Very good tutorial. I bulid 1:64 diecast customs and use a similar method to get a very nice shiny mirror surface. I use Novus 3 and 2, then Scratch Out, then Novus 1 for extra shine and to protect from finger prints. Another thing to remember is to let the clearcoat cure fully before doing any work on it. I leave my models alone for at least 3 days before polishing.
Hello Alex. I don't see why not, as long as it has a clear coat over it. I did use this method on a red metallic paint job with clear coat. Thanks for watching.
Hello HV, I have purchased through EBAY or local hobby shop. It's made by Detail Master. KIT# DM-9000. Cost is about $18.00 to $20.00. Thanks for watching.
great tutorial, appreciate the step by step method, I've been trying to find a method, this one I like, and probably be the one I'll be using from now on. Great idea with the Tack cloths. Appreciate it.
Great video, especially for a newbie like myself. Only onto my 2nd kit & will be polishing the body this week hopefully, so this video will be helpful.
Your video has been up for seven years, and is still benefiting the model building community. I've been building since 1959, and this is the first I heard of the scratch out product. I'm going to have to give it a try. I also just subscribed.
I'm a little confused? I just came back to model building after 30 years and I just shot the AMT's Gremlin X with Rust-Oleum decanted enamel key lime green, thinned a bit with generic lacquer thinner I bought at Home Depot through my junko airbrush The Finish did not come out glossy came out sort of like semi-gloss , I have some high spots and blemishes . I have approximately 6 thin coats and I thought that you were supposed to sand the color first to get it as smooth as you can and then clear coat it and then sand the clear coat or do I just send the clear coat ?
Howard. Sometimes depending on how low the low spots are the clear coat can fill in the low spots. If I spray clear through my airbrush I add a leveling additive to the clear, this helps the clear coat level out . After the clear has dried for a couple of days then I sand the clear. Yes, you can sand the paint before clearing if there is alot of deep low spots,but you should sand the plastic before paint and that will help alot more. Thanks for watching. 👍
So I have a question... my kuz passed away a few years ago and we glued a model car of the 1 he used to drive on his grave stone well long story short all the clear plastic is badly sun damaged yellowd bad and cracking I was wondering if there any way I can clear the glass again and also do something to prevent the window fogging in the long run
Hello Mayolo, once the clear plastic is cracking due to sun damage there's nothing you can do to save it. One thing would be, dip it in future floor wax but that's only a temporary fix and it wouldn't last long due to being outside in the elements. Thanks for watching. 🙂
Good stuff! Do you think the Formula 1 scratch out would work on an old Tjet slot car to brighten up the paint? Or what would you recommend I try using? Any ideas? Thanks
The Scratch Out should work. Or Miguires has a product that works just a good. I would use a Dremel with the polishing wheel. This makes it work much better. Thanks for watching. 👍
Hey Mark, thanks for watching. Yes. But some decals ( cheap decals) can't. They are be to thin. In most cases I put on a very thin coat at the beginning and let it dry for 20 minutes and work up from there. Thx.
Great video! I’ve just started on working on among nascar diecasts, I was wondering if you’d think the scratch out would work on enamel paints? Looks great!
Hey Brian, Thanks for watching. YES.. Scratch-Out will work on enamel paints. This demo I did is paint with a clear coat but I do think it will work on enamel paint. Thx...😎
Excellent demo on polishing paint, its something I do all the time, this is very helpful for those car builders who want a diecast look with their paint job. Thumbs up!! Which will link to my twitter feed. Cheers.
That scratch out is only good for our model cars coz we don't wash them or leave them in the rain . On real cars they work great until u wash ur car then those filling agents in scratch out wash out .
Great video. Trying to get a nice finish on a Batmobile kit and I'm not normally a car kit modeller, so this is really useful advice. Thanks for taking the time to put this up online. Dan
Do you think that Scratch out works better than or about the same as the Novus polish? It does seem to be a little cheaper than Novus. I use it and do the same stuff and it works about the same. But, I have never done a black paint job yet though. Great video...thanks for sharing.
+mike breazeale Mike, Novus is a good product but, yes it is more expensive. My thoughts is that Novus is made for plastic/acrylics not paints which Scratch Out is formulated for paints. Thanks for the comments and Thx for watching.
here's a tip. it's how I paint. works great. after sanding, wash in warm water with dish soap. wash well to get any oils from your skin off the part. if you have hard water, or if you use well water, make sure and dry it immediately! now, with latex gloves on, using a lint free cloth, like you'd use to clean eye glasses. you can get it from Walmart for 3 or 4 $. use this with rubbing alcohol. I use the 70%(30% water) go over the entire part, even if the entire part isn't going to be painted. this will save it from transferring oils to part being painted. I don't like using tack clothes, simply because the bee's wax can be transferred to the part. especially if you get it from someplace like Walmart. and also it can be scraped off when going over edges, body lines, etc. and this wax will cause "fish eyes" and you'll have to repaint it. you want to just lightly wipe the surface. do NOT scrub the primer, as it will remove some. this is the best way of keeping your part sanitized
Thx for your suggestion, but I have never had a problem with tack clothes...I have even used them before on painting 1 on 1 cars and furniture restoration. I never had a fish eye problem during painting after using a tack cloth. Everyone has there own way and technics. Thanks again for you comments. Thx for watching.
Quick question. After spraying the gloss topcoat, when's the best time to start the sanding/smoothing and polishing process? Is it best to wait as long as possible, until the topcoat has fully cured, or is it preferable to do it shortly (a day or two) after, when the topcoat is relatively soft and more "malleable"? Which will result in the smoothest and most reflective finish? Thanks.
I've watched a lot of videos and only this is explained simple and clear, also i like your result! I am going to try these stuffs, many thanks! (Hahaheheaheah 9.14 )
Good video, enjoyable and helpful. I had a question concerning waterslide decals. At what time do you recommend that they are applied? I build more professional racing style builds like rally cars and la mans car types; decals often cover most of the body so I was wondering on how to get the same shine on them. Thank you
Hey Ryan, I would put the water slide decals on before you apply the coat. Before you clear coat the decal test it on a scrap piece of plastic, so.e decals don't like certain clear coats and may curl up or leave the decal. I use Tamiya clear and it is forgiving on decals.
Cars are kind of like the perfect circle for modelers. You can mess up and chip paint on a military model, then just say it's weathering, but a car needs to be perfect.
I have tried to wet sand and I always have problems getting all the clear coat sanded. I have not tried the Scratch Out. Does it blend the sanded parts and the parts that are not sanded?
If you don't sand the clear coat even with itself you will have high and low spots that effect the shine. Scratch out will polish what has not been sanded but it will not match the shine of the even clear coat. It give a kind of wave effect with a shine...I hope my explanation helps. Thanks for watching.
Hello Alan, Thanks for watching. As for the Formula one wax, I have no used it. Maybe I will have to check it out. I mostly use Maguires wax and products, Except for this Scratch out. Requires makes a simular product but it's expensive. Again, Thx for watching.😎
wow that came out great ! for some reason I had to see how other people "polish" there work and this was great thanks for sharing it and kutgw brother !!!
Peter Evens . The Tamiya rubbing compounds comes in small tooth paste size tubes ( see Ebay). I have not seen Tamiya wax. I use automotive Carnuba wax. Thanks for watching.
why would you go in circles ? i detail cars for a living and it just bugs me because you're doing all that work to get scratches and swirl marks out but do you not realize that circle scratches can be seen more in various different angles then straight line scratches id go straight back and forth if i was you just better and prevents circular scratches which suck and can be seen more
Yes, you are right about circles on 1:1 cars. That's just the way I do it. It's just a suggestion you can do it any way you like. The product I'm using is for removing scratches, so going in circles or back and forth I don't notice the difference on this small of scale. Thx for watching.
flex It not so much how much clear you sand off, it's sanding the clear to get out the orange peel and leveling out the clear finish. when you start sanding you will be able to see the high spots and low spots by the shine left behind from the low spots. Once it is on3 flat finish you know that the clear is level and the orange peel is gone.
+Rick Zinck Thx Rick. I will be posting more helpful hints and tips I have learned through out the rest of the year. It was nice seeing you @ Jaxcon. Take care
You need to start off with a harsher sanding paper. Doing it this way you got the polish, but the surface is not flat. Start off with something like 1000-1500, very lightly sand it with water and some soap, and then work you way up to 2000, 2500, 3000 and above. If you start with something like 6000 you will just make the uneven surface shiny, but not flat.
derbigpr500 Thx for watching but, 1000- 1500 is to harsh for a model car. Maybe for a 1:1 car. This is a polishing kit from a model car detailing company. Also, there are no flat spot in this hood in the demo. Yes, I agree on starting with the lowest grade of paper 3200 or 3600, not 1000- 1500 it will cut through this clear coat in three swipes. Again thanks for watching and I do appreciate your comments. Thank you.
Ah ye possible to cut through if you apply thin coats of lacquer. But I do it that way on small 3D printed parts after finishing off and painting them, I do 3 coats of 2K clear and let it dry for a week. Then 1200 --> 1500 --> 2000 --> 3000 water sanding, then I use very fine polishing paste until it gives me a very even satin finish with no actual visible sanding marks, but without much shine either, and then I just use a polishing compound and microfiber cloth until I get a mirror finish. I tried jumping straight to 3000 sanding in the past, but as I said that always gave me a nice polish at the end, but not a perfectly flat mirror like surface.
Great informative video my friend. I've been at this hobby for 50+ years now and I don't get all the fuss about superior real car paint jobs on model cars? Is it some new fad for all of the professional model shows now? Don't get me wrong, I'm not bitchin' on the subject, just curious as to when this craze cropped up is all. I've been spraying my models with real auto paints and finishing up with a good liquid car wax and my models look as real as a model can look.
Hello Barney, the thing is with cars in model show you paint is 90% of your scoring. If you have orange peel of not a good shine your pretty much out of the competition as to winning or even placing. Thanks for watching. Please subscribe.
I appreciate the response and the insight. That's kind of what I figured once I began seeing all of the videos on RU-vid on how to paint, polish and shine. I guess it's like anything else, as time goes by the rules change or new ideas and policies are created to keep the hobby alive and well. I have to admit, some of the paint jobs on here are absolutely amazing.
Well, I would wet sand the paint first using 6000 grit working my way up to 12000 grit as the final sanding stage. Once you have achieved this process I would go ahead and use the Scratch Out next. Scratch Out is a mild polish so it will not get rid of orange peel. I hope this helps and Thank you for watching
Do you think this method could work on helping me restore my Sony Walkman WM-41? It has scratches on body that are pretty superficial, nothing too deep. Also, any tips on precision painting for the fading text? Would love to paint that over for a nice restore
Thanks for replying! Any suggestions on how to restore logo? I was thinking about finding a good car model similar paint and using a small brush carefully to paint over
Styrene Monkey, thank you for your response. I thought that was the right order and I have been working hard to remove the orange peel. I find wet sanding with 600 grit and the go to 4000 and then 6000 grit. The surface is very smooth but I can still see a few blemishes. Would they show up under the clear?
yes, anything you can see with the naked eye ( blemishes ) will show in the clear coat. You may need to add another coat of paint and wet sand it, then see if the blemish is gone.
Thank you. Just one more question if you don't mind. I used a pray can for my color paint. I was thinking about applying another full cover coat using decanted paint sprayed with an air brush. Would I benefit with just one full cover coat not a complete gloss coat?Really, Thank You for your interest in teaching me.
Hello Gregory, I have wet the paper towel so It is soft. And I use SPARKLE paper towels, they are very soft. You could use one of those make up sponges, they work nicely as a wax applicator. Thanks for watching.
if you want the best results and to be as scratch free as possible dont ever use a paper towel of any kind or some old shirt. with polishing by hand its best to use the softest foam applicator pad you can find or a new microfiber (even if its a cheaper one, as long as its new and perfectly clean youll be fine)
