Painting model car chassis
plasticmodeler
the primer and then feathering or spraying the body color along the edges.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
--
Scott A. Bregi
Model Building is FUN!.........model building is fun.......model building is
?$#!!*?##!%$?&%$##!!
Ken Durling
<plastic...@cox.net> wrote:
>How does one paint their car chassis as per the prototype. I mean painting
>the primer and then feathering or spraying the body color along the edges.
>Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Scott -
Here's what I do. (check your refs) I spray paint the entire
floorpan, or floorpan/chassis unit Red Oxide primer, and then all the
chassis parts black. I hand paint the chassis frames molded into the
floor pan. After all detail painting is done - chrome head chassis
nuts, gas tank, shocks, etc I then take an airbrush with the body
color and spray at a 45 degree angle out away from the center, just
brushing the edge. You want to include the edge of the floorpan
behind the firewall, too. A light coat is all it takes, you don't
want to overdo it.
HTH
Ken Durling
IPMS/USS Hornet, Pres.
PPSEL
Just Plane Crazy
EmilA1944
>the primer and then feathering or spraying the body color along the edges.
>Any help would be greatly appreciated.
What Ken Durling wrote is very correct. You didn't state what car you are
building, but seeing as most of the model car kits out there (excluding the
more modern cars from Tamiya, etc.) he's on it as far as the older
body-on-frame cars manufactured before today's robotic paint lines.
Prior to the early 1980's, automobile bodies were hand-sprayed, using
production spray guns very much like those used in autobody repair, but with
their paint supplied through a second hose, in parallel with their compressed
air lines.
Bodies used to be dipped in several vats of primer, first for corrosion control
and adhesion, then in a sandable prime coat, then baked dry. After this, they
were hand-sanded to give a smooth surface for the finish color (s).
In general, doors and trunk lids were already assembled onto the body, hoods
sometimes, sometimes not, depending on the car, the production processes of a
particular assembly plant.
The primed and sanded body shells were rolled, by hand, into the spray booths
on low dollies, perhaps a foot or so above the floor. The production line
painters would spray the finish on, reaching every surface of the body they
could, but of course, concentrating on the visible surfaces of sides, rear, and
upper surfaces, Firewalls were generally painted in the same color as the
lower part of the body.
As part of this process, the painter would "duck" down, and spray the bottom
edge of the sides (rocker panel) and the lower portion of the firewall (the
angled panel connected to the floorboard), with no regard for overspray (after
all, who would ever see that, except for the grease monkey at the garage when
doing a lube job and oil change on a lift?) This overspray might extend as
much as 6" on to the bottom surfaces of the body shell, but would not
necessarily reach the bottom of the trunk floor, as that would have been
obscured by the sheet metal of the rear quarter and the rear valance. Also,
they didn't take the time to reach up into the rear wheel wells either.
The front fenders (quarter panels), with the exception of the 1955-57
Thunderbirds (which had their front quarter panels welded on and leaded in
during body assembly) were painted separately from the body itself, as often
were the hoods, grille surrounds, and front and rear splash aprons (those sheet
metal panels between the bumper and body or grille on 50's cars) if they were
separate parts. Front quarter panels tended to be raw primer on their inner
surfaces, generally red oxide, sometimes black primer. The inner splash
panels separating front wheel wells from the engine were generally gloss black
enamel. Separate splash aprons were often dipped, so they would have had the
lower body color on both sides, generally baked enamel, even if the rest of the
car was painted in lacquers.
Wheels (steel wheels), were also dipped in colored enamel and baked.
For colors on chassis, keep in mind that nearly all components were painted at
the time of manufacture, rather than on the assembly line. Generally,
carmakers used fairly cheap semi-gloss industrial enamels on frames, suspension
members, and driveline components. Some things were almost never painted,
however: Coil and leaf springs, universal joints, and suspension ball joints.
Leaf springs when new tended to be in their raw, heat-treated finish, with
semi-polished surfaces on the inner leaves, lubricated with grease before
assembly. These were most often a dark gray metallic color (I use Metallizer
Titanium Buffing on leaf springs). Only those bolts used on the assembly line
are unpainted. If the component was manufactured as a subassembly, generally,
those bolts were painted when the subassembly was painted.
One interesting exception is the rear axle on most Fords of the 50's and early
60's. The forward part of the center section, holding the pinion gear, was in
red oxide primer.
Some components on the underside were never painted. Brake and fuel lines were
either tin or cadmium plated, emergency brake cable would have been cadmium
plated. Exhaust pipes were raw steel, with mufflers either raw, or galvanized.
Gas tanks were "tern plated", meaning they were coated with a lead-tin alloy,
or simply solder, for corrosion protection. Electrical wiring was almost never
exposed, the only wiring harnesses to the rear of the car being taillight/brake
light/turnsignal, and gas gauge sending unit harness, which were all routed
through the body shell, generally along the left side just inside the rocker
panel, hidden by the sheet metal door sill panels. On modern cars, the gas
gauge sending wire does show, however, but only in the area alongside the gas
tank, if at all.
Engines were generally painted at time of manufacture, before installation.
Therefore, all stamped metal parts on the engine, the valve covers, timing
chain cover, and oil pans would have been the same color as the block and
heads. Two notable exceptions that come to mind were the 1954 Ford V8 (red
block, heads and intake, with ivory valve covers and oil pan, and 1961-64
Studebaker V8's in light yellow, with black stampings!)
Radiator support walls were almost always gloss black, as were the upper and
lower tanks of the radiator (never left them brass!), while the radiator cores
were painted with black asphaltic paint, which turned flat black almost
overnight.
Once the unit body became popular, most of the subframes, if welded to the
body, were painted the same as the rest of the body shell in the surrounding
area. AMC, Ford and Chrysler painted the engine bay in its entirety in the
lower body color. GM did do some of theirs in dull black, including firewalls.
Even though this is an extensive list, be sure to check reference pictures for
the particular car you are building, there are differences between brands of
cars within the same corporate structure, and of course, between automakers and
years.
Art Anderson
Greg Plummer
> the primer and then feathering or spraying the body color along the edges.
> Any help would be greatly appreciated.
The posts here are very informative on that - the most important thing
is to check references as floorpan and engine bay colors varied
between makers. A trip to a local junk yard can give you some ideas
on how cars look underneath and in the engine bay. An airbrush and/or
carefull masking is near essential in replicating some of these color
patterns.
Another thing to remember is that a large number of cars were
undercoated when new, so everything under the car except the
suspension, exhaust and engine components would be a semi-gloss very
dark gray. Also, if you're replicating a car that's been used, a
light coat of grayish tan replicates road grime fairly well - again,
check a local wrecking yard for colors on a well worn car. The
various shades of grays, browns, and metallics can be easily mixed.
If you avoid painting everything under your model plain flat black,
you're well ahead of the game...
C.R. Krieger
news:dn3fqu0iasvvf56q8...@4ax.com...
> On Sat, 12 Oct 2002 02:22:13 GMT, "plasticmodeler"
> <plastic...@cox.net> wrote:
>
> >How does one paint their car chassis as per the prototype. I mean painting
> >the primer and then feathering or spraying the body color along the edges.
>
> floorpan, or floorpan/chassis unit Red Oxide primer,
Which works fine if you're not doing Mopars. They use light grey primer, as any
good reference will tell you. Seems to me Ford & GM used the red oxide. I
don't know much about AMC or others.
> and then all the chassis parts black.
More reference time here. Although I'm not quite this anal retentive about it,
there are Mopar references (the 1:1 enthusiast/restoration mags are best) that
will tell you whether it's *flat* black, *matte* black, or *gloss* black for
each part. Some will tell you what color of paint daubs go on the springs or
torsion bars. They're also good for unusual body color references when a unique
car is featured.
> I hand paint the chassis frames molded into the floor pan.
Again, fine for GM or Ford full-frame cars. Chrysler unit bodies and stub
frames are all the same color, as it was *dipped* into the primer, starting in
1960.
> After all detail painting is done - chrome head chassis
> nuts, gas tank, shocks, etc I then take an airbrush with the body
> color and spray at a 45 degree angle out away from the center, just
> brushing the edge.
Good technique, but a reference check will tell you that some, if not most,
drivetrain parts weren't installed until *after* the body was painted,
therefore, they got no overspray. Finally, references can tell you what a
sloppy job of undercoating was done at the factories: often just an ineffective
(based on what *really* rusted out later) 'spritz' here & there.
> You want to include the edge of the floorpan
> behind the firewall, too. A light coat is all it takes, you don't
> want to overdo it.
Assuming Ken means the angled part of the interior floor, that's good, too.
Mopar bodies were sprayed into the engine well from out front, so all the stuff
under there should generally be body color, too. Depending upon the body, it
might not be a bad idea to paint the firewall with the chassis and even the
interior (if the floor shows) temporarily installed. That way, your 'fade' will
be real, not simulated.
While there are *lots* of references available, you probably not find *one*
that is complete. I've amassed what little I know from a good-sized stack of
Mopar and modeling magazines, each with a new little snippet I didn't know
before. As for the 'junkyard crawl' idea, unless you want to learn *weathering*
techniques, it probably isn't worth the bother. You never know when your
'original reference' might have had body & paint work before its demise.
--
C.R. Krieger
"Don't argue with 'em, dear; they're beneath our dignity." - W.C. Fields
plasticmodeler
alt.binaries.models.scale. I'm trying to get a feel of what the completed
effect will be.
Thanks again
Scott A. Bregi
Model Building is FUN!.........model building is fun.......model building is
?$#!!*?##!%$?&%$##!!
"C.R. Krieger" <war...@lakefieldDOT.net> wrote in message
news:3daaf470$0$951$39ce...@nnrp1.twtelecom.net...
Charles Fox
and the owner/driver informed me the whole chassis is still in red primer --
with copious and obvious amounts of overspray in certain places (trans
tunnel and wheelwells, mainly).
--
Charles Fox
cafo...@gte.net
"plasticmodeler" <plastic...@cox.net> wrote in message
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