F1 model - paint & coating procedure for finicky parts

Hi Omes, I'm not a car modler but I believe I can answer this question.

Most of us assemble the pieces before adding them to, in your case, the car body. We will fill the gaps with a good filler, sand smooth, paint (after the entire kit is mostly assembled and masked off), spray gloss coat. Car guys can give you a better sequence of events for autos but the way in stated is usuall the way.

Hi Steve,

Thanks for the reply. 

I'm actually referring to how you would treat each tiny piece of the sub-assembly, like the wings or wishbone, before putting the sub-assembly itself together.

Actually, don't worry about the painting question. That was stupid on my part to ask. You can do it either way, I suppose: paint all pieces individually first, or paint with masking after putting it together.

I just want to know about the gloss. If you choose to paint all the pieces individually first, is there anyone who would actually then gloss EACH SINGLE PIECE, front and back, before glueing the subassembly together? Or do you put the sub-assembly together and then gloss as much as you can, hoping you get the little corners.

I've never seen anyone online do it the piece-by-piece way, which is why I'm asking. It seems more work than necessary.

Hi Ohms and welcome.

I would suggest posting over in the Auto forum-some great builds & builders there that I'm sure can offer advice.

I don't do any F1 cars (yet) but on other builds, I paint the smaller pieces seperate (as much as possible), assemble and then gloss (or more often, dull coat-military planes and armor).

And please post pics

Bob

For current F1 cars, I can’t think of any other way to do the spoilers except to paint, decal, and gloss the parts individually, then assemble.  They have that crazy “how many blades can you put in a disposable razor” look.  All of those little aero wings scattered over the body of the car would need to be addressed based on how they attach - if they need to be blended in, then obviously they have to be added prior to any paint.  But if they are just bolted on, they can be finished separately and added last.

That’s why I like 1970-1980 era F1 machines - so much simpler.

Oh, and welcome to the forum!

@bobbaily

Ya, sorry about that. I only noticed after posting that there are more specific threads beneath. Will post there next time. 

@Real G

Thanks, so that explains it. Each piece done basically completely before glueing. I sort of guessed this was the only way to do it, but I didn't want to waste the model before asking first. Looks like the modern F1 car is definitely a lot harder than the tanks I just finished! 

Thanks to everyone for their advice and warm welcome. Definitely going to be a regular visitor to these forums in the forseeable future. At 5 checks just today, I think I'm already hooked!

But beware the super glue!  It can fog and thus spoil all your hard work!  I'd use either thick solvent glue or maybe a PVA type like Gator Glue.

I'm an F1 noob, but I think separate finishing is the way to go.