Starship Modeler Discussion Forums

So, basically, still in a "To be continued" stage? Yes — I’ve made some good progress, but still trying to figure out some smaller things as I go. I had a period where I was able to spend a good chunk of my time at work messing with this project — for example, I spent a couple of days dow...

This project is still proceeding. I had cut and sanded some clear acrylic sheet for the painted parts that will be visible through the openings in the metal. After I washed the sanded parts with Dawn and water and then IPA, I primed each with a black sandable primer, and then (after a round of wet-s...

There's a product called Alumaclear that is made for bonding to raw aluminum. Baring that I'd suggest a 2K urethane clearcoat as they bond incredibly well and do not show wear or yellowing. I am intrigued more and more by the various 2K clears. I see people using them on model cars and raving not o...

That's true. Vinyl lettering/design might be a better option than paint also, or maybe not? I'm not sure? I'm not sure either -- but in this case, the lettering (other than on the decal for the department seal) is physically cut out of the metal -- all the way through -- and the paint will be used ...

Have you considered just going with an acrylic sign and vinyl lettering/design? Check out TAP Plastics. The acrylic itself can handle the outdoor environment. Not sure "how long lasting" vinyl lettering is? It may depend on the kind of weather it is exposed to? I imagine (depending) in a ...

Sorry if I butted in out of sequence. Styrene likes to turn yellow, just keep that in mind and if it is near any heat it will warp if not melt if in direct light/heat. Especially if it is on aluminum. Acrylic has a higher heat resistance and it comes in lots of types of colors. Lexan is more expens...

I wouldn't use anything else but sheet Acrylic d=for sign making. You might get away with ABS, but it won't hold up to the elements and you'll soon find you'll be needing another one and it really only comes in one color. Black, unless you want to paint it? Polycarbonate(or Lexan) would be the next...

So do I … until I need to laminate them.

Qapla’

SSB

Just wondering if anyone has found a way to strip away the printing on styrene yard-sale-type signs without doing serious damage to the plastic. Sanding them is a pain, although the next one I do I will try using a finishing sander rather than doing it by hand. I expect that keeping the sander movin...

A short update on this … as I just know everyone is dying to know what became of this. My supervisor — whom I have known for nearly 25 years and is by by far the best work-related friend I have ever had — passed away unexpectedly early last week. He and I had been working to make this sign go from i...

First, I know the names used for this product have changed more frequently than those used by Sean Combs. "Pledge Floor Gloss" was the most recent name, I think. Looking around online, I see ridiculous prices for the stuff on Amazon -- as much as $67 for a single bottle. I recall the price...

I got myself one of those shakers for nail varnish and tattoo inks - largely to preserve my increasingly arthritic wrists. As far as Vallejo Model Air paints are concerned, a couple of minutes in this shaker works well. It definitely needs longer with the Vallejo Color paints, but it is still not t...

Another question I would have is what happens if you really screw up the application or decide you're not pleased with the effect -- how difficult would it be to remove the foil once it is all applied and burnished in place?

Qapla'

SSB

Test, test, test. Do you guys want it to be glossy, semi glossy or flat?? I want the sign to look like the bare metal as much as possible. If I could, I would try going without the clear coat at all. The aluminum will have random light scratches and sanding marks I will not attempt to remove (it's ...

My supervisor and I are making outdoor aluminum signs for the three buildings in the university physics department where we work. We're frankly tired of making large signs that get mounted to foam board and look like crap after a couple of years, due to rain and Florida humidity. We modified the des...

Here I thought by vanquishing dust, sbaxter, you meant getting the air clean in the first place. That would be ideal, especially as my workspace is eventually going to to be in my woodworking shop once the latter is finished. Eventually my children will move out … There is a bona fide clean room at...

Wasn't there a forum migration/software change at some point that led to many of us who were here relatively early getting our join dates and post counts reset? Case in point -- I think Zaphod was here before me, but his join date displays as a day after mine. I think this is why so many of us long-...

The higher percentage IPA will be “hotter” and thus mire likely to damage undercoats. Okay -- I had wondered about that. I have an Iron Man figure I've been working on which currently has a glossy "candy apple red" top coat. I want to paint the gold, silver, aluminum and gunmetal details ...

Another advantage I thought of with getting a taller dehydrator is that you could pretty easily rig a method to hang parts or entire sprue sets from the top of the chamber, so they don't touch anything during the drying process. Just something to consider.

Qapla'

SSB

given it plenty of time to cure, which included about 12 hours in my dehydrator at 115 degrees. I have occasionally pondered getting one of those. Any deep dark obscure and arcane secrets I should know about them? Not that I'm aware, other than paying attention to the interior dimensions so that yo...

-- if I do and I mess up a bit (and I certainly will), will a cotton swab and water let me clean up my mess, or will I have to use alcohol instead of water? You are on a very short time limit for water being useful there, normally less than a minute. Plan on having a half a minute window. I did som...

How do you remove dust from something prior to applying paint? Best tips and tricks appreciated ...

Qapla'

SSB

I have some of the Tamiya acrylics and their retarder to lengthen the open time and make them more self-leveling. I was hoping to do some detail painting without having to mask -- if I do and I mess up a bit (and I certainly will), will a cotton swab and water let me clean up my mess, or will I have...

"Barbatos Rex" on YouTube posted a video yesterday (at this writing) of his tests of a 50-year-old bottle of Testors Metallic Green enamel. This was back in the day when the price was printed on the cap -- 19¢. https://youtu.be/jQJheigwXIc It worked just fine, with the caveat that the bott...

OK - some extra challenges here. Thanks for the additional information … but I already acted based on your earlier post, along with some of my own ideas. I did think of using a roller to help fight air bubbles; I used a foam paint roller lightly saturated with warm water. There were a few small bub...

Okay; thanks! I have never used setting solution, but I am planning to apply some Micro-Sol to these after they dry. I wonder if there is any sense in leaving a decent margin of blank carrier film around the edges of the print when I cut the decals prior to wetting them; I was thinking that if there...

Just looking for any tricks or strategies for dealing with very thin decals that seem prone to folding up on themselves as you try to apply them. I have a project (not a model) with a couple of quite large decals that I have already printed. I could always reprint and try again if necessary, but the...

I brought the above suggestions to TPTB. I was asked to keep the search to the original parameters for various reasons. So, anyone have a recommendation that fits those criteria?

Qapla'

SSB

I hope this is the best place for this … if a mod thinks there is a better sub-forum for it, feel free to move it. Here at my job (at a university), we have a group of three buildings in our department. For 20-plus years, I've made signs for the buildings by applying inkjet prints to foam board and ...

I've got a few model master and testor enamles that are a good 25 years old. Yeah...Humbrol. They don't make them like that anymore. Because I essentially had to halt virtually all model-building activities about 20 years ago, I still have dozens (maybe as many as a couple of hundred at a guess) of...