I’ve mostly been an aircraft modeler, but I now find myself shiting gears (pun intended) and moved over to autos for the time being. I have several kits on or near the bench, including a 1970 Dodge Challenger R/T with a prepainted metal body (think Vanishing Point movie!), 1968 Chevelle SS (I used to own the real thing), 1967 GTO and a recent addition of a 1966 Ford F-100 pickup from Moebius.
Mostly I’ve always used Testors MM paints, but you all know that story, so I am wondering what paints are now best for autos and how to acheive those high gloss finishes. The GTO is being painted with Testors dark blue out of the little square bottle and the Chevelle is being done with a Master Red (I forget the shade) and I hope I have enough to finish it.
How best to acheive those really glossy finishes for autos? I mostly airbrush.
I also build a car or truck every now and then. When I get to painting the body I take automotive spray cans - Motip is my favourite brand - and I use their filler, primer, paint and gloss coat - although if there are decals, I might go with a different gloss coat, because Motip clear might “eat up” the decals. Sometimes the gloss coat isn’t really necessary, neither, because the paint has such a nice finish. With proper application a nice, glossy and durable finish can be achieved this way.
Hope this helps, good luck with your builds and have a nice day
Hey Jim sounds like a cool corral of cars! I’m using MCW enamels for automotive. Super gloss coat without a clear to Pawel’s point and you can clear them if you want. Their enamel comes with a hardener so they are dry to touch in 4 hrs. I’ve also used gloss colors decanted out of the Duplicolor spray can. They are great but the shine just doesn’t compare to the enamels. im with you lamenting the demise of MM. You can order from Model Car World Finishes or pick up at a distributor. I’ve been using Hobby Nut Models in TN because if their customer service. They also have pdf’s of the instructions And advice for spraying on their site. You can even order the exact color that your Chevelle was from there.
For cars I have moved over to MCW as well. Hands down the best paints for cars. They are the correct colors for makes and models as well and are single stage paints. You do need to add hardener and reducers, but the finish is amazing. I also 2K clear mine, but that is a personal thing and you don’t need to go that far. For an OE correct finish, MCW all the way.
BK
PS, I get these through Hobby Nut as well. Great place.
BK got me started on using 2k clear. Super glossy finish. I like Tamiya paints for bikes and cars as well. I recently started using Revell enamels and they spray very nice. For some reason the line is called email [:S]
Jimbot, I’m about to start on my first car in a VERY long time after getting a really good deal on a 1/12 Tamiya Porsche Carrera GT. Was gonna use the Model Master Guards Red I found on Ebay a while ago, but after reading about MCW paints in this thread, I think I’ll be giving those a try. They make the exact color I want, Porsche Guards Red. HobbyNut Models gets another thumbs up from me…they’re great to deal with. Gonna use MRP 2K clear on mine for the clearcoat. I think that’ll be a good, final clearcoat for the carbon fiber parts too. Great thread! Had no idea MCW paints was out there.
I am still using floor polish [:P]. I throw a few coats on over any kind of paint (even flat). I use a harbor freight AB for my gloss and dull coats so I don’t gunk up my good sprayers. I have tried the testors acrylic and laquers with good outcomes as well.
I often use auto lacquer for model cars, but I also spray with gloss enamel from my airbrush if it is a complex model (early brass era or classics with complex fenders). In either case the paint must be applied in a wet coat. I call it a game of brinksmanship. You have to keep spraying until just before it starts running. How do you know just before it runs? Like getting to Carnegie hall.
In the last year, thanks to Testors and my lack of a Hobby Shop to get Tamiya, I have switched to Brush painting using Vallejo acrylics and Createx also . They are available at my local HobLob . You can make the brush paint look as good as the Rattle can or airbrush if you thin the paint enough and use some retarder so the brush strokes can lay flat after applied. Then you wet sand with 6000,8000, 12000 polishing pads and finally polish it with some novus and you can get a mirror finish actually better then any spray job I ever did. Then after decalling I brush paint some Pledge/future to seal the decals and get that final gloss finish on the model. Takes a little work but I can paint where I build and dont have to go outside to spray anymore. I will never go back to spraying.
There is so much glossy goodness here! You guys are amazing! I think I’ll have to give MCW paints a try.
Full disclaimer: I am most certainly NOT a car modeler, but I have a LOT of car kits in the stash that would get built if I could master the super shiny finsih.
Hey, don’t let the gloss fool ya. I never have in my life clearcoated and I only “Futured” one car, It turned yellowish(This was in the seventies). I paint, let dry(Gas Out–both Enamel and Lacquer at least two weeks.) Then Polish gently and Wax and leave alone. No car, even My show Studebakers ever glossed up like some of the models you see. Many of my real Cars had expensive restorative paint jobs too!
I have judged in I.P.M.S.Venues and that was very off-putting to me. Too Glossy Cars and way to many noticeable Panel lines Is to me a no-No. Model cars for the most part do not have the Doors , Trunks, Hoods(If closed) or Vents and Scoops outlined so you can see them a foot away! But, sometimes they are unrealistically too shiny! Show Rod Trailer Queens, Little Driven show cars, Yes, (Driven less than one thousand miles a year!).The Every day Great looking performance or luxury car NO!
Unless it’s a newer Car (From the seventies, Late) all the way to today, (with the newer paints) In Real Life now! In models, C’mon on now, lets get back to realistic! The 'Yellowed Car" was one I built for a Review in our club News-Paper. Model supplied by our club sponser(Jack’s Hobby Shop, Jacksonville, Arkansas) Now, (Rail and Sprue)-Same City!
Well after having a few iconic performance cars, clay baring, polishing and applying company XYZs stuff I’d say that super shiney is a thing. I had my Charger to a literal mirror finish. Maybe like Don says - the older cars didn’t have that super shine but I will say a high gloss mirror finish is legitimate for our modern hotrods. This is my 09 Charger when she was dirty lol
Nice looking Charger! I’m a Mopar man myself…have a black 2019 Durango R/T. Yup…modern hot rods often have a really deep, mirror-like shine to them. I have also seen a few of the old muscle cars with that kind of shine at shows. They were always the center of attention because they really stood out from the other cars…always made me wonder how much work that must have taken to get it to that point. The black ones were always especially impressive, almost had an “invisible car” quality to them because they reflected their surroundings so well. They were rare, but they did exist.
I had a 98 Durango and loved it. Put it through some serious off road action. Actually had it up on two wheels once lol. Great rig. Not so good at towing though.
The newer Durango R/Ts definitely aren’t off-road vehicles anymore. Does better than most in the snow, but that’s about it as far as that goes. Really good at flying up those steep mountain highways and roads in Colorado though…doesn’t even break a sweat and corners like its on rails. I wish I could take it over to Germany and see what I could do on the Nurburgring. The little Suzuki Swift GTI I drove on it a few years ago was kinda “meh”.
