Advice needed on the Heller L-749 Lockeed Connie

I would strip off old paint with a degreaser (purple power) 1st.

Hello!

That would be it - strip the paint that doesn't want to stik too badly and then fill and sand the windows like any other seam line. After painting you can add the window as decals - that you buy or custom make. That's what I did with my Boeing 777. Hope it helps, good luck with your rebuild and have a nice day

Paweł

Depends on how bad the old paint is.  If it is smooth, maybe just a sanding with fine (thousand grit or so) may be sufficient.  Actually, the recess on the windows may be an aid to masking. Paint gloss black by hand as well as you can, then mask and continue on with overall painting.

For the masking, use a sharp-edged toothpick to define the edges of the windows, and cut with a #11 X-acto, or a swivel knife.

I have seen a very nice build of that kit!  It can look great when done properly.

I have heard of using oven cleaner as a paint remover that will not harm the plastic. 

You can also try some paint thinner and a soft brush to see if the paint will dissolve. I have used this method to remove enamel paint on not so freshly painted models and it removed most of the paint .

Thanks for the advice guys!

I think the surface is smooth and I will just sand with 1000-- 1500 grit. The window mask sounds like it would work just fine. I plan on a wheels up configuration and have it hanging against the wall where I can see it close by as it is my favorite airliner!

Andy

Aussie

I have used plain cheap enamel thinner from Home Depot many times to remove enamels and it has never attacked the plastic or fillers. If you used lacquer thinner then that will cause what you described.

Squadron sells a pretty good paint stripper called Chameleon. It's good for multiple uses too.

As always, be responsible disposing of the stuff.

I have fond memories of those 749 kits. A nifty five piece wing. One bug is that the cockpit cleary also includes the roof, IIRC. Kind of a funky seam.

I think Krystal Klear works pretty well on that kit, again from memory. The windows are pretty small and oval. I have the feeling that when you go to strip the thing, they may fall into the fuse.

I'd probably choose to whack them in, clean up the holes, paint your ship and then go with the Klear. Oh, and before the last one, squirt in a bunch of Elmers and shake it around until the loose parts stop rattling.

I think on one of these, I tried spraying the window stripe color oversized on both halves before assembly. Then I glued in the windows, masked that off, glued the halves together, putty and sand the seams. Then paint the overall color, remove the mask.

Another great kit, my favorite old commercial a/c Model, is their DC-6.

Thanks everyone for the helpful information!

Andy