First Car Model Questions

1)  depends on the state of the transparency.  Fewer model car folks dip transparencies unless there are a lot of scratches or blemishes.

2).  I wait at least two full days- 48 hours.  You can sort of tell by feeling it.

3)  Depends on how smooth the finish is at that point. If it is dust free and smooth, just gloss coat it. If it has dust spots or any trace of orange peel, sand with 600 or 1000.  That will dull it down but the glosscoat will remove any of that fog from the sanding.

To be honest, if you're going to build a car model, I would tell you to ditch the idea of using enamels to paint it.

I used to use enamels and to be blunt, they're smelly, slow-drying, problematic paints for car modeling. You really can't put a finger on drying time because SO many factors play into when the paint might be dry. Most good finishers will tell you that you should wait a couple of weeks, not days, to polish out a good coat. And the general rule is, if it still smells like "paint", it ain't dry. This is because the "gassing out" process of curing is still happening. Ugh. That can take forever.

The best advice I can give you is to use a good primer and go with lacquers. And WEAR A MASK! Yes, lacquers are smelly too, but they cure hard in a less than 24 hours, and polish out beautifully, and can stand more polishing abuse than enamels.

Thanks Don!  That info helps a lot.  As far as the "2 full days" and "you can tell by touching it", do you mean when it is no longer 'sticky"? (I usually use acrylics).  It was dry to the touch after just a few hours, but still had a heavy "paint smell".  IIRC, I once read that enamels are fry or cured when they no longer smell like paint  - have youu heard or read the same thing?

THanks again for your help!

JOhn

Doog - I guess we were writing at the same time.  Thanks for the advice - I wish I had read it before I had already painted the car with enamels.  At this point I'm going to go ahead and finish it out with enamels, but will keep your advice in mind if I'm asked to do another one.

BTW - what company makes the lacquer paints? Seems like all I see in the paint sections at the LHS are enamels and acrylics.

Thanks again,

John

Jon,

Testor's makes a "Custom Lacquers" spray can. They spray really nicely, but if you want what I consider to be "the Ultimate", go to Model Car World. He makes his paints from actual company chips, and whats more--he grinds the metal chips in the metallic colors "to scale". His paints come pre-thinned for airbrush, and though a tad expensive, they're none better that I've found.