keep up the great work. Dekon70 What a great scheme. Really looking forward to following your build. Joel Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Peterpools Posted July 20, 2018 Share Posted July 20, 2018 JA Finally back and now no need to send progress photos by email. Terrific decal work on the body as all the decals have settled down very nicely. Of course, I do have one question: if you built two Porsche 917's #22 would that equal one team 44 Jag? Keep 'em comin Bro Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Joel_W Posted July 20, 2018 Author Share Posted July 20, 2018 9 minutes ago, Peterpools said: JA Finally back and now no need to send progress photos by email. Terrific decal work on the body as all the decals have settled down very nicely. Of course, I do have one question: if you built two Porsche 917's #22 would that equal one team 44 Jag? Keep 'em comin Bro Bro, Glad that you finally came on back. And thanks for the thumbs up on the 917K, it's much appreciated. The Jaguar is more then 20 years younger then the Porsche, but the Porsche 917K is a true Icon, not so sure about that status for Bob Tullius's Team 44 Jaguar XJS prototype cars. Joel Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Joel_W Posted July 20, 2018 Author Share Posted July 20, 2018 13 minutes ago, Joel_W said: Bro, Glad that you finally came on back. And thanks for the thumbs up on the 917K, it's much appreciated. The Jaguar is more then 20 years younger then the Porsche, but the Porsche 917K is a true Icon, not so sure about that status for Bob Tullius's Team 44 Jaguar prototype cars. Joel Quote Link to post Share on other sites
stevehnz Posted July 21, 2018 Share Posted July 21, 2018 Coming along beautifully Joel, the decals look stunning. Steve. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Joel_W Posted July 21, 2018 Author Share Posted July 21, 2018 2 hours ago, stevehnz said: Coming along beautifully Joel, the decals look stunning. Steve. Steve, Thanks so much for your most positive comment, it's much appreciated. Next update in a day or so as the body has been glossed and polished out. Huge difference. All are warned that sunglasses should be worn during viewing. Joel Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Joel_W Posted July 22, 2018 Author Share Posted July 22, 2018 Time for another update. Much progress has been made, as I'm finally over the big test of glossing, rubbing out, and polishing the shell. As I said in my last update, I managed to get the decals to lay down perfectly except for a few that I screwed up not paying attention to where I placed my hands. Michael from Indy Cal has a policy of replacing one time any ruined decals no matter what caused it. Just send a picture. So i did, got a email from Michael that the decals would be printed ASAP and mailed to me. Got them 3 days later. Thank you Michael for the fantastic policy, and the speed in which you got me the decals. Next step was to glosscoat the entire shell, then rub it out with 3,000 wet, followed by MCW 2 step polishing paste compounds. I originally bought one bottle of MCW lacquer Clear gloss, but I've gone through 2/3 of it fool ti's pre-thinned, and at $7/bottle I'd need another bottle just to finish the build. Way to expense for my tastes. My brother Peter, whose tested out just about every gloss out there for modelers, swears by Mr. Color Gloss, so I bought 5 bottles since they only come in 10ml bottles. I thinned it out 2 parts Gloss to 3 parts Mr. Color leveling Thinner. Then AB'd it @ a flow rate of 18 psi. Two tack coats, followed by 3 wet coats, with the last coat really being on the wet side. The shine was incredible to say the least. I gave it a full 48 hrs to cure, then I wet sanded it with good old Tamiya 3,000. As I polished it the shine became opaque, which it's supposed to do. What I'm looking for is spots, and areas that remained glossy. Those are low areas that I have to carefully sand down to remove yet staying away from any ridges or sharp corners. When done, I used a tack cloth, then a rinse in warm running water. When dry, I once again went over it with the tack cloth. Next step was the 1st bottle of polishing paste that I applied in circles, the exact opposite way that I sand which is in straight lines. Slowly the shine started to come back and the scratches started to disappear. When I went as far as i could with step 1, I repeated the polishing with Step 2. The shine was back. Even, nice, and deep. I still can polish it with either wax or a polymer polish, but that's for the end of the build if I feel it really needs it. Now my efforts focused on finishing up the cockpit. I added a clutch cable as that's how the clutch was engaged back in those days. then I added the dash, shift level, seats, Steering wheel, and a 4 way Seatbelt harness by Tamiya. Unfortunately, it's a design for later period cars, so I had to modify it. The end results are good enough. One issue did pop up, and that's the rear cockpit bulkhead sliding plexi window. it's crude at best and slightly to large. I got it go fit, and the framing in real life is inside the cockpit. I've given it one color coat so far, and a 2nd coat will finish it up. The front suspension is done although you won't see much of it through the Firestone tires once installed. thanks for stopping by and checking out my Porsche 917K build todate, it's always much appreciated. Joel Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Slartibartfast Posted July 22, 2018 Share Posted July 22, 2018 This is looking awesome! Imagine crawling over the side fuel cells to get in and out. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Joel_W Posted July 22, 2018 Author Share Posted July 22, 2018 9 hours ago, Slartibartfast said: This is looking awesome! Imagine crawling over the side fuel cells to get in and out. Bruce, Thanks so much for the most positive thumbs up, it's greatly appreciated. I never had the opportunity to get into a 917, but I did get to step over the side tanks, and seat in a Ford MkII once, as well as a Gene Ford several times. The feeling is amazing. Joel Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Peterpools Posted July 22, 2018 Share Posted July 22, 2018 JA Awesome progress for sure. Clear gloss on the body look perfect and my bill is in the mail for recommending my go to Clear Gloss by Mr Color. Chassis and interior looks simply stellar and the harnesses look dead on. Keep 'em comin Bro Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Joel_W Posted July 22, 2018 Author Share Posted July 22, 2018 24 minutes ago, Peterpools said: JA Awesome progress for sure. Clear gloss on the body look perfect and my bill is in the mail for recommending my go to Clear Gloss by Mr Color. Chassis and interior looks simply stellar and the harnesses look dead on. Keep 'em comin Bro Bro As always, your comments are to the point, much appreciated. No need to send a bill for the Clear Gloss reco, as being related means I don't have to pay up, and usually don't. three bags of popcorn is a little too much even for you. So you now owe me a full bag of Popcorn too. Bro Quote Link to post Share on other sites
stevehnz Posted July 23, 2018 Share Posted July 23, 2018 That is looking great Joel, really looking forward to the final reveal on this. Steve. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Joel_W Posted July 23, 2018 Author Share Posted July 23, 2018 (edited) 6 hours ago, stevehnz said: That is looking great Joel, really looking forward to the final reveal on this. Steve. Steve, Thanks for stopping by and checking out the 917K to date. It's always much appreciated to get feedback from the crew here. I'm getting closer and closer to the finish line, but I've still got quite a few laps to go, and I haven't even test fitted any of the glass as yet. I'm kind of scared ( ok, chicken) to do it at this point. What happens if it doesn't fit correctly? Joel Edited July 23, 2018 by Joel_W Quote Link to post Share on other sites
CaptainObvious Posted July 24, 2018 Share Posted July 24, 2018 Really nice work on the car body Joel. Decals, gloss and polish all look great. The seatbelts add a lot to the interior and the brake assemblies look ace too. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Joel_W Posted July 24, 2018 Author Share Posted July 24, 2018 5 hours ago, CaptainObvious said: Really nice work on the car body Joel. Decals, gloss and polish all look great. The seatbelts add a lot to the interior and the brake assemblies look ace too. Capt. Obvious Thanks for stopping by and checking out my slow but steady progress. It's much appreciated. Joel Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Falconxlvi Posted July 27, 2018 Share Posted July 27, 2018 Joel, Thanks for taking the time to explain how you obtained your glossy finish- the result is spectacular! I’m looking forward to seeing the car all together soon! Steve Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ben Brown Posted July 27, 2018 Share Posted July 27, 2018 Looking great, Joel! I'm taking lots of notes because I just ordered this kit. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Joel_W Posted July 27, 2018 Author Share Posted July 27, 2018 12 hours ago, Falconxlvi said: Joel, Thanks for taking the time to explain how you obtained your glossy finish- the result is spectacular! I’m looking forward to seeing the car all together soon! Steve Steve, I'm also looking forward to seeing how it all comes together. Still a ways to go, and with the summer weather I'm not modeling nearly as much as I use to. As a matter of fact, I just got home from shore fishing. My method for obtaining a gloss finish really is the norm for most auto guys. The only differences are some don't do anything to the color coats, just the clear coats. What I've found is that there are quite a lot of polishing sets out there including guys who use the Meguiar's scratch & Polishing system, which I also have for my Sports Coupe. Joel Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Joel_W Posted July 27, 2018 Author Share Posted July 27, 2018 3 hours ago, Ben Brown said: Looking great, Joel! I'm taking lots of notes because I just ordered this kit. Ben, thanks for stopping by and your thumbs up on the build so far. Which version of the kit did you get? Joel Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ben Brown Posted July 27, 2018 Share Posted July 27, 2018 Hi Joel, I got the Gulf 1970 Le Mans version. I'll be building it as the Gulf car. If the kit decals don't work out, I see Renaissance has some replacements. I'm in the same boat you're in, where I've decided it's time to build some cars, since I'm not getting any younger. 😁 Cheers! Ben Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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